What is Service Marketing Definition and its Characteristics?

When it comes to marketing everything is not about selling a product for a company. There is another thing called services. Which are teaching, Consultants, Software devoloper, accounting, cleaning, medical treatment, etc which are non-physical. And what is the service marketing definition? and characteristics of services.

Economic activities whose output is not a physical product, is generally consumed at the time it is produced, and provides added value in forms that are essentially intangible concerns of its first purchaser is called services.

Today’s world service sector is growing faster than any other sector. Services sectors are creating more employment and a high contribution to GDP in many countries.

Service Marketing Definition

Here is the service definition by the American Marketing Association(AMA).

The activities, benefits or satisfactions which are offered for sale are provided in connection with the sale of goods.

Service Definition by American Marketing Association (AMA)

Activities of Promoting and selling the services are known as services marketing.

Characteristics of the Services

The differences between goods and services are based on these Characteristics. And many of the strategies, tools, and frameworks have been developed based on these characteristics of services. The following are the Characteristics of the services:

1) Intangibility

The most basic thing which differentiates characteristics of services is intangibility. Because services are performances or actions rather than objects. Which cannot be seen, felt, tasted, or touched in the same manner that you can sense tangible goods.

Example:

A patient gets treatment from the doctor. But the Patient cannot see or touch the services. Although a patient may able to see or touch other components like equipment or a hospital room.

2) Heterogeneity

Because services are performances, frequently produced, consumed, and often co-created by humans, no two services will be precisely alike. People may differ in their performance from day to day or even hour to hour.

Heterogeneity also results because no two customers are precisely alike; each will have unique demands or experience the service in a unique way.

Because services are often co-produced and co-created with customers, customer behaviors will also introduce variability and uncertainties, resulting in heterogeneity of outcomes.

Example:

A Chef cannot make food twice exactly taste alike, because there will be some minor differences in taste.

3) Simultaneous Production and Consumption

Whereas most goods are produced first, then sold and consumed. But services are sold first and then produced and consumed simultaneously. Customers that are present while the services are being produced and thus view and may even take part in the production process as co-producers or co-creators of services.

Simultaneously also means that customers will frequently interact with each other during the service production process and thus may affect each other’s experiences.

Example:

An automobile can be manufactured in the USA, shipped to India, sold two months later, and can be used over a period of years.

But restaurant services cannot be provided until they have been sold, and the dining experience is essentially produced and consumed at the same time by the customer. Which cannot experience the same thing again.

4) Perishability

Perishability refers to the fact that services cannot be saved, stored, resoled, or returned. Where there will be only one-time consumption and production. In contrast, goods can be stored as inventory or resold another day, or even returned if the customer is unhappy. A bad haircut could not be returned or can not be resold to another customer.

Example:

A seat in an airplane or in a restaurant, an hour of lawyer’s time, or space in a shipping container cannot be reused or produced. Once sold services cannot be reclaimed by customers.

Conclusion

The service marketing definition is all about providing marketing to services. And these characteristics make services different from products. Based on these characteristics, many strategies, tools, and frameworks have been developed. These characteristics apply to all services, which are very important to know for any service provider.