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INTRODUCTION

Marketing communication is as important for goods as they are for services. In factthe intangible nature of service makes marketing communication even moreimportant. Within the context of marketing, communication focuses on performingthree important roles. They are to inform current and potential customers aboutservice features, benefits, price, service mix, location of service delivery and the like.On other occasions marketing communication is aimed at persuading customers toselect and use a particular service and to create brand preference. Consequently,over time there is a need to remind consumers that your service is still available for

TTooppiicc 66 Communication

for Services

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

1. Explain the roles of marketing communication in services;2. Discuss the different marketing communication mix for services;

3. Elaborate on the steps to develop an integrative marketingcommunication programme; and

4. Identify the implications of Internet on marketingcommunications.

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TOPIC 6 COMMUNICATION FOR SERVICES 83

their consumption and use. This is particularly important when your competitors areaggressively communicating about their service. All of these can be achieved byusing a variety of the traditional communication tools such as advertising, sales

promotion, personal selling and public relations. In addition, the services cape of aservice organisation too is used for the purpose of communication.

ROLES OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONIN SERVICES

Understanding the role of communication for a service organisation is important inorder for you to develop an effective communication programme. As mentionedearlier, communication plays an important role of informing, persuading andreminding consumers about the services offerings of an organisation. However, it isimportant to note that the specific roles of communication would depend very muchon the purchase stage a consumer is undergoing.

As discussed in Topic 2, the model of a purchase process comprises THREE keystages pre purchase, consumption and post purchase. Table 6.1 below shows thecorresponding roles of communication for each of the stages in the purchase process.

Table 6 1: Roles of Communication in the Purchase Process

Pre purchase Stage Consum ption Stage Post purchase Stage

1. At this stage aconsumer has still notmade a purchasedecision yet.

2. However, a consumerwho is brand or firmloyal spends very littletime and effort inarriving at a purchasedecision. The role ofcommunication here

1. At this stage, you as aconsumer would beexperiencing/consuming theservice, delivered bythe serviceorganisation/provider.

2. The role ofcommunication hereis to enhance a

1. This is the stage afterservice consumptionhas taken place.

An importantcommunication role to

be performed at thisstage is to reducecognitive dissonance (astate where consumersare unsure that theyhave made the right

6.1

ACTIVITY 6.1

From any of the local English newspapers, select an advertisement fora private college or university and list all the information you canobtain from the said advertisement.

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TOPIC 6 COMMUNICATION FOR SERVICES84

Table 6 1 (Continued)

Pre purchase Stage Consumption Stage Post purchase Stage

would basically focuson influencing aconsumer to speed uptheir purchase of aservice. For consumerswho have no plans to

buy, communicationwould help them makea purchase decision.

3. If you are a new

consumer or first time buyer, communicationwould help to minimiseyour purchase riskwhich in turn couldincrease the probabilityof you purchasing theservice.

4. At this purchase stagecommunication too canhelp a service

organisation to developand establish thedesired corporateimage.

5. To the potential buyerscommunication canhelp to increase theirawareness of theexistence the service,where is sold, howmuch and other relatedinformation.

6. Ultimately, it is alsohoped that throughcommunication, the

brand equity of theservice can beestablished, once theinitial purchase hastaken place.

consumerÊs level ofsatisfaction fromconsuming the serviceof a firm.

3. This is attained bychannelling TWO typesof information: firstlyone that can facilitatetheir evaluation of theservice performed by

the service providerand secondly theprocedures ofdelivering the service(sequential stepsinvolved in a servicedelivery).

4. Once customers aresatisfied, there is agood possibility thatthey would repeat the

purchase of the saidservice again infuture.

5. Here, communicationespecially throughsales promotion suchas coupons, purchasewith purchaseschemes anddiscounts can furtherenhance thepossibility of repeatpurchase taking place.

decision of consuminga service from yourorganisation even afterservice consumption).

2. Communication hereshould focus ondisseminatinginformation toreassure consumersthat they have made

the right choice.Media such asadvertisements andpersonal contact withsales representativecan facilitate thistask.

3. Once cognitivedissonance is reduced,there is a good chancethat there would be

positive word ofmouth and repeatpurchase.

4. Communications canplay an active role topromote positiveword-of-mouth such asgiving incentives suchas discounts orcommission for newcustomersrecommended.

