Services Marketing: Characteristics, Strategies, and Principles

Running Head: SERVICES MARKETING 1
Services Marketing
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

Running Head: SERVICES MARKETING 2
Abstract
Services marketing is the marketing based on the relationship and value of a service or a product.
It may be used to market a service or a product. In the modern world there has been an increased
dominance of the services in the market. Service marking has become a topic of interest. The
world economy has become a service economy. The main reason for this development is because
of services to be considered the characteristic of developed economies in the world. This shift is
attributed to change in the meaning of goods and services in the market. Goods are no longer
regarded as separate from services. Service are nowadays regarded as the most important part of
the products. His paper explores the nature of services and gives the difference of services to
products and services. In addition, the paper devolves in the basic elements of services
marketing. The marketing association tells that al developing nation must move from agricultural
system to the industrial system and adopt the services sector as the main development to the
economy.
Services Marketing
Characteristics of services
The main four characteristics of service business are: Intangibility, perishability, inseparability
and variability. Intangibility of services is prior to their purchase. Products have tangible

Running Head: SERVICES MARKETING 3
characteristics that enable the customer to have their taste before purchase Services on the other
hand a Lovelock, Wirtz & Chew (2009)re intangible. Services cannot be consumed or had a taste
until they are purchased and used. With services customers may have a feeling that they are
having a purchase decision without having all the information about the purchase. The
customers’ referrals and testimonies are the best way to reduce the intangibility of services.
Secondly, services Lovelock et al. (2009) are inseparable from the providers. Services are unique
in their nature because they are provided and consumed as the same place and the same time.
Wirtz, (2012). The inseparability of services means that customers and consumers of service
have high expectations on how the services are provided. This can lead to either satisfaction or
disappointment on the side of the buyer of the service. Better provision and solid service process
is the best way to solve this challenge. Bateson & Hoffman (2011)
Services are highly perishable. They cannot be stored and sold for the same time in the future.
The best way to solve this challenge is by managing the supply and demand of services. This
allows the service provider to maintain the same level of customer service at different demands
and the same time improve productivity. Hair, Celsi, Ortinau, & Bush (2008)
Finally, the provision and the quality of a service vary with many factors. The qualities of a
service depend with the person providing the service, the place the service is being provided and
the time the service is being provided. Hair et al. (2008)
Marketing of Services
The service business must to build a great market for their service. The Business manager must
employ the main core element to make sure that the service being provided maintains a market.
The service business must improve their offering to improve its market. Blythe (2008).The
service market cannot last long provide its offering is badly flawed. The offering of the service