This document discusses integrated marketing communications and service marketing. It begins by explaining that service marketing communication is important for promoting a company's services and reducing communication gaps. It then discusses key factors that can lead to communication gaps, such as a lack of integrated marketing and ineffective management of customer expectations. Best practices for closing communication gaps include employing integrated strategies and managing customer expectations. The document also covers topics such as the role of various marketing communication channels, planning an integrated communications strategy, approaches to overcoming challenges in service communication, and integrating service quality with productivity.

1. By
Prof. Nikhil Bangde
(S. B. Jain Institute of Technology, Research &
Management)
Retail Sales Management & Services
Marketing
Module V- Integrated Services Marketing

2. This Unit will help You
[Course Outcome (CO)]
Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst. Professor
2
To examine the application of IMC
to retail business & develop an
effective service marketing
system for retail business.
Also to be in a position to
recommend ethical rules for
conduct of retail business in
India

3. Service Marketing
Communication
• Service Marketing Communication is all about promoting
the service of your company
• It has direct impact on Communication Gap (Gap model of
Service-studied in module 4)
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

4. Key Factors Leading to Provider
Gap 4
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Professor
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Gap
4
Service Delivery
External
Communications
to Customers
 Lack of integrated services marketing communications
Tendency to view each external communication as independent
Absence of strong internal marketing program
 Ineffective management of customer expectations
Absence of customer expectation management through all forms of
communication
Lack of adequate education for customers
 Overpromising
Overpromising in advertising
Overpromising in personal selling
Overpromising through physical evidence cues
 Inadequate horizontal communications
Insufficient communication between sales and operations
Insufficient communication between advertising and operations
Differences in policies and procedures across branches or units

5. Best Practices for Closing the
Communication Gap (Gap 4)
• Employing integrated services marketing communication
strategies around everything and everyone that sends a
message or signal
• Manage customer expectations effectively throughout the
experience
• Develop mechanisms for internal communication to avoid
over- promising and ensure successful delivery
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6. Role of Marketing
Communication
• Position and differentiate the service
• Helps Customers to evaluate Service Offerings
• Promote the Contribution of the Service Personnel
• Add Value through Communication Content
• Facilitate Customer Involvement in Production
• Stimulate or Dampen Demand to match Capacity
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

7. Communication & Services Marketing
Triangle
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Professor
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Company
Interactive Marketing
Personal Selling
Customer Service Center
Service Encounters
Servicescapes
Employees Customers
External Marketing
Communication
Advertising
Sales Promotion
Public Relations
Direct Marketing
Internal Marketing
Vertical Communications
Horizontal Communications

8. Integrated Services
Communications
 Integrated Services Communications
 a strategy that carefully integrates all external and internal
communication channels to present a consistent message to
customers
 This means coordination across:
 sales and service people
 Print
 Internet
 other forms of tangible communication including the servicescape
 How is this done in services?
 Advertising
 Sales presentations
 Service encounters with employees
 Servicescape and other tangibles
 Internet and web presence
Public relations
Pricing
Service guarantees
Customer
education

9. Marketing Communications
Planning
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The ‘5 Ws’ Model
i. Who is our target audience?
ii. What do we need to communicate and achieve?
iii. How should we communicate this?
iv. Where should we communicate this?
v. When do communications need to take place?

10. Target Audience
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 Prospects
 Employ traditional communication mix because
Prospects are not known in advance
 Users
 More cost effective channels
 Employees
 Secondary audience for communication
 Campaigns through public media
 Shape employee behavior
 Part of internal marketing campaign using company-
specific channels

11. Promotional Objectives In
Service
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• Create memorable images of specific companies &
their brands
• Build awareness/interest for unfamiliar service/brand
• Compare service favorably with competitors’ offerings
• Build preference by communicating brand strengths &
benefits
• Reposition service relative to competition
• Reduce uncertainty/perceived risk by providing useful
info & advice

