Marketing a service business is not the same as marketing a product. When
marketing a retail good, you are selling a product that is tangible - an
item that can be seen, handled and used. Consumers can gain information and
evaluate the product based on what they see.
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Marketing a product focuses on getting the item to as many people as
possible. You can sell and ship a product to any geographical area, as it
allows for physical handling. Hence, broad marketing strategies designed to
reach the largest possible audience like mass-market techniques, in-store
promotions, and direct mail work perfectly for a product-based business.
In a service business, you are marketing yourself - your expertise and
capabilities, your reliability, and commitment to excellent service. Your
service technically does not exist until the customer pays for it. Service
is not a tangible good, so what you are selling is the promise to deliver
what you set out to deliver. Your marketing efforts will have to focus on
communicating that promise to your clientele.
Mass marketing strategies do not work well with a service business. You
are constrained by the amount of clients you can service well. To please
your clients, you can focus only on a select number of accounts or customers
to sustain your business. If you decide to get as much clients as possible,
there is risk that you will spread yourself too thin that the quality of
your work eventually suffers.
A solo home-based web designer, for example, cannot mass market his
services as he can only create a limited number of web pages in a day. A
massage specialist can only massage a finite number of clients before her
hands give up. A wedding consultant can coordinate a few clients at one time
to ensure optimum service. The doctors and the dentists. too.
Selling a service is more difficult than selling a tangible product.
Consumers are much less certain when they are buying a service, since what
they are buying is merely a promise that someone will do something for them
in a way that will satisfy their expectations. Authors Jean Withers and
Carol Vipperman in their book "Marketing Your Service
Business,"
recommend the following promotional tools in marketing a service business:
1.
Referrals. The recommendation of a satisfied client or a professional
colleague is often the most effective way of bringing in new clients. People
tend to view recommendations from those who have previously used the service
as highly credible, and are more inclined to use the recommended service.
Referrals, however, do not always come easily. Most often, you have to ask
for it. If one of your clients seem satisfied with your service, request him
or her to refer your business to their friends or acquaintances who may
benefit from your service. To reinforce your request, you may give them
promotional materials such as business cards or brochures that they may
share with others. Other entrepreneurs even make it a point to reward those
who refer a client to them. It may not be money (some professions frown on
the practice of giving money for referrals), but a simple note or a small
act of thoughtfulness to show your clients that you appreciate their effort
to spread the word about your business.
2. Client relations. The authors define client relations as
"consistent courtesy + common sense + professional dignity = effective
client relations." Clients will patronize your service repeatedly - if
they are satisfied. It is therefore important to cultivate your existing
client base and bond with them. Your beauty salon may not have the latest
hairstyling techniques, but if you treat your customers well, you'd have a
greater chance of seeing them back to your shop again. More than a
product-based business, you need to practice excellent customer service
every second that you deal with a client. Your business depends on it.
3. Participation in
organizations. Networking is the key promotional
technique in marketing a service business, and participating actively in
organizations is the best way to network. Joining an organization allows you
to network with potential clients and industry players, increase your
exposure to your community and professional colleagues, and even get new
business. You can choose from the more general organizations (e.g. small
business groups) with members coming from all walks of life or industry
specific organizations.
Your competitor, who belongs to the same organization as you, may be
experiencing a surge in demand and direct some of his or her clients to you
instead. Another member may refer your business to people they know who
needs the kind of service you provide. Of course, you must make your
participation in these organizations worthwhile by actively participating in
the group's projects and activities.
4. Direct mail. A good way to promote your business is to send letters or
brochures to your target market. The key to success in direct mail is to
reach out to the right people. An accountant I know watches out for the
listings of new businesses in the Washington D.C. area published by a local
business journal. He then sends a letter to owners of these new businesses
offering his services. The business he generates from his mailings more than
compensate for the yearly subscription to the publication.
You also need to regularly send out mail to your existing clients, if
only to remind them of you and what you can do to help them. Mailing to
previous customers is an absolute must, whether you are sending them a
quarterly newsletter or an announcement of a new service or promotions such
as discount off the regular price of a service, etc.
Another important tool in marketing your service business is a web site.
For the price of an advertisement in the yellow pages, you can have a Web
site that can serve as a brochure, direct mail piece and newsletter all
rolled into one. The Web is an avenue that should never be ignored.
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