Customers all over the world require a variety of services and goods to satisfy their day to day needs and wants. Both goods and needs are designed by marketers to fulfill the unique taste and preference of customers. However, services and goods differ in various ways and the common factor that distinguishes a consumer product from a service is tangibility. For instance, when a customer buys his favorite brand of shirt, he can feel, handle and ultimately consume it by wearing. On the other hand, a tour service a client gets from a tour operator can neither be felt nor handled the way a consumer would do with a consumer good, but at the same time the client can enjoy or consume the service at a particular point of time. Both marketers of services and goods greatly depend on science and technology to give impeccable service to their customers. Mobile technology and the internet are commonly used by marketers to reach out to their customers quickly and effectively. Heavy competition along with global nature of business and changing consumer preferences influence marketers of both services and consumer goods to explore innovative ways to reach out to the consumers through making effective use of technology.
Philip Kotler, eminent authority in marketing management, says that a product promoted by a marketer through its various characteristics that are tangible ultimately satisfies the needs and wants of the end users (Kotler & Armstrong, 2014). Products have various physical attributes like size, shape and smell as they are manufactured and supplied to the customers. On the other hand, services are neither produced nor supplied to the customers through distributors. Interestingly, services encompass a variety of activities that are difficult to comprehend. For instance, when a client stays in a hotel for a week, the service he enjoys is made valuable and effective through various individuals, right from the reception clerk to the laundry man. In short, a service is made effective through diverse efforts, actions and performance of individuals at various levels. An individual, who buys a product, say a computer, is the owner of the product after the sale is closed while a person who stays in a luxury hotel for a week does not own anything tangible after he leaves the hotel.
The physical nature of consumer goods makes it possible for marketers to store and sell. Services cannot be stored for a future day and are perishable if not availed when accessible. For instance, a dentist willing to provide service in his clinic would lose his business if no one turns up during a day. In short, time value is crucial in providing services. A product manufactured at one place can be distributed throughout the world and sold whereas a service is consumed where it originates. Also products maintain their similarity irrespective of the place from where they are bought while services seem to differ from place to place. For example, a car bought anywhere in the world shares similarities with cars bought elsewhere; however, a hotel in New York can give an entirely different service from a hotel in London.
Technological innovation, particularly mobile phone and internet technology, influences the marketing of services and goods to a great deal. Advanced communication technology helps marketers to quickly connect to their customers and introduce their products and offerings. For instance, popular online stores and mobile banking are certain popular examples to show how products and services can effectively and conveniently reach customers through the application of technology. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have made it possible for customers to connect with the rest of the world to share their views about products and services promoted by marketers from across the world. Technology saves considerable time and efforts of marketers to reach consumers. Amazon’s efforts to deliver goods to customers through drones within the quickest possible time is a classic example demonstrating how companies can explore opportunities to provide impeccable customer experience by making use of science and technology.
Reference
Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2014). Principles of Marketing. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
