Marketing is the process of distribution of products and services in order to satisfy the needs and wants of the individuals and also achieving the organizational objectives. Marketing can be of two types, product marketing, and service marketing. Both of these types of marketing are unique and need to have sufficient knowledge in order to achieve success (Boone and Kurtz, 1998).
Product marketing means the marketing of the goods to the customers. It considers the 4Ps of marketing, which are the product, pricing, placement, and promotion. It is a job function within a firm and deals with more outbound marketing responsibilities. It mainly considers important aspects like the product line that has to be offered to the customers, the target customers that have to be served, the major distribution channels that have to be used, and also about the distinctive characteristics of the products that make the products different from that of the competitors. Service marketing is used to market a service and is based on the relationship and value with the customers. Its main characteristics include lack of ownership, intangibility, inseparability, perishability, and heterogeneity. In service marketing in addition to the 4Ps, three more Ps are also considered, which include the people, physical environment, and the process (Lingham, 2006).
Service marketing is different from product marketing in the sense that in product marketing, more focus is given to make available the products to maximum people as possible. Only physical distribution is possible in product marketing and the product can be sold or shipped to different geographical locations. Broad marketing strategies are designed and adapted so that the product is reached a wide variety of audiences. Usually, mass-marketing techniques, in-store promotions, and direct mail strategies are adopted to attract customers. While marketing a product, in the initial stage it is important to identify a demographic area in which the products have to be marketed and in the later stage, anyone can access that product. In service marketing, instead of tangible goods, we are marketing an intangible product, which is the service we are providing in the form of our expertise, capabilities, reliability, and commitment to providing excellent service. The customer is making payment for the service rendered and not for any delivery of physical products. So in the case of service marketing, adequate attention must be given to selecting the target customers at each stage which otherwise will prove costly in the long run. Service is much more customized when compared to products and because of this reason its marketing is also difficult. More and more modifications have to be made in the service depending upon the requirements of the customers (The Difference Between Marketing a Product and a Service, 2008).
In product marketing, initially, a budget is set and has to stick to it, and it will be easy to calculate. But in service marketing, re-negotiation has to be made with the customers in order to fix the marketing costs. Therefore the services are more difficult to price and in the initial stages, extra money and time have to be spent to decide the price of the service. In service marketing, it is difficult to compare the quality of similar services and there is no possibility for the buyer to return the service once provided. Service marketing is mainly dependent on communication with the customer that means how far you can communicate and pursue the customer in accessing the service. Mass marketing services usually do not suit service marketing (Marketing a Service Small Business, 2008).
Even though there are many differences between product and service marketing, there happen to be some unexpected similarities between both. The basic marketing principles apply to both types of marketing and are indispensable to start the process, which begins by asking basic questions like, “what is my market?” and “why is it buying?”. There are some additional techniques, which could be applied to both service and product marketing. Service marketing is relationship marketing since it depends on the relationship with the customers and in the case of product marketing; this strategy is applicable in the case of some major product brands (Berman and Sharon, 2002).
Bibliography
Berman., and Sharon. (2002). Product Service Marketing Often Similar. [online]. Los Angeles Business Journal. Web.
BOONE., and Kurtz. (1998).What is Marketing? [online]. Marketing on the Internet.
LINGHAM, Leo. (2006). Marketing. [online]. All Experts: Marketing.
Marketing a Service Small Business. (2008). [online]. PowerHomeBiz.com: Making Small Business Do Big Business.
The Difference between Marketing a Product and a Service. (2008). [online]. BusinessKnowledgeSource.com.