Explain how the characteristics of services affect the development and management of marketing mixes.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The characteristics of services create a number of challenges for service marketers in the development of marketing mixes. A service offered by an organization generally is a package, or bundle, of services consisting of a core service and one or more supplementary services. Heterogeneity results in variability in service quality and makes it difficult to standardize services. However, heterogeneity provides one advantage to service marketers: It allows them to customize their services to match the specific needs of individual customers. Customization plays a key role in providing competitive advantage for the service provider. Being able to personalize the service to fit the exact needs of the customer accommodates individual needs, wants, or desires. The characteristic of intangibility makes it difficult for customers to evaluate a service prior to purchase. Intangibility requires service marketers, such as hairstylists, to make promises to customers. The customer is forced to place some degree of trust in the service provider to perform the service in a manner that meets or exceeds those promises. Service marketers must guard against making promises that raise customer expectations beyond what they can provide. The inseparability of production and consumption and the level of customer contact also influence the development and management of services. The fact that customers are present during the production of a service means that other customers can affect the outcome of the service. Service marketers can reduce problems by encouraging customers to share the responsibility of maintaining an environment that allows all participants to receive the intended benefits of the service environment.