Chapter 17 Chapter 15 Service is the Essence of Product Competition

One of the major megatrends of recent years has been the astonishing growth of the services sector.In most Asian countries and regions, the output value of the service industry accounts for an increasing proportion of GNP. Poor product quality can hurt a business, but when people buy a product, they cannot judge the quality of a product from its appearance.However, consumers can witness the service of the enterprise in contact with the sales staff.Kotler reminded enterprises that they should regard the service of supporting products as the main means of gaining competitive advantage.It turns out that consumers prefer to buy from businesses with better service.

One day, the customer service department of General Motors of the United States received a letter, "This is the second time I have written about the same matter, and I will not blame you for not replying to me, because I also feel that others will think I am crazy. Yes, but it's true. My family buys ice cream for dessert every night after dinner. But ever since I bought a GM Pontiac, the problem has happened. Whenever I buy vanilla, My car won't start when I come out of the store. But if I buy other flavors, it starts fine. I'm very serious about this, even though it sounds weird: why does it stop when I buy vanilla ice cream , and whenever I buy other flavors, it's fine? Why?"

In fact, the general manager of customer service was suspicious of the letter, but he sent an engineer to check it out.When the engineer went to the man, he was surprised to find that the letter was from a successful, optimistic, highly educated man.The engineer made an appointment with the man to drive to the ice cream shop together after dinner.When they bought vanilla ice cream and returned to the car, it was ridiculous that the car would not start.The engineer followed up with an appointment for three more nights. The first night, chocolate ice cream, the car was fine. The second night, strawberry ice cream, the car is fine.

On the third night, vanilla ice cream, the car would not start again. The engineer, who thought logically, was still not convinced that the car was allergic to vanilla.Therefore, he still does not give up and continues to arrange the same itinerary, hoping to solve this problem.The engineer began to record all kinds of detailed information from the beginning to the present, such as the time, the type of oil used by the car, the time when the car was driven out and back... For the record, it takes less time to buy vanilla ice cream than other flavors.Because vanilla ice cream is the best-selling of all flavors, in order to allow customers to pick it up quickly every time, the store specially places the vanilla flavor at the front of the store; while other flavors are placed at the back.

So, the engineer immediately thought, why does the car fail because of the short time from turning off to reactivating?The reason is clear, not because of the vanilla ice cream, but because of the car's "vapor lock". Because when buying other flavors of ice cream, the time is longer, the engine has enough time to dissipate heat, and there is no big problem when restarting.When buying the vanilla flavor, because it takes less time, the engine is too hot to allow the "vapor lock" to have enough time to dissipate heat. That's it. Perhaps the "customer is always right" view is a bit of a stretch.But if you ignore customer feedback, even seemingly absurd feedback may be the real feeling of customers in the process of using products and services.GM's success lies in its ability to pay attention to every subtle feedback from customers-even if it sounds unreliable like "vanilla ice cream".

According to Kotler, it seems easy to occupy the market, but it is not so easy to consolidate the market.If you can't consolidate the market, even if you conquer all the markets, only a small market will be left in your hands in the end.So, what is the magic weapon to consolidate the market?The answer is service. When the market share reaches a certain level, excellent service is better than marketing operations.The high-quality service of McDonald's made an authoritative explanation for this statement.Service is one of the most important components of a product, and consumers buy more than just the physical part of the product.Like people sitting in any McDonald's, not just for a hamburger and a Coke.It is obvious to all that McDonald's has a good reputation and a steady stream of customers through its high-quality service, which has made McDonald's prosperous for decades.

The quality of service provided by a company is tested all the time.If a retailer is impatient, unable to answer simple questions, or even talk to each other while customers wait, then customers are sure to be careful the next time they consider buying their products. Kotler pointed out that customer service is also one of the elements of the product.In order to sell products to customers and make the products meet the needs of customers, manufacturers must provide customers with some supporting services.Supporting services often vary according to customer needs and competitive situations.For example, many manufacturers provide customers with various pre-sales and after-sales services such as installation, maintenance, delivery, credit, guarantee, training, etc., which can be regarded as product support services.

Product services include a wide range, which can be mainly divided into pre-sale services (such as operation training), in-sale services (such as use demonstrations), and after-sales services (such as door-to-door delivery).Different sales stages have different characteristics, understanding these characteristics is conducive to improving sales services. According to a sample survey of nearly 10,000 consumers in the world by a company in the United States, Mercedes-Benz ranks second only to Coca-Cola beverages and Sony Electric Appliances, and ranks first in the "Top Ten Famous Brands in the World"-"Benz 600" limousine. An important means of transport for many heads of state and dignitaries.Although the price of one Mercedes-Benz can buy two Japanese cars, Mercedes-Benz not only withstood the pressure of Japanese cars, but also increased exports to Japan, and can always occupy a place in the Japanese market.

In the face of the world economic crisis one after another, the increasingly fierce competition in the automobile market, and the continuous bankruptcy of automobile manufacturers, Mercedes-Benz is still triumphant all the way.This can not but be attributed to its ubiquitous service. As far as prenatal services are concerned, Mercedes-Benz knows that when customers buy a Mercedes-Benz, they must first buy satisfactory quality.Mercedes-Benz's advertisement for the "Mercedes-Benz 600" car is: "If someone finds that the Mercedes-Benz car breaks down and breaks down midway, we will give you $10,000." Quality concerns of Mercedes-Benz cars.

