Marketing of Services

Service industry can
be classified into various types, government offers services like hospitals, schools, police, postal, transport, bank and insurance etc, similarly private sector also offers various services like banks, insurance, telecommunication, internet, hotels and restaurants, medical and law etc in a similar manner nonprofit organizations also offer their services like social welfare, self help groups, charity, colleges and schools etc.
Service organizations can be large or small but they have some special and unique characteristic therefore requires unique and special marketing efforts to be undertaken.
Characteristics of Service
Haircut, concerts, medical, banking, insurance, traveling, car repairing and other activities come in the category of service and they all are purchased from the market. Companies engaged in providing these services are called service organizations. These companies have to keep in their mind before determining the marketing plan the following nature and scope of a service.
# Intangibility:- Services are intangible i.e. they do not have any physical existence, body, mass or weight, they cannot be touched or even felt before they are bought. For example a person getting his car serviced cannot see the performance of his car before getting serviced; he could feel the better performance only after the service has been done. Similarly a person availing the facility of railways cannot touch or see the transportation; he will be getting the result only when he or she has reached the destination.
# Inseparability:- Services cannot be separated from their providers or people who are engaged in delivering the service therefore they are inseparable. Services are typically produced and consumed simultaneously while physical goods are manufactured, stored, and then distributed through various channels to be consumed later. In case of service the service provider and customers both are present simultaneously at delivery and consumption of service; therefore provider and customer interaction is one of the important aspects of service marketing.
# Variability:- Services are variable because service offering varies according to the provider; their quality depends upon the provider and vary from provider to provider, for instance you may have heard people saying that X person in that barber shop is a good hairdresser and Y is not.
# Perishability:- Services are perishable because they cannot be stored for later use or sale, they are created and used simultaneously. For example a bank transaction cannot be created earlier for a customer and then delivered later; a transaction has to be created and delivered simultaneously when asked or demanded by the customer. During rush hours banks need more human resource than during non peak hours to meet demand because of their perishable nature; otherwise they would have been created at non rush hours and used during rush hours.

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