Question

Referring to your course text, identify three similarities among the marketing of services and products, and suggest why you think these similarities exist. Identify two differences between the marketing of products and services. Compare how easy or difficult it is to customize products and services. For a particular service you use, explain how it is standardized for all purchasers or customized for you and why this standardization (or customization) is important.

Basic Marketing

Answer 1

Similarities in the marketing of services and products:

1. Types or varieties: Both services and products have and should have varieties so as to cater to the needs of the customers it serves. e.g. one can find a variety of ice creams (products) in an ice cream shop; one can find a variety of haircuts (service) in a salon.

2. Price/Value: Both products and services have a price to be paid for. both a pen (product) and a hairdresser need to be paid for.

3. Distribution: Products and services need a network of channels for its distributions to reach customers eg vendors, distributors, sales personnel. eg biscuit (product) is solid through supermarkets, retailers, shopkeepers etc. Similarly, a beauty salon offers its services at a shop or at home.

4. Marketing: Products and services need to be marketed so as to be known by customers and to attract them.

Differences:

1.Tangible: Products are tangible (can be touched and felt) and services are intangible.

2. Quality: Quality of a product can be measured. Each type of product has its own type of quality control and can be measured. Quality of a service cannot be measured.

3. Return: Products can be returned or replaced (eg. pens, books etc). Services (hair cut, repair work) cannot be returned.

It is difficult to customize products due to mass production. Services do not have this criterion to satisfy and hence can be customized. e.g. a person might want soap that smells like a rose but looks like orange and is soft to touch which will be hard to manufacture as a soap with altogether different characteristics has been manufactured. Whereas in case of a door work, it can be customized as per needs of different customers.

A particular service is hair cut, It is customized as per my needs and requirement. The hairdresser asks my needs, wants and style and implements those changes. The length, style and colour is as per my choice. This customization is important as it is a personal choice and needs to suit my needs.