Services Marketing communications and services marketing triangle

1. 1
Services Marketing Triangle &
Services Marketing communications
Services Marketing
Course Instructor: Sneha Sharma (PhD*, MBA, Dip T & D)

2. Communications and the
Services Marketing Triangle
Internal Marketing
Vertical Communications
Horizontal Communications
Interactive Marketing
Personal Selling
Customer Service Center
Service Encounters
Servicescapes
External Marketing
Communication
Advertising
Sales Promotion
Public Relations
Direct Marketing
Company
CustomersEmployees

3. Integrated Services Communications
• Integrated Services Communications
– a strategy that carefully integrates all external and
internal communication channels to present a
consistent message to customers
• This means coordination across:
– Sales and service people
– Print
– Internet
– other forms of tangible communication including
the servicescape

4. Integrated Services Communications
• How is this done in services?
Advertising
Sales
Presentations
Service
Encounters
With Employees
Servicescape
And Other
Tangibles
Internet And
Web Presence
Public Relations
Service
Guarantees
Customer
Education

5. Five Major Approaches to Overcome Service
Communication Channels

6. Approaches for Addressing Service Intangibility
Use narrative to
demonstrate the
service experience
Present vivid
information
Use interactive
imagery
Focus on the
tangibles
Use brand icons to
make the service
tangible
Use association, physical
representation,
documentation, and
visualization

7. Approaches for Addressing Service Intangibility
Feature service
employees in
communication
Use buzz or viral
marketing
Leverage social
media
Aim messages to
influencers
Create advertising that
generates talk because
it is humorous,
compelling, unique
Feature satisfied
customers in the
communication
Generate word-of-
mouth through
employee
relationships

8. Services Advertising Strategies Matched
with Properties of Intangibility
Absence of prior
exposure, familiarity or
knowledge

9. Approaches for
Integrating Services Marketing Communication
Goal:
Delivery
greater than
or equal to
promises
Improve
Customer
Education
Manage
Service
Promises
Manage
Customer
Expectations
Manage
Internal
Marketing
Communication

10. Goal:
Delivery
greater than
or equal to
promises
Offer
Service
Guarantees
Create
Effective
Services
Communications
MANAGING SERVICE PROMISES
Make
Realistic
Promises
Coordinate
External
Communication
Approaches for
Managing Service Promises
Advisements
addressing
Intangibility
Coordination between
external communication
mediums and customer
contact points i.e.
customer service,
service encounter
Promise reliability
in advertising only if
it is delivered E.g..
Holiday surprises
Customer
Loyalty affected
by Service
Guarantees

11. Communicate Criteria for
Service Effectiveness
Create Tiered-Value
Offerings
Approaches for Managing Customer
Expectations
Negotiate
Unrealistic
Expectations
Goal:
Delivery
greater than
or equal to
promises
Offer Choices Speed Vs Quality
Familiarizing customers with
specific customer expectations
E.g. Credit Card
Market Research
Expert Service
Present offerings in terms
of value not only price

12. Goal:
Delivery
greater than
or equal to
promises
Prepare
Customers
for the
Service
Process
Clarify
Expectations
after the Sale
Approaches for
Improving Customer Education
Teach
Customers
to Avoid
Peak
Demand
Periods
and
Seek Slow
Periods
Confirm
Performance
to Standards
Give Step by Step
process
Communicate
guarantees
Clarifying
service again
after hand-off
Give prior
information

13. Goal:
Delivery
greater than
or equal to
promises
Approaches for Managing
Internal Marketing Communications
Create Effective
Vertical
Communications
Align Back
Office Personnel
w/ External Customers
Create Effective
Horizontal
Communications
Create
Cross-Functional
Teams
Inform employees about
what is communicated to
the customer
Coordination and
communication between
advertising and service
provider
Interaction and
Measurement
Work collaboratively while
making customer centric
strategies

14. Interactive Imagery: Travelers

15. Service Brand Icon: The GEICO Lizard

16. Focusing on Tangibles Associated with the
Service: The Sierra Club

17. DHL’s Integrated Marketing Campaign

18. DHL’s Outdoor Advertising

19. DHL’s Print Advertising

20. DHL’s Print Advertising Links to
Employees

21. Service Brand Icons

22. “Relax, It’s FedEx” Campaign 2004-2008
• Campaign objective:
– demonstrate that FedEx’s portfolio of services will help
businesses meet their needs more effectively
• Aimed at all businesses:
– from small businesses to corporate customers
• Integrated marketing communications campaign
involves TV, print, and radio ads
– the message: the reliability that customers have come to
expect is now more certain than ever, so they can “relax”
We Live To Deliver" 2009–present

23. FedEx Print Advertisements
Ad copy:
Keeping costs down is the most
important thing.
Right after the 107 other things.
Give your customers what they want, when
they want it with FedEx Ground and the vast
FedEx® transportation portfolio. It's a
variety of services that is sure to meet your
variety of transportation needs. Like giving
you product visibility throughout the delivery
process via FedEx InSight® so you can
increase customer expectations and
customer service all while keeping costs
down. To find out everything we can do for
you call 1.800.Go.FedEx
(1.800.463.3339).
distribution.fedex.com/01
Relax, it's FedEx.

24. FedEx Print Advertisements
Ad copy:
Make your customers happy, even
when they're not.
Turn dissatisfied customers into
customers who come back. FedEx Ground
and the FedEx® transportation portfolio
can give you a returns process that's easy
for your customers and cost effective for
you. Giving the customer what they want,
when they want is a must. No matter how
many tries it takes. To find out what we
can do for you call 1.800.Go.FedEx
(1.800.463.3339).
retail.fedex.com/03
Relax, it's FedEx.

25. FedEx Website
• www.fedex.com
– easy to use
– ties in with whole value proposition of campaign
• Print ads drive customers to websites with
information on how FedEx provides solutions
for specific industries:
– retail, wholesale, apparel

26. FedEx Website

27. Sports Sponsorship
• Does not tie in directly with the “Relax, It’s FedEx”
campaign, but increases brand awareness

28. FedEx: Metrics for IMC Campaign
• FedEx must be able to evaluate the
effectiveness of integrated marketing
communication campaign
Customer Surveys And Focus Groups About Brand Awareness
Number Of Telephone Inquiries
Number Of Website Hits And Click-throughs
Number Of Shipments By Customer Segment
Growth In Sales Since Campaign Inception

29. FedEx: IMC Campaign Effectiveness
Consistency of
message
Use narratives to
demonstrate
service experience
Presents vivid
information
Promises what is
possible
Encourages word-
of-mouth
communication
Indirectly features
service customers

30. FedEx: Internal Communications
• Service employees must be well versed in what ads are
promising
• Knowledge of services offered across the organization
– call centers
– web design
– e-mail response mechanisms
– InSight (new service offered)
• Cross-functional communication
– operations
– public relations/marketing