Traditional marketing involves the marketing of a company's product to a group of potential customers. However, in today's economy it is the service sector that is becoming increasing important. To set services marketing in the context of the current economic climate the module will cover the history of consumption and the nature of the modern consumer.
When studying services marketing, there are particular characteristics of services that make them difficult to precisely define. The main issue being that there is a lack of tangibility or substance to focus upon, unlike traditional marketing thought where the emphasis is on the tangible product. The emphasis on the intangibility of the service introduces a new set of variables and issues into the marketing equation. The services marketing concept combines customer focus, coordinated marketing and profitability.
The focus of the module will be on understanding that not all services are the same and therefore it is important to understand the characteristics of different types of service organisations and how marketing objectives and strategies need to be tailored to address these points. In addition the module will also address the key issues within relationship marketing, in particular both the opportunities and limitations presented within relationship marketing.
|