Chapter 8: Products, Services, and Brands - Building Customer Value
Service
A product that consists of activities, benefits, or satisfactions and that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything
Brand
Customer Experience
A market offering with a strong sensory or emotional component that plays out for the customer over time
Types of service industries
Service Characteristics
Governments
Private not-for-profit organizations
Variability
Quality of services depends on who provides them and when, where, and how
Inseparability
Services cannot be separated from their providers
Intangibility
Services cannot be seen, tasted, felt, heard, or smelled before purchase
Perishability
Services cannot be stored for later sale or use
Business organizations
Product
Anything that can be offered in a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a need or want.
Product Classifications
Specialty Products
Those with unique characteristics or brand identification for which buyers are willing to make a special purchase effort
Unsought Products
Those that consumers neither know about nor normally think of buying
Shopping Products
Bought less often and compared carefully on suitability, quality, price, and style
Convenience Products
Bought frequently, immediately, and with minimum comparison and buying effort
Industrial Products
Products purchased for further processing or for use in conducting a business
Consumer Products
Products and services bought by final consumers for personal consumption
Additional marketing strategies for service firms
Internal Marketing
The service firm must orient and motivate its customer-contact employees and supporting service people to work as a team to provide customer satisfaction
Interactive Marketing
Service quality depends heavily on the quality of the buyer-seller interaction during the service encounter. Service companies need to increase service differentiation, service quality, and service productivity
Service Profit Chain
Internal service quality
Satisfied and productive service employees
Greater service value
Satisfied and loyal customers
Healthy service profits and growth
Brand Equity
The differential effect that knowing the brand name has on customer response to the product or its marketing
Brand Value
Total financial value of a brand
Building Strong Brands
(Major Brand Strategy Decisions)
2. Brand Name Selection
Suggests benefits and qualities
3. Brand Sponsorship
1. Brand Positioning
Marketers can position brands at any of three levels:
4. Brand Development
Brands are powerful assets that must be developed
and managed. Building strong brands involves many
chalenging decisions
Benefits
Attributes
Belief and values
Easy to pronounce, recognize, and remember
Distinctive
Extendable
Translatable for the global economy
Capable of registration and legal protection
Private label (or store) brand
Licensing
Manufacturer's (or national) brand
Co-branding
Multibrands
New brands
Brand extensions
Line extensions
Service Management
Service Differentiation
Creates a competitive advantage by developing a differentiated offer, delivery, and image
Service Quality
Enables a service firm to differentiate itself by delivering consistently higher quality than its competitors do
Service Productivity
Refers to the cost side of marketing strategies for service firms, including investment decisions on employee hiring and training as well as service quantity and quality (ie airline industry)