People, Processes and Physical Evidence

These marketing strategies are designed for SERVICE organisations specifically.  

Customers can easily inspect a physical product prior to purchase. They know precisely what they are getting.

BUT - This cannot occur for a service based business; you cannot inspect the results of a physiotherapy session before it happens. This means that consideration must be given to aspects of the service as a part of their marketing. 

Because customers enter into the premises, service businesses must create a ‘servicescape’ or internal environment that provides a good experience for customers. 

Three elements to consider are People, Processes and Physical Evidence.

People: 

Service businesses deliver their services in the presence of the customer. This service is delivered by a human being (employees of the business). 

The friendliness, cleanliness, level of expertise, and accessibility of staff is a vital factor in the marketing (perception management). Poor experiences are spoken about, damaging the brand and sales. 

This ‘P’ is directly interdependent with Human Resources (recruitment, training, performance management).

Processes:

Service businesses deliver their services in the presence of the customer. The processes that take place to serve customers within the business are important in creating a positive perception of the business.

The speed of service, the wait times, the difficulty of accessing or using the service are all things to be considered to ensure positive customer experience.

This ‘P’ is directly interdependent with Operations (layout, technology, task design, inputs, transformational processes)

Physical Evidence:

Customers cannot inspect the final output of service prior to their delivery. This means that customers have to pay for the service with no certainty as to the quality of the output. In order to reduce the perception of risk for customers, service businesses can invest capital and time into creating ‘physical evidence’ that the service will be of high quality.

The interior design and style of décor, the carpark and signage, the quality of materials used all provide a signal to customers of quality (or lack of quality). For example, if a furniture retailer spends heaps on advertising, but if the sign is broken and weeds are growing outside, this physical evidence of poor quality will counter the advertising.

This ’P’ is interdependent with operations (premises / technology), human resources (cleanliness of staff - see People) and finance (capital expenditure in physical presentation).