服务营销.[英文原版].ChristopherLovelock.chapter6

Chapter 6 Educating Customers and Promoting the Value Proposition Life is for one generation; a good name is forever —JAPANESE PROVERB Education costs money but then so does ignorance. —SIR CLAUS MOSER Communication is the most visible or audible—some would say intrusive--of marketing activities, but its value is limited unless it is used intelligently in conjunction with other marketing efforts. An old marketing axiom says that the fastest way to kill a poor product is to advertise it heavily. By the same token, an otherwise well-researched and well-planned marketing strategy, designed to deliver, say, new Web-based services at a reasonable price, is likely to fail if people lack knowledge of the service, how to access it, and how to use it to best advantage. It's for good reason that we define the marketing communication element of the 8 Ps as Promotion and education. Through communication, marketers explain and promote the value proposition that their firm is offering. They inform existing or prospective customers in the target segments about service features and benefits, price and other costs, the channels through which service is delivered, and when and where it is available. Where appropriate, they marshal persuasive arguments for using a particular service and seek to create preference for selecting their firm's brand. And through both personal instructions from customer contact employees and use of educational tools, marketers seek to help customers make well-informed choices and become effective participants in service delivery processes. Much confusion surrounds the scope of marketing communication. Some people still define this element of the services marketing mix too narrowly. Communicatio...