5. Repeat purchase can bestimulated throughdiscounts, vouchers,premiums, andcoupons and alike.

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MARKETING COMMUNICATION MIX FORSERVICES

Now that we have looked at the roles of communication during the stages of thepurchase process, let us proceed to look at the communication tools that areavailable for the use of service organisations.

There are essentially two major components of communication tools that should be used integrative to optimise the effects of communication for services. Thesetwo components are services cape and promotion options (as depicted below).

Figure 6 1:

Servicecape

6.2

1. Explain the general and specific roles of marketing

communication for services.

2. If you are managing a hair saloon with a big number of loyalcustomers, what are the communication tools you wold use tostimulate positive word-of-mouth and repeat purchase.

SELF-CHECK 6.1

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(a) Servicescape

This is an important component of communication and it consists of boththe physical elements and human elements.

When communication programmes are developed it is essential to includeservice personnel in them. For example, Malaysian Airline System featurestheir air stewardess in their advertisements.

As the airline emphasises on high quality service, their stewardess via theirpersonality, smile and disposition displays it. As service personnel it is alsoyour duty to minimise the consumersÊ cognitive dissonance. Ensure that thecustomer is happy with the service you deliver to them. Make them feelthat they have made the right choice by purchasing the service from yourorganisation. Consequently, at the end of the service delivery process, getfeedback on your customerÊs level of satisfaction.

In addition, the human element the physical component is also an essentialcomponent of a service organisations communication programme. The physicalelements offer an excellent form of tangibilisation for an organisationÊs service.The physical element consists of the interior and exterior of the facility. Theyinclude decor, furnishings and equipment. These tangibles are useful toreinforce the service organisations communication efforts.

Figure 6 2: Promotion options

(b) Promotional Options

Now let us examine the second major component of communication tools.The promotional components here would include advertising, salespromotion and personal selling.

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(i) ADVERTISING: As advertising is public, it is able to reach a large numberof audiences simultaneously. Advertisements too are flexible as changes/modifications to their message, timing and media choices are possible. In

Malaysia we have observed how banks, hotels, airlines and educationalinstitutions advertise rather aggressively in both the electronic and printmedia.

Advertisements can perform the roles of informing, persuading,reminding and inducing action. Informative advertisements provideinformation on the price, location, service mix and operating hours.Persuasive advertisements are aimed at convincing consumers on themerits of the service offered from consumerÊs point of view. Reminderadvertisements facilitate consumers to recall the services they have

bought in the past and to enhance the image attached to a brand.Consequently, advertisements to induce actions would persuadeconsumers to buy a service or at the very least inquire about the serviceoffering.

Figure 6 3: Roles of Advertisements

It is also possible for you to use advertisements to manage servicecharacteristics. Advertisements can tangibilise a service by displaying

the physical elements (such as medical facilities and equipments of ahospital). Perishability can be reduced by informing consumers abouthigh demand and low demand period. Inseparability on the otherhand can be minimised through the automation of a service. Lastly,variability can be reduced through the industrialisation (throughhard, soft and hybrid technology) or customisation of a service.

(ii) S LES PROMO TION: Sales promotion can focus on either businessesor consumers. Sales promotion is gaining popularity in recent yearswith a much higher budget allocation compared to advertisements

because of the following reasons:

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The impact of sales promotion on sales is immediate.

Many brand varieties are available on the market and consumershave a choice and may want to occasionally switch brands.

Consumers are very receptive to sales promotion and at timesdemand for them.

The impact of advertisements are diminishing.

Many sales promotion options are available

Table 6.2 lists sales promotion options.

Table 6 2: Sales Promotion Options

Sales Promotion

Tools

Description

(a) Coupons They have a face value that allows a consumer to get a

reduction in price for that value, upon redemption. Can

be effective to stimulate sales.

(b) Premiums Consumers are given a free merchandise or service for

purchasing a service at a full price. Often used on regular

customers in appreciation of their loyalty. Effective to

induce trial purchase.

(c) Contests Consumers must perform an activity or make a purchase

to qualify for participation in a contest. Attractive prizes

can stimulate high participation.

(d) Sweepstakes Consumers can participate even without having to make

a purchase. A draw is carried out to determine the

winner.

(e) Frequencyprogrammes Aimed at rewarding current customer to establish loyaltyand repeat purchase.

(f) Price-offs Consumers pay a reduced price when they buy a service.

It can attract new buyers.

(g) Tie-ins Two or more goods/services are offered during the sales

promotion period. Can be done on an inter or intra

company basis. Effective to stimulate sales for the service.

