The Russian service business is still comparable to a teenager: today it has not learned the wisdom of marketing, it is not always successful, and in a number of cases it irritates clients by being intrusive and clingy. To sell goods today in a highly competitive business is not easy, despite the fact that the product – a material thing that can be felt and touched. Selling a service, on the other hand, is much more difficult.
A service is a commodity that has an intangible form and does not need to be warehoused, stored, transported, or physically packaged. However, services need to be effectively marketed and attract consumers. It follows that services also need packaging, but not physical packaging, but “psychological” packaging, so to speak.
The psychological packaging of a service is morecomplex than the physical packaging of goods, because it depends on many factors. In addition, it has the same properties as the service itself – immateriality, inseparability from the source, variability, addressability. Therefore, psychological packaging can be considered as a service, and by its purpose – as a special commodity.
The components of psychological packaging of services:
- the environment at the point of service delivery;
- the behavior and appearance of people who are involved in the provision and production of services;
- the appearance of advertising and mailings, announcements and other printed matter;
- the impression consumers get from visiting an office and talking on the phone.
The packaging of the service can be visualized as:
- material aspect – people, office, printed matter;
- procedural aspect – behavior of people, work of technical means;
- psychological aspect – creation of appearance, environment, impression formation.
The analysis of the structure of psychological packaging revealed that all components of service packaging are forms of expression of different marketing tools (direct marketing, PR, advertising), marketing orientations (internal marketing, interaction marketing), marketing strategies, different approaches to the management process in management and its implementation.
That is why such a complex nature of service “packaging” requires a systematic approach to its formation. It is necessary to pay as much attention to the service packaging as to the assortment or pricing policy.
In business service, the psychological packaging of services is the most important and permanent element. It determines the first impression the client has of your company, the impression during cooperation, and recommendations or lack thereof after working with your company.
In this regard, in the process of development of marketing complex and realization of product policy it is important to pay attention not only to the formation of the list of services provided, but also to the creation of a proper shell, i.e. psychological packaging.
How to sell a service
As mentioned above, the service itself is an intangible commodity. It cannot be seen, touched or tasted. The same service can be envisioned differently by each person. The most tangible factor that distinguishes one service from another, that distinguishes your service from an alternative or the same service of a competitor, and that can be visualized, is the price. However, if you fight with competitors only on the price level, the consumer will not get the main thing – confidence in your company, which means that he will not gain anything from buying your service. What can be done in this case?
It is necessary to present the service in the form of a product, a commodity. This will make the service tangible, because the consumer will receive not a promise, but a real product. Let’s look at 4 ways in which this can really be done:
- Turn a service into a commodity.
- Make the process a product.
- Break the service into tiers and sell in packages.
- Combine services and create new offerings.
Service Branding
Despite the fact that a service is an intangible commodity, it can still be branded. Branding a service creates a certain image of the company. The winner in the business market is the one who is able to create a fashion for his service, becomes the trendsetter of this fashion, turning his enterprise into one that everyone knows and talks about.
Service branding includes:
Uniqueness
If the service you offer is not unique in itself, you need to create an additional unique service that will make you stand out in the market and differentiate you from your competitors. For example, providing access to exclusive content as a gift with an Internet connection.
The uniqueness of the service may also consist in narrow specialization, i.e. the formation of a service brand for people with specific non-standard requests.
Demonstration
Since it is impossible to show the service itself, it is necessary to use symbols and attributes of service demonstration (business cards, stickers, certificates, T-shirts, souvenirs, etc.). Naturally, all these things are not brands, but they carry information about your company and your services.
In order for a consumer to want to use your service, they need something to latch on to. Make your service a brand, and you will become successful. But remember that a brand only lives forever when it proves its right to primacy on a daily basis. The best packaging of services is their quality, which the so-called “word of mouth” will tell the world about.
