Chap 14: Integrated Service Marketing Communications

I. The need for coordination in marketing communication:

- Marketing communication today is more complex due to the multitude of channels available
to reach customers, including websites, social media, mobile advertising, blogs, and more.
- Customers are exposed to a variety of marketing vehicles, increasing the volume and
complexity of information they receive.
- Consistency across all communication channels is crucial, including both external
marketing communication and interactive marketing communication involving employees.
- Internal marketing communications must ensure that information given to employees aligns
with external messages received by customers.
- Integrated marketing campaigns are necessary for both business-to-business and
business-to-consumer scenarios to ensure consistent messaging.
- Lack of integration can lead to discrepancies between advertised services and actual
availability, as seen in the example of Subway sandwiches not being available despite
advertisements.
- Integrated marketing communications (IMC) involves coordinating all external
communication channels to build a strong brand identity.
- Integrated service marketing communications (ISMC) is even more complex for services,
as it requires coordination of both external and interactive communication channels, as well
as managing internal communication channels to ensure consistency.
- ISMC necessitates that everyone involved in communication understands the company's
marketing strategy and promises to consumers.
II. Key service communication challenges
- Discrepancies between communicated and perceived service quality strongly influence
consumer evaluations.
- Challenges contributing to these discrepancies include service intangibility, management of
service promises, customer expectations, customer education, and internal marketing
communication.
- Service intangibility presents difficulties in communication due to properties such as
incorporeal existence, abstractness, generality, nonsearchability, and mental impalpability.
- Intangible services make it hard for consumers to understand what they're purchasing,
differentiate between services, and evaluate their experiences.
- Consumers rely heavily on word-of-mouth communication for guidance when they perceive
high risk in service purchases, but this source isn't under the service provider's control.
Management of service promises:
- Failure to manage service promises can lead to discrepancies between what is promised
and what is delivered.
- This problem often arises when the part of the company making the promise lacks
necessary information.
- For instance, business-to-business salespeople may sell services before their availability is
confirmed, leading to uncertainty.
- Demand and supply fluctuations further complicate service provision predictions.
- Traditional functional structures within companies, often termed "silos," can hinder internal
communication about promises and delivery.
Management of customer expectations:
- Accurate communication about services is the joint responsibility of marketing and
operations.
- Marketing must effectively convey service offerings while operations must deliver what is
promised.
- For instance, when a management consulting firm introduces a new service, marketing and
sales should present it as superior without raising unrealistic expectations.
- If expectations are set too high, actual encounters may disappoint customers.
- Some companies must manage customer expectations downward, such as airlines
cancelling flights and charging for food or credit card companies withdrawing services when
interest rates drop.
- In such scenarios, managing customer expectations becomes crucial.
Customer education:
- Service companies must educate their customers to prevent disappointment and
dissatisfaction.
- Customers often hold the service provider responsible for any errors or problems, even if
they are caused by the customer's misunderstanding.
- High-involvement services, particularly those with credence properties, require educating
customers on evaluation criteria and service processes.
- Novice customers, such as first-time home buyers, may not fully comprehend complex
service processes and require detailed education at each step.
- Overview or instruction manuals are often insufficient for high-involvement services,
leading to customer defection.
- In services with asynchronous demand and supply, informing customers about demand
peaks and valleys can prevent service overload or underutilized capacity.
Internal marketing communication:
- Internal marketing communication is crucial for coordinating various functions within the
organization, such as marketing and operations, to ensure quality service provision.
- Effective horizontal communication across functions is essential, as service advertising and
personal selling promise actions performed by individuals.
- Poor internal communication poses a risk to perceived service quality, as operations may
not be aligned with marketing promises.
- Even service organizations that don't advertise still require internal coordination for quality
service delivery.
- Horizontal communication is needed between sales and service providers, as well as
between human resources and marketing departments.
- Employees must be informed and motivated to meet customer expectations for excellent
service delivery.
- Lack of communication from marketing and sales personnel to contact employees can
negatively impact service quality.
- Consistency in policies and procedures across departments and branches is vital for
providing service excellence.
- Customers expect similar performance across outlets of the same service organization,
and deviations due to autonomy in procedures and policies may affect service quality.
III. Five categories of strategies to match service promises with delivery