The Four I’s of Service Marketing

One of the fundamental tenants of marketing is the concept of the 4 P’s: Product, Promotion, Placement and Price.  Although this is a very useful framework for product marketing, it doesn’t always translate directly to service marketing.

To frame service marketing in a similar manner, we can use a couple more letters of the alphabet.

The 4 I’s define the service offering, which can be managed with the 3 R’s.

The Four I's of Service Marketing

The Four I’s of Service Marketing

1. Intangibility
   Services are inherently experiential.  They will typically involve some sort of accompanying product, also known as the facilitating good; however, the primary value to the consumer is intangible
2. Inconsistency
   Service delivery is prone to inconsistency.  The most successful service brands will often invest heavily in training and quality control programs in an attempt to reduce inconsistency.
3. Inseparability
   In addition to being intangible, a service is also inherently inseparable from the service delivery vehicle.  It involves a necessary ‘touch point’ with the customer that is necessarily linked to the service itself.
4. Inventory
   Although services may be linked to a facilitating good, inventory associated with a service is perishable.

The Three R’s of Service Quality

A useful framework for maintaining service quality is to focus on the following:

1. Reliability
   Whether product or service, the foundation of any strong brand is reliability.  The customer must know that when they interact with the service offering that they will receive reliable service.  That can only be controlled through training, quality standards, and measurement.  A service-based brand can only survive based on a reliable offering.
2. Responsiveness
   A service offering necessarily requires a back-and-forth between the customer and the supplier.  The supplier must ensure that the customer’s expectations for responsiveness are met, or the customer will start to look for alternatives.  A service-based brand doesn’t need to be the fastest, but it must be consistent or the customer will become anxious.
3. Respect
   Once a service offering is consistently reliable and responsive, it is the ‘respect’ that separates the premium service offerings from the rest of the field.  A customer who feels respected will be more satisfied and loyal.

As service-based businesses become more and more important in our economy, marketers must be aware of the inherent differences in managing the customer experience.  Creating a Reliable, Responsive, and Respectful service offering will increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and will ultimately lead to a more profitable business!

Chris McPhee, MBA
Email: Chris.McPhee@Marketing-Matters.org