12. Promotional Objectives In
Service (Contd..)
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• Provide reassurance (e.g., promote service
guarantees)
• Encourage trial by offering promotional incentives
• Familiarize customers with service processes before
use
• Teach customers how to use a service to best
advantage
• Stimulate demand in off-peak, discourage during peak
• Recognize & reward valued customers and employees

13. Messages via Marketing Channels
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i. Advertising
• Build awareness, inform, persuade, and remind
• Challenge: How stand out from the crowd?
• Effectiveness remains controversial
ii. Public Relations
• PR/Publicity involves efforts to stimulate positive interest in
an organization and its products through third parties
Ex: Press conferences, News releases, Sponsorships
• Corporate PR specialists teach managers how to present
themselves well at public events, especially when faced
with hostile questioning
• Unusual activities can present an opportunity to promote
company’s expertise

14. Messages via Marketing Channels
(Contd..)
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Professor
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iii. Direct Marketing
• Mailings, recorded telephone messages, faxes, email
• Potential to send personalized messages to highly targeted
micro segments
• Need detailed database of information about customers &
prospects
iv. Sales Promotion
• Communication that comes with an incentive.
Ex: Contests, Coupons, Discount etc
• Should be specific to a time period, price or customer
group
• Motivates customers to use specific service sooner, in

15. Messages via Marketing Channels
(Contd..)
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Professor
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v. Personal Selling
• Interpersonal encounters educate customers & promote
preferences for particular brand or product
• Common in B2B, many B2B firms have dedicated sales
force for this
• For services that are bought less often, firm’s representative
acts as consultant to help buyers make selection
vi. Trade Shows
• Popular in B2B marketplace as it stimulate extensive media
coverage
• Many prospective buyers come to shows
• Opportunity to learn about latest offerings from wide variety
of suppliers

16. Messages via Marketing Channels
(Contd..)
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Professor
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vii. Service Delivery Channels
• Frontline Employees
Communication from frontline staff can be the core
• Service Elements
New customers in particular need help from service personnel
• Service Outlets
Via banners, posters, signage, brochures, video screens,
audio etc.
• Self-service delivery points
Ex: ATMs, vending machines and websites

17. Source: http://www.newdhl.com/advertising.asp?cid=dhlbt1hmpg1
DHL’s Integrated Marketing Campaign

18. DHL’s Outdoor Advertising

19. DHL’s Print Advertising

20. DHL’s Print Advertising Links to
Employees

21. Five Major Approaches to
Overcome Service
Communication Channels
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22. (1) Approaches for Addressing Service
Intangibility
 Use narrative to
demonstrate the service
experience
 Present vivid information
 Use interactive imagery
 Focus on the tangibles
 Use brand icons to make the
service tangible
 Use association, physical
representation,
documentation, and
visualization
 Feature service employees
in communication
 Use buzz or viral
marketing
 Leverage social media
 Aim messages to
influencers
 Create advertising that
generates talk because it
is humorous, compelling,
or unique
 Feature satisfied
customers in the
communication
 Generate word-of-mouth
through employee
relationships
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
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23. (2) Approaches for Managing Service
Promises
 Create a strong service brand
 Coordinate external communication
Service Branding Model
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
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24. (3) Approaches for Managing Customer
Expectations
 Make realistic promises
 Offer service guarantees
 Offer choices
 Create tiered-value service offerings
 Communicate the criteria and levels of service
effectiveness
 Prepare customers for the service process
 Confirm performance to standards and expectations
 Clarify expectations after the sale
 Teach customers to avoid peak demand periods and
to seek slow demand periods
(4) Approaches for Managing Customer
Education
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

25. (5) Approaches for Managing Internal
Marketing Communication
 Create effective vertical communications
 Sell the brand inside the company
 Create effective upward communication
 Create effective horizontal communications
 Align back-office and support personnel with
external customers through interaction or
measurement
 Create cross-functional teams of sales, service,
and operations people when developing new
services or engaging in service improvements
 Maintain a customer focus throughout all functions
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

