Difference Between Product Marketing and Service Marketing

There are several forms of marketing, as you may already know. Were you aware that product and service marketing are not the same? Indeed, the two are very different from one another. The explanations and distinctions below should be easy for you to comprehend.

You must know the meaning of Service and Product Marketing before going on to the distinctions. Let's discuss each briefly:

Product Marketing: What is it?

Product marketing refers to the process of coordinating marketing initiatives with a specific product for a given market niche. Tangible things, or anything that people can see, feel, or touch, are the focus of the product marketing sector. In order to get favorable reviews from consumers, the strategy searches for the best market to place the items in. A marketing campaign is aimed at reaching out to potential and current consumers with the goal of selling merchandise.

Product, Price, Place, and Promotion are the four Ps (4Ps) of marketing that helps to describe product marketing. Customers are the primary focus of this type of marketing. For this reason, the process of providing the product, getting customer feedback, and doing a market study are all included in product marketing. Product marketing finds suitable markets and locations for the items to speed up customer pleasure as part of this process.

A product is advertised directly as well as indirectly to possible buyers. Product marketing involves a variety of tasks, such as market analysis, estimating customer demand, product development, pricing, pitching, advertising, positioning, distribution, selling, reviewing, and gathering feedback. Books, cell phones, clothing, and other tangible goods are a few instances of product marketing items.

Service Marketing: What is it?

Service marketing refers to a specialized marketing area that aims to promote intangible services rather than physical products. Service is when someone does a task for another person and gets paid for it. Services are intangible. Since intangible items cannot be felt, smelled, or tasted, there is no way to compare tangible products with intangible services. Besides, the services are neither transferable to another person nor owned.

A service marketer is often a company or organization that advertises to consumers about its offerings. Service marketing addresses the issues or challenges that clients encounter. This activity includes marketing, i.e., directed at both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C). Since these are immaterial services, there is usually no return policy for them.

Product marketing typically includes the 4Ps, but service marketing goes beyond adding the 7Ps. The well-known marketing formula, which consists of Product, Price, Place, and Promotion, is known as the "4Ps". In the context of service marketing, only people, processes, and tangible proof matter. This type of marketing makes it impossible to evaluate the caliber of the services.

The Distinctions Between Product and Service Marketing

The following are some notable differences between both:

1. Physical and Non-Physical

Patterns or strategies used in both product and service marketing are distinct. Since products are physical and can be touched, seen, felt, tasted, smelt, etc., numerous marketing strategies are used to sell them. For intangible services, however, marketing strategies could be more varied as the client needs assistance in perceiving, detecting, tasting, or smelling advantages.

Product marketing may be carried out by showcasing and exhibiting them, but services are the only thing that can be experienced. Therefore, the ways in which products and services are marketed vary. For instance, the service provider is not permitted to promote a telephone service, while the vendor is permitted to exhibit and sell ready-to-eat goods. It is just something that can be experienced.

2. Possession

Products can have their ownership transferred or modified. It is also possible to resell goods or products to other people. However, you are not allowed to resell the service that someone else used. Put simply, a product may be sold again, but a service cannot.

Products like automobiles, real estate (residential or commercial), machinery, etc., can all be sold again or have their ownership changed at the request of the owner. However, as the service has already been used, you cannot resell it or give ownership to someone else after you acquire a degree, undergo surgery, or have your hair trimmed by a hairdresser.

3. The Two Offer Quality in Various Ways

Both service marketers and product marketers must undoubtedly provide high-quality work. It is the producer's responsibility to keep their goods up to par. The raw material and technique employed determine the product quality. Since the machine and the material are inanimate items that are just resources for the business, it is possible for it to alter and innovate with both. But in terms of service, things are different.

Because service providers are people, and people differ from one another, every service provider is unique in terms of what they offer. The only factors that determine service quality are the customer's personalization, the service provider's training and expertise, and the customer's drive. According to experts, clients value customized services that are tailored to their individual demands.

4. While the Consumer Arrives for Service, the Products Come to Them

When a product is sold, the client can take it with them or keep it, but when a service is provided, the customer must visit the service provider in order to use or experience it. Thus, "the customer goes to service, whereas the product goes to the customer."

The explanation is straightforward: a service and its supplier are inextricably linked. An illustration might help you to comprehend the statement, "When you buy a car, you bring the car home with you, so that is how the products come to the customer." On the other hand, you have to see a surgeon, barber, or service provider for a haircut or operation. Due to the inseparability of the service and the service provider, it's the location where the consumer must visit.

5. Differences in Scalability

Simply raising product production to satisfy consumer demands, expanding product distribution, boosting sales, and interacting with a rising number of clients may all contribute to the ease of scaling up a production firm. However, it is more difficult to scale a service-based firm in comparison to a product-based firm.

It will take a lot of time and money to hire new employees and to train, motivate, and induct them into the workforce. The biggest loss a service provider faces is losing its current pool of qualified and experienced workers, so in order to achieve this goal, the providers will need to expand their team of experienced or trained service providers.

6. Services are Personalized, While Products are Uniform

Manufacturers and producers design products according to the needs of the particular product, the middle segment of the market, and the target market. Because items are inspected by the relevant agencies prior to being released into the market, manufacturers are required to uphold the quality of their products.

Maintaining the standard is necessary to ensure that the market, consumers, and regulators do not outlaw the product. Services, however, function in the opposite manner. When it comes to taking the service, each consumer is unique. As a result, the agency offers services based on the requirements and preferences of every client. This is known as tailoring a service to a customer's needs.

For instance, in order to sustain sales, a biscuit manufacturer producing delectable chocolate cream biscuits must ensure that they uphold standards for hygiene, appearance, presentation, taste, and product quality. The product will be inspected prior to release into the market. Besides, the doctors must tailor their care to each patient's needs since each patient will require a different course of therapy depending on their particular condition.

7. Value Added for the Clients

A consumer searches inside the product's box for the value he paid for the purchase. That's where he discovers the product since he understands that the raw materials chosen and processed to give him the desired result determine the product's quality. For instance, a client must pay a fee to purchase and use soap or television.

When a consumer purchases a service, nevertheless, he searches for reimbursements from the amount he spent to purchase it over the counter or from the service provider in question. These service providers might be any individual-a financial advisor, a specialist physician, a server at a restaurant, etc., or an organization. Each service provider's level of quality varies and is mostly determined by how the business hires, develops, and encourages them to continue offering the necessary services.

Difference Table