Physical Evidence in Services Marketing Essay

serve marketing Mix refers to the combination of marketing activities an organization engages in to promote and sell in perceptible services, as opposed to tangible produces. Marketing professionals and specialist use many tactics to attract and retain their customers. These activities found of different concepts, the most important one being the marketing motley. Marketing strategy is integrated with the marketing program, or marketing mix. The marketing mix traditionally includes variables such as price, reaping, promotion, and place.For this reason, the marketing mix deals more with implementation, and is not defined specifically as part of marketing strategy. Marketing mix is frequently used in combination with strategy to help marketing managers promote their product and/or service and it provides a useful framework for decision-making. The first P, product, in the marketing mix involves determining the products or services to offer for sale. The product country is conce rned with developing the right product for the target market. (Perrault & McCarthy, 2004, p. 38). The product refers to tangible products and intangible services.Marketing research is vital in developing the marketing mix and continues throughout the marketing process. Research allows the business to discover what products or services the consumer wants, needs or desires. If you dont understand what the market needs first, you stick outt possibly put the Ps to work effectively (Scott, 2004,). The services marketing mix is an extension of the 4-Ps framework. The essential elements of product, promotion, price and place remain just three additional variables people, physical evidence and process are included to 7Ps mix.The need for the extension is due to the high degree of check contact between the providers and the customers, the highly visible nature of the service process, and the simultaneity of the production and consumption. While it is possible to discuss people, physica l evidence and process at bottom the original-Ps framework (for example people mess be considered part of the product offering) the extension allows a more thorough analysis of the marketing ingredients necessary for prosperous services marketing.People because of the simultaneity of production and consumption in services the staff occupy the key position in influencing customers perceptions of product quality. In fact the service quality is inseparable from the quality of service provider. An important marketing task is to set standards to improve quality of services provided by employees and monitor their performance. Without training and control employees tend to be variable in their performance leading to variable service quality.In addition to the quartet Ps of traditional product marketingproduct, price, place and promotionthe services marketing mix includes the three Ps of service marketingpeople, process and physical evidence. The Services Marketing Mix is in like mann er referred to as the Extended Marketing Mix. The Four Ps In his seminal book, Basic Marketing A Managerial Approach, E. Jerome McCarthy introduced the four Ps classification system that is the cornerstone of traditional marketing. Product refers to the tangible and intangible benefits of a product or service, and how it meets customers needs.Price refers to the appropriateness of the pricing anatomical structure of a product or service. Place refers to the availability to customers of a product or service. Promotion refers to efforts to make a target audience aware of a product or service. People Unlike products, which are consumed independently from the individuals responsible for creating them, people play an integral role in the consumption of services. Customer comfort for services consumption is based upon the quality of interactions with the personnel who provide the service.In addition to skills and knowledge relative to the provision of services, services personnel must a lso have an aptitude for interpersonal communication. Process Process refers to the systems an organization implements in order to facilitate the bringing of services. Efficient and effective processes allow service delivery personnel to anticipate customer needs, identify and implement appropriate solutions, and respond to customer feedback in order to improve service delivery. Service delivery processes can improve customer satisfaction, increase customer retention, and increase the value of a service offering.Physical Evidence Physical evidence refers to the tangible and intangible elements that comprise the environment in which services are delivered. Tangible aspects of service delivery are the physical elements of the service environment that influence customer thinkings about the overall service. For example, a clean and comfortable restaurant interior can improve customers perceptions of the dining experience. Intangible aspects of service deliverysuch as reputation and t he opinions of other customersare the immaterial elements of the service environment that influence customer perceptions.