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(iii) PERSONAL SELLING: Salespeople plays an important role of bridging between the customer and service organisation. Theyundertake different roles when a customer is in the prepurchase,

consumption and postpurchase stage.

In the prepurchase stage, a salesperson would disseminate sufficientinformation to help reduce a consumerÊs perceived risk. This in turnwould increase their purchase probability. Salespeople too can help to

build brand equity and enhance the image of the service organisation.

During the consumption stage, a salesperson can help to clarifyconsumerÊs expectations. This is achieved by disseminating sufficient,clear and accurate information about the service offered.

In the postpurchase phase salespeople play an important role of reducinga consumerÊs cognitive dissonance. They should reassure a consumerthat they have made a good decision by buying from your serviceorganisation. They should also ensure that the consumer receives whathas been promised to them. Only then customer satisfaction and repeatpuchase can be achieved. It is also the job of a salesperson to ensure thatthere is positive word of mouth among their consumers.

STEPS TO DEVELOP AN INTEGRATIVEMARKETING COMMUNICATIONPROGRAMME

Now we will proceed to see what are the steps you would have to undergo indeveloping an effective communication programme. According to Kurtz andClow (1998) there are eight steps and they are:

6.3

SELF-CHECK 6.2

1. Explain how elements of the servicescape and promotionoptions performs the role of communication.

2. Select a service of your choice and show how advertisement can be used to manage service characteristics.

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Figure 6 4: Steps to develop an integrative marketing communication programme

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Step 1: Identify the target market

Here, the target group for your communication efforts must be identified. Thereare essentially THREE major groups namely users, nonusers and deciders and

influencers. Customers of your service organisation are your users, nonusers can be individual or organisations who have not bought your service before or theymay be your competitorÊs customers. Deciders and influencers are those who arenot consumers of your service but may influence the purchase of your service.

Step 2: Identify the target purchase stage

At this stage there is a need to determine at which stage of the purchaseprocesses are your target market at? They can be at either the prepurchase stage,consumption stage or postpurchase stage.

Step 3: Identify consum ption value

Consumers would make a purchase based on their perceived value. Among thesevalues are the functional value, social value, emotional value, epistemic valueand conditional value. This is important because your communicationprogramme must address the consumption values of your target market.

Step 4: Set the com mu nication objective

The communication objective set must be appropriate for your target market andtheir purchase stage. When designing communication for the consumption andpostpurchase stage the major target market would be users followed byinfluencers and deciders.

Step 5: Determine consum er image position

Here there is a need to determine which image position your serviceorganisation wishes to occupy in the mind of their consumers. Among them areservice use, service attribute, price/quality relationship, service user, serviceusage etc. It is important for communication programmes to strengthen andreinforce this position as this is what consumers would associate with incarrying out their purchase.

Step 6 and 7: Un dertake the message design and select the promotion mix

These two steps should be executed together. The choice or promotional tool willdirectly influence the content decision for the message. It is common forcommunication programmes to use a combination of promotional tools, as theircombined effects are far more effective that using the tools as individuals. Choice ofpromotional tools would include advertising, sales promotion and personal selling.

Step 8: Evaluate the effectiveness of the comm unication programme

The final stage of the communication programme involves deciding on the mostsuitable method to measure the designed communication effects. Among the

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common methods discussed in marketing communication literature are recalltests, recognition tests, opinion tests and sales data.

Recall tests and recognition tests measures consumersÊ awareness of your serviceoffering. Here consumers would be asked to identify advertisements theyactually saw on television the previous day and they may be asked questions tomeasure the impact of the advertisement on them. Opinion tests on the otherhand measure consumerÊs attitude after they were exposed to the advertisement.Sales data before and after the communication programme was implementedwould also indicate the effectiveness of the said programme.

IMPLICATIONS OF INTERNET ONMARKETING COMMUNICATION

The subject of Internet is no longer alien to many of us today. Infact manypersonal computer users today tend to spend more time online then viewing thetelevision or reading printed materials (Lovelock, 2001). This signals the need forservice organisations to seriously consider the use of Internet as a medium toimplement their marketing communication programme to cater to this changingpattern of viewership among consumers.

To date there is already evidence on the growing realisation among marketerspertaining to this issue. Many marketers have responded to this change by

6.4

SELF-CHECK 6.3

Outline and explain the elements involved in developing an effectivecommunication programme.

As accountability is gaining importance in many organisations,identify and explain other methods that can be used to evaluate theeffectiveness of your communication programme.