26. Best Practices for Closing the Communication
Gap
 Employing integrated services marketing
communication strategies around everything and
everyone that sends a message or signal.
 Manage customer expectations effectively
throughout the experience.
 Develop mechanisms for internal communication to
avoid over-promising and ensure successful
delivery.
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

27. Service Innovation
Service Innovation helps marketers complete a job
map by identifying the specific questions they need
to ask at each step
These questions include the following:
 Define: What must be defined up front to ensure
success in getting the overall job done?
 Locate: What inputs must be located to ensure
success in getting the overall job done?
 Prepare: What must be prepared to ensure success in
getting the overall job done?
 Confirm: What must be confirmed to proceed with core
job execution & to ensure overall success?
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

28. Service Innovation
These questions include the following: (Contd..)
 Execute: What must a customer do to execute the
core purpose of the job successfully?
 Monitor: What must be monitored to ensure that the
job gets done successfully?
 Modify: What modifications are necessary to ensure
success in getting the overall job done?
 Conclude: What must the customer do to successfully
conclude the job?
 Resolve: What problems relate to getting the overall
job done must be resolved on occasion?
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

29. Approaches to Service Innovation
There are Four approaches to Service Innovation:
i. New Service Innovation
• Discovery of new or related jobs that a current or
new service can help the customer get done
ii. Core Service Innovation
 Discovery of ways to help the customer get a core
job done better with new or improved services
 Focus is on improving outcomes for customers of a
core job
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

30. Approaches to Service Innovation
(Contd..)
iii. Service Delivery Innovation
 Discovery of ways to improve how the benefits of
service are obtained
 Focus here is on improving how a service is delivered
to customers by identifying the outcomes customers
use to judge success
iv. Supplementary Service Innovation
• Many opportunities for innovation may be uncovered by
examining the jobs related to product ownership &
usage, or ‘supplementary services’
• Focus here is on specific tasks in the job chain that
define how a product is consumed
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

31. Ethical Issues in Service Marketing
 False Advertising
 Misleading the Public
 Lack of Disclaimers
 Irresponsible Market Research
 Unethical Advertising and Promotion
 Delivery Channel Malpractices
 Predatory Pricing Strategy
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

32. Integrating Service Quality &
Productivity Strategies
 Quality & productivity are twin paths to creating value
for both customers and companies
 Quality focuses on the benefits created for customers;
Productivity addresses financial costs incurred by firm
 Importance of productivity:
Keeps costs down to improve profits and/or reduce prices
Enables firms to spend more on improving customer
service & supplementary services
Secures firm’s future through increased spending on R&D
May impact service experience—marketers must work to
minimize negative effects, promote positive effects
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

33. Different Perspectives of Service
Quality
Transcendent:
Product-based:
User-based:
Manufacturing
-based:
Value-based:
Quality = Excellence. Recognized only through
experience
Quality is precise and measurable
Quality lies in the eyes of the beholder
Quality is in conformance to the firm’s
developed specifications
Quality is a trade-off between price and value
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

34. Components of Quality:
Manufacturing-based
Performance: Primary operating characteristics
Features: Bells and whistles
Reliability: Probability of malfunction or failure
Conformance: Ability to meet specifications
Durability: How long product continues to provide value to
customer
Serviceability: Speed, courtesy, competence
Esthetics: How product appeals to users
Perceived Quality: Associations such as brand name
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

35. Capturing the Customer’s Perspective of Service
Quality: SERVQUAL
 Survey research instrument based on premise that
customers evaluate firm’s service quality by
comparing
Their perceptions of service actually received
Their prior expectations of companies in a
particular industry
 Poor quality
Perceived performance ratings < expectations
 Good quality
Perceived performance ratings > expectations
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Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst.
Professor

36. This Unit will help You
[Course Outcome (CO)]
Prof. Nikhil Bangde, Asst. Professor
36
To examine the application of IMC
to retail business & develop an
effective service marketing
system for retail business.
Also to be in a position to
recommend ethical rules for
conduct of retail business in
India