Services Marketing

Service Promotion-Unit-3

Meaning Of Promotion “Promotion is a process of

communication, involving information, persuasion and influence.”

Objectives of Promotion Promotional campaigns are targeted at consumers

to increase their awareness of a new service offering and encourage them to try it out

Example: Bharatmatrimony.com and Visa Promotional campaigns can also be targeted at

intermediaries to encourage them to offer new services or make the existing intermediaries give an extra push for the services

Example: Insurance Companies

Objectives of Promotion Conti.. The promotional objectives targeted at

competition help a service provider to develop offensive or defensive strategies targeted at one or more competition in the market

Promotion-Mix The term “Promotion-Mix” is used to refer to the

combination of different kinds of promotional tools used by a firm to advertise and sell its products.

The main promotional tools or activities which makeup the promotion-mix are:

1. Personal Selling

2. Advertising

3. Public Relations and Publicity

4. Sales Promotion

5. Direct Marketing

Personal Selling Persuading through oral communication

Merits:

a) Enables a marketer to attract the attention of the prospective customers, create interest in their minds, increase their desire to purchase and persuade them to act and make a purchase.

Example: Investment agent

b) Creates an opportunity for the marketer to develop a relationship with the customer.

Example: Service executive of a resort

Advertising “It is any paid form of non personal, presentation

of goods, by an identified sponsor through the media.”

Service providers should involve front line employees in designing the advertising campaign Example: Taj group hotels

Service providers should design advertising campaigns that attach tangible clues

Companies should advertise services that they can possibly deliver

Advertising Conti..Merits:

a) A company can improve its brand image and brand equity with the help of advertising.

b) It also helps the company in differentiating and positioning its products from those of its competitors.

Sales Promotion “Sales promotion may be defined as any step that is

taken for the purpose of increasing sales.”

Merits:

a) Sales promotion strategies are used by companies to stimulate potential customers to try their products or to attract competitor’s customers to shift loyalties.

b) Sales promotion tends to increase sales for a period.

Publicity and Public Relations Publicity involves using of information that

induces interest towards a company, event, or person.

For example, Publicity includes event sponsorship, charitable donations etc.

Direct Marketing Contacting the existing and potential customers

directly through telemarketing, direct mail, and online marketing (e-mail and official websites), without employing any intermediaries in the process

Merits:

a) Immediate feedback

b) Personal touch

c) Less expensive

Difference between Services and Packaged Goods in the context of Promotion

Services can not be inventoried Reduced role of intermediaries Role of service personnel Service delivery location Customer as a co-producer

In view of these differences service providers

can adopt any of the promotional technique: Sampling Premiums Prize promotions Price/Quantity promotions Refunds and future discounts Coupons

How to Design A Service Promotion?

1. Which Services to Promote?

2. Who would be the Target Customer?

3. What would be the Value Added to the Product/ Brand?

4. Is the Timing Right for Promotion and how long a Promotional Campaign be Run?

5. Who is benefited from the Promotions?

6. How to Differentiate a Promotional Campaign?

Strategies For Effective Promotion

Effective Planning Focused Objectives Perfect Timing Adding Value through Tie-Ups and

Promotion Overlays Employee Motivation Well-Differentiated Campaign Regular Evaluation of the Campaign