August 27

When we talk about marketing products, we address the 4 Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. Christopher Lovelock, another marketing guru who has written a number of textbooks often focused on service marketing, offers the 8Ps of integrated service management -- that is, the eight kinds of decisions managers have to make when marketing services. They are: Product elements -- all the components of the service performance that create value for customers. Place and time -- management deicsions about when, where, and how to deliver services to customers. Process -- the steps that need to occur in a defined sequence to deliver the service. Productivity and quality -- Productivity is how efficiently service inputs are transformed into outputs that add value for customers. Quality is the degree to which a service satisfies customers by meeting their needs, wants, and expectations (the three are different). People - Personnel (and sometimes other customers) who are involved in service production. Promotion and education -- All the communication activities and incentives designed to build customer preference for a specific service or service provider. Physical evidence -- Visual or other tangible clues that provide evidence of service quality. Price and other costs of service -- Expenditures of money, time, and effort that customers incur in purchasing and consuming services.

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