16-1

Part 6

MANAGING
SERVICE
PROMISES
 16-2

Provider Gap 4
 16-3

Key Factors Leading to Provider Gap 4

 Chapter16-4
Integrated Services Marketing 16
Communications
 The Need for Coordination in Marketing
Communication

 Key Service Communication Challenges

 Five Categories of Strategies to Match

Service Promises with Delivery

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 16-5

Objectives for Chapter 16:

Integrated Services Marketing Communications
 Discuss the key service communication
challenges.
 Introduce the concept of integrated service
marketing communications.
 Discuss ways to integrate marketing
communications in service organizations.
 Present specific strategies for addressing service
intangibility, managing promises, managing
customer expectations, educating customers, and
managing internal communications.
 16-6

Communications and the Services

Marketing Triangle
 16-7

Integrated Services Communications

 Integrated Services Communications
 a strategy that carefully integrates all external and internal
communication channels to present a consistent message to
customers
 This means coordination across:
 sales and service people
 print
 Internet
 other forms of tangible communication including the servicescape
 How is this done in services?
 advertising  public relations
 sales presentations  pricing
 service encounters with employees  service guarantees
 servicescape and other tangibles  customer education
 Internet and web presence
 16-8

Five Major Approaches to Overcome

Service Communication Channels

(1) Approaches for Addressing
Service Intangibility
 Use narrative to
demonstrate the service
experience
 Present vivid information
 Use interactive imagery
 Focus on the tangibles
 Use brand icons to make
the service tangible
 Use association, physical
representation,
documentation, and
visualization
 Feature service employees
in communication
16-9
 Use buzz or viral marketing
 Leverage social media
 Aim messages to
influencers
 Create advertising that
generates talk because it is
humorous, compelling, or
unique
 Feature satisfied
customers in the
communication
 Generate word-of-mouth
through employee
relationships
 16-10

Services Advertising Strategies Matched

with Properties of Intangibility
 16-11

(2) Approaches for Managing Service

Promises
 Create a strong service brand

 Coordinate external communication

 16-12

Service Branding Model

 16-13

(3) Approaches for Managing Customer

Expectations
 Make realistic promises

 Offer service guarantees

 Offer choices

 Create tiered-value service offerings

 Communicate the criteria and levels of

service effectiveness
 16-14

(4) Approaches for Managing Customer

Education
 Prepare customers for the service process

 Confirm performance to standards and

expectations

 Clarify expectations after the sale

 Teach customers to avoid peak demand

periods and to seek slow demand periods
 16-15

(5) Approaches for Managing Internal

Marketing Communication
 Create effective vertical communications
 Sell the brand inside the company
 Create effective upward communication
 Create effective horizontal communications
 Align back-office and support personnel with
external customers through interaction or
measurement
 Create cross-functional teams of sales, service,
and operations people when developing new
services or engaging in service improvements
 Maintain a customer focus throughout all functions
 16-16

Interactive Imagery: Travelers

 16-17

Service Brand Icon: The GEICO Lizard

 16-18

Focusing on Tangibles Associated with

the Service: The Sierra Club
 16-19

Best Practices for Closing the

Communication Gap (Gap 4)
 Employing integrated services marketing
communication strategies around everything
and everyone that sends a message or
signal.
 Manage customer expectations effectively
throughout the experience.
 Develop mechanisms for internal
communication to avoid over-promising and
ensure successful delivery.
 16-20

DHL’s Integrated Marketing Campaign

Source: http://www.newdhl.com/advertising.asp?cid=dhlbt1hmpg1
 16-21

DHL’s Outdoor Advertising

 16-22

DHL’s Print Advertising

 16-23

DHL’s Print Advertising Links to

Employees
 16-24

Service Brand Icons

 16-25

“Relax, It’s FedEx” Campaign

 Campaign objective:
 demonstrate that FedEx’s portfolio of services will help
businesses meet their needs more effectively
 Aimed at all businesses:
 from small businesses to corporate customers
 Integrated marketing communications campaign
involves TV, print, and radio ads
 the message: the reliability that customers have come to
expect is now more certain than ever, so they can “relax”
 16-26

FedEx Print Advertisements

Ad copy:

Keeping costs down is the most

important thing.
Right after the 107 other things.
Give your customers what they want, when
they want it with FedEx Ground and the vast
FedEx® transportation portfolio. It's a
variety of services that is sure to meet your
variety of transportation needs. Like giving
you product visibility throughout the delivery
process via FedEx InSight® so you can
increase customer expectations and
customer service all while keeping costs
down. To find out everything we can do for
you call 1.800.Go.FedEx
(1.800.463.3339).

distribution.fedex.com/01

Relax, it's FedEx.

 16-27

FedEx Print Advertisements

Ad copy:

Make your customers happy, even

when they're not.
Turn dissatisfied customers into
customers who come back. FedEx Ground
and the FedEx® transportation portfolio
can give you a returns process that's easy
for your customers and cost effective for
you. Giving the customer what they want,
when they want is a must. No matter how
many tries it takes. To find out what we
can do for you call 1.800.Go.FedEx
(1.800.463.3339).

retail.fedex.com/03

Relax, it's FedEx.

 16-28

FedEx Website

 www.fedex.com
 easy to use
 ties in with whole value proposition of campaign
 Print ads drive customers to websites with
information on how FedEx provides
solutions for specific industries:
 retail, wholesale, apparel
 16-29

Sports Sponsorship

 Does not tie in directly with the “Relax, It’s FedEx”

campaign, but increases brand awareness
 16-30

FedEx: Metrics for IMC Campaign

 FedEx must be able to evaluate the

effectiveness of integrated marketing
communication campaign
 customer surveys and focus groups about brand
awareness
 number of telephone inquiries
 number of website hits and click-throughs
 number of shipments by customer segment
 growth in sales since campaign inception
 16-31

FedEx: IMC Campaign Effectiveness

 Consistency of message
 Use narratives to demonstrate service
experience
 Presents vivid information
 Promises what is possible
 Encourages word-of-mouth communication
 Indirectly features service customers
 16-32

FedEx: Internal Communications

 Service employees must be well versed in what
ads are promising
 Knowledge of services offered across the
organization
 call centers
 web design
 e-mail response mechanisms
 InSight (new service offered)
 Cross-functional communication
 operations
 public relations/marketing