The best way to sell an item will always depend on what it actually is. For example, the best way to sell nutritional supplements can differ from the best way to sell new cars. Of course, some people will be selling both services and products and so they can use a variety of approaches; they will also usually try to combine services and products into a package to make them more attractive. It is generally considered that services marketing is a bit tougher than product marketing and this is why a unique approach is called for.
What Is Services Marketing?
When it comes to selling services there is often a different approach needed than what would be appropriate for selling actual products. The goal of this type of marketing is not to sell something but to get the customer to choose a particular business. A good example of this would be a gym. The customer isn’t actually going to be buying any gym equipment but instead they will be choosing which gym to visit. The aim of services marketing in this situation then will be to get the customer to choose one gym over another.
Of course there are similarities between marketing services and marketing products. It will be still necessary to convince the buyer why they need this particular service and why it is better than what is being offered by the competition. There will also be the need to prove that it is good value for money when compared with other options. The service doesn’t necessarily have to be the cheapest around, but the customer has to feel that it is worth the money — this is much the same as any product.
Approaches to Services Marketing
There are a number of different approaches that the services marketer can choose when it comes to attracting customers. The best approach to choose will usually depend on the way the company has decided to brand their services. So if the brand is associated with quality then a lot of the marketing will focus on why this service is such good quality and why this makes it better than the competition. On the other hand, if the brand is associated with value for money then this will become the main thing to push when promoting the service. Whatever the reason why one service is better than another, it will be up to the marketers to persuade potential customers of why this is a selling point.
There are many theories about services marketing but a lot of businesses have become successful though trial and error. Different services will require different approaches because people will have different associations with them. So for example, people will associate the gym with health and so any type of services marketing will have to take this into account — otherwise the message could miss the audience completely. Another element will usually be to build brand loyalty to the service as most of these service type businesses rely on repeat custom to survive.
