Marketing For Service Providers

A service is simply a transaction where no physical products are transferred from the vendor to the purchaser. In a normal transaction, the services would be performed for free or at very minimal rates. The buyer’s willingness to accept the transaction as well as the seller’s ability to produce the agreed upon service are held to be consistent with the prevailing market conditions.

Service marketing is often confused with other forms of advertising like display advertising, radio ads, TV ads and print ads. The intangibility associated with service marketing lies in the fact that it does not require the same set of resources. For example, it is much easier to build a website that requires less capital and labor compared to a billboard or TV ad. Also, the cost associated with the service provider’s marketing mix is much less than other types of marketing.

However, service vendors also require adequate time, resources, talent and expertise. The service providers are the ones who actually sell the products or the services. It is the service providers who have to compete with other service providers for the customers’ attention. Hence, there is the need for them to create and establish good brand identity that people can trust. Moreover, since the customers do business with service providers directly or indirectly, there is also the need for a strong relationship and a direct line of communication established between the vendor and the customer.

Most service providers look at their core competencies first before they look into the aspects of other vendors. This may be an extremely wise idea if the service provider already has a strong and reliable brand identity established. In this way, the service provider can focus on providing only that specific service or product that is needed in the context of the specific business context.

Most service providers do not have the luxury of being a small business. They have to compete with bigger companies in the market or engage in business with smaller businesses within their network area. Therefore, these service providers will usually put more effort into advertising their services and products. And, as they say, advertising is the best way of getting more business. Thus, they should be ready to advertise their service and product offerings at the earliest.

One thing that service providers have to remember always is that they should never compromise quality with the other aspects of their business operations. They have to provide a consistently high level of performance if they want to survive. After all, the service provider is the company’s sales person and it is the service provider who is supposed to promote the business. Thus, they should be ready to face any challenges that could come their way.