ACTIVITY 6.2

Your college is going to launch a new postgraduate programme forsenior managers in the Klang Valley. Develop a communicationprogramme to facilitate this launching.

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making their presence on the web, developing creative web sites, advertising andsending customised mails through e-mails.

One factor that has drawn organisationÊs interests to Internet advertising is itÊsability to measure advertising effectiveness to precision. This is one factor that islacking in the traditional advertising media such as television, radio, display andprint. In these traditional medias it is rather difficult to accurately measureawareness, knowledge, preference, conviction, media exposure and consumerÊs

buying behaviour.

However through the Internet it is possible at a click of a button to measure thenumber of people who are exposed to your service organisationÊs advertisementand ascertain the number of people who actually click through youradvertisement to get more information. In fact there are softwares now thatenables individuals navigating into different websites to be tracked and theirduration of stay at those webs determined.

As a marketer you are able to use the Internet for communication purposes innumerous ways. For instance you may be able to elevate consumerÊs awarenessand interests in your services, disseminate information about your services,establish a two-way communication with you customers online/through e-mailand invite customers to place an order. Among these, the ability to develop atwo-way communication seems to fascinate service marketers most as it allowsyou as a service organisation to build a good rapport with you customers,

understand them better and it gives customers the freedom to shop at their owntime and pace.

Lastly, it is important for service organisations to ensure that web sites theycreate would be able to disseminate useful information to their customers,interesting enough to induce purchase and promote repeat visits. Only then willthis medium be valuable to them in complementing the traditional mediums thatare used concurrently.

ACTIVITY 6.3Log onto the Internet and choose any advertisement for a service thatyou are familir with. Lists down the content of the message that youare able to capture. Is is sufficient to make you buy the service orrepeat your visit again? In your opinion how can the advertisementon the web be made more interesting and rewarding.

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Informing, persuading and reminding are the general roles of marketingcommunication.

Specific communication roles in the prepurchase stage are: to influenceconsumer to speed up their purchase, make a purchase decision, minimizeconsumerÊs perceived risk and build an organisationÊs corporate image.

During the consumption stage, communication roles are aimed at enhancingcustomer satisfaction and promote repeat purchase.

Communication roles during the postpurchase stage are to reduce cognitivedissonance, promote positive-word-of-mouth and repeat purchase.

Services cape and promotional options are components of communicationtools that should be used integrative.

Services cape comprises of the human element and physical element.

Promotional options consists of advertising, sales promotion and personal selling.

There are eight steps to ensure the development of an effective communicationprogramme. They are: identify the target market, identify the target purchasestage, identify consumption value, set the communication objectives,determine image position, undertake the message design, select the promotionevaluate mix and the effectiveness of the communication programme.

Internet as a medium for marketing communication is gaining rapid popularity.For example web sites and e-mails are increasingly being used to communicatewith customers.

Communication roles: general and

specificInforming, persuading and reminding

Repeat purchase, positive-word-of-mouth

Stage in purchase process:prepurchase, consumption andpostpurchase.

Servicescape: human and physical

elementPromotion options: advertising, salespromotion and personal selling

Marketing communicationprogramme

Internet marketing/ advertising

Website

E-mails

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BOOKS

Kurtz, D. L., & Clow, K. E. (1998). Services marketing . New Jersey: John Wiley andSons.

Lovelock, C. (2001). Services marketing People, technology, strategy . New Jersey:Prentice Hall.

INTERNET RESOURCES

Champion Outdoor advertising (n.d.). [Electronic version]. Retrieved fromhttp://championoutdoorads.com/services.htm

Shinmamura, K. (n.d.). The role of integrated marketing communication on theinternet [Electronic version]. Retrieved from http://wwwciaadvertising.org/student_account/summer_01/kazues/project/IMC.htm

1. Discuss the specific communication roles during the prepurchase,

consumption and postpurchase stages.2. Assuming that you are the marketing manager for Mariotts

Putrajaya. How would you design your servicescape to gainconsumerÊs confidence in your service, extend their stay andpromote positive word of mouth.

3. What would be the choice of sales promotional tools you wouldrecommend to complement your servicescape discussed inQuestion 2 and why?

4. If you are given the task to develop an effective communication

programme for a commercial bank what would be your choice ofpromotional tools and content of your message for your potentialcustomers.

5. In your opinion could the Internet completely take over the rolesof traditional mediums of advertising in time to come? Justifyyour answer.

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