The three main pillars of Service Marketing
In order to successfully implement a service marketing plan, you as a service marketing manager need to pay special attention to three important elements. The first element is your company itself. This includes how the company is branded and positioned. The second important factor is the employees or sometimes referred to as the providers in your company. The third element is your customers. These three elements form the three corners of a triangle which is called the service marketing triangle.
How does the service marketing triangle help you?
We as marketers are bombarded with different data types and elements that need to take care of in our marketing plan. The service marketing triangle points out the fact that along with all the considerations that need to be taken care of, the company and customers and employees are of extra importance. The interplay between these corners creates three forms of marketing that can be thought of as subsets of your overall service marketing plan. Below I have explained these three subsets of marketing.
Company and Customers: External Marketing
This subset is the one that comes to mind when we think of marketing in general and service marketing in particular. Company and customers form two corners of the service marketing triangle and need to be paid attention to by the service marketer. External marketing includes all the activities that the service marketer performs to position her company favorably in her customers’ minds. In developing external marketing you need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your company and then try to gather a thorough understanding of your customers. You need to know their preferences, their way of thinking, how they solve their problems, what challenges they face in their life. Then you can match your strengths with your customers ’ expectations and communicate the way in which you can solve their problems.
Company and Employees: Internal Marketing
Marketing is not only about communicating your brand promise to your end-users, but it also involves making your employees aware of your brand identity, your values, and your culture. You try all these to make sure employees know and feel your brand. They are an important stakeholder in your business and keeping them satisfied will help you achieve better results and win more business. Companies are not only fighting to attract more customers, but they are also fighting to find competent employees and then trying to retain them. You as a service marketer need to have plans for your employees and run communication programs with the aim of boosting their spirit regarding your brand.
Employees and Customer: Interactive Marketing
Employees are the final touchpoint your customers come into contact with when they purchase your service. You need to make sure that they treat customers well and in a consistent manner. Internal marketing precedes interactive marketing and if internal marketing is done well, the interactive marketing will run smoothly and customers will remain satisfied with your business.
To sum up:
The service marketing triangle includes Customers, companies, and employees. The interaction between each of these stakeholders creates a new subset of marketing.