In addition, there are more than 3,700 models of Mercedes-Benz, so that any different needs can be met.Different colors, different specifications, and even what kind of tape recorders are installed in the car, etc., Mercedes-Benz can meet them one by one.In the factory, there are plaques on the unformed cars, which write the customer's name, vehicle model, style, color, specification and special requirements.When the customers who came to pick up the goods drove away, "Mercedes-Benz" also gave away a small Mercedes-Benz car that can be used as a toy for children, so that the next generation of car owners can also have a strong interest in Mercedes-Benz, and strive to make them become Mercedes-Benz cars in the future. client.

Many marketers always think that service only refers to after-sales service.actually not.Different stages of sales have different characteristics, and at different stages, it is also necessary to do a good job in sales services with different characteristics. Pre-sales service mainly refers to various services provided to customers before customers purchase products by studying consumer psychology.Common pre-sales services include providing product information, providing shopping guide services, helping customers to conduct purchase analysis and weigh the pros and cons, etc.The purpose of pre-sales service is to facilitate customers, stimulate customers' desire to buy, and strengthen customers' purchase motivation. In addition, when consumers come into contact with marketing personnel, that is, from negotiating business, signing a purchase and sales contract, to product shipment, and payment settlement, we need to provide in-sale services.In-sale service includes being polite and enthusiastic when receiving customers, being sincere, candid, conscientious and responsible when negotiating and signing contracts, carefully conducting quality inspections when products leave the warehouse, and ensuring that products are accurate and complete when they are shipped.The purpose of in-sale service is to influence customers' purchasing psychological feelings, enhance customers' sense of trust, and promote transactions. In addition to pre-sales and in-sales services, after-sales and value-added services are also very important, which we will discuss in the next section. For a product to outperform its competitors' products, a company should attract attention by offering an out-of-the-ordinary guarantee that competitors cannot match. After-sales service has become an extension of the product and is regarded as an integral part of the product.Common after-sales services include door-to-door delivery, product installation, commissioning and instructions on how to use them, product returns and repairs, and spare parts supply.The purpose of after-sales service is to ensure the full use value of the goods purchased by customers, to relieve customers from worries about purchasing products, to improve customer satisfaction, and to promote repeated purchases by customers. Doing a good job in after-sales service is an important guarantee for improving corporate reputation, winning customers, and obtaining high profits.The famous American retailer—Sears Corporation regards after-sales service as its trump card to bring a steady stream of customers to itself. Sears is the largest private retailer in the United States and the world.It has more than 300,000 employees and has a history of more than 100 years.It has experienced several major changes in American social life, kept up with the trend, grew and developed steadily, and became one of the most successful and profitable businesses in the United States.It enjoys the reputation of "Academy of Retail Science" in the western business circle. "Department Store King" has survived for a hundred years, which is inseparable from its sales policy.Sears provides customers with good after-sales service. From the beginning of its business, it has formulated a sales policy of "you are satisfied, or the original price will be returned", and it has become one of the first enterprises in the world to implement the "original price return" system. Sears never says a word about customer returns.Even if some customers who love to take advantage of small advantages take advantage of loopholes, they will accept it with a smile.Some customers sometimes return the shoes that are worn out, and some people return the clothes that have been worn for half a year, but they still do not refuse.Because Sears firmly believes that such customers are very few after all. In the marketing philosophy of Sears, they always put the interests of customers in the most important position.Sears realizes that good products are the most fundamental guarantee for gaining customers' trust.In order to ensure the quality of the products, Sears dispatched 400 buyers and more than 300 technicians to go deep into the product line of each supplier for supervision and guidance, so as to ensure that these products meet the inspection standards set by Sears itself.Sears also has a dedicated product laboratory that tests more than 10,000 products each year.To test the quality of the mattress, they used a 225-pound wooden cylinder to roll it back and forth 100,000 times, and to test the durability of the boots, they soaked them in water overnight. The excellent quality of Sears products has laid the foundation for their implementation of the "no questions asked return" system.For more than 100 years, Sears has won a long-lasting development by virtue of its good products and services. Good service is the best business card of a product brand.A wise entrepreneur realizes from practice that although the production of high-quality products is the minimum requirement for an enterprise, there are no perfect products in the world.Due to the constraints of design, production, transportation, use and other factors, any product may have one or another problem, which needs to be continuously improved and perfected, so after-sales service is very necessary. It can be said that modern successful enterprises attach great importance to after-sales service, and regard after-sales service as the cornerstone of enterprise management.Its main experiences are: Set up technical service outlets in areas where customers are concentrated. Send a mobile technical service team to solve some quality problems for customers after the products are used. Set up customer files and actively visit customers on a regular basis. Provide technical training to customers. Set up a consulting service agency for calls and letters from customers. Fast service, timely help customers solve commodity needs or technical problems. Compiling and distributing product technical service materials and publications. There are various ways of after-sales service, and each enterprise must formulate a set of effective strategies to carry out after-sales service.Revenue from after-sales services is usually more lucrative than the revenue from selling the product itself. With declining margins on the goods they sell, many companies have had to turn more of their attention to making money from services.The company door can provide value-added services to develop service business. For many companies, it seems not difficult to occupy the market, but it is not so easy to consolidate the market.If you can't consolidate the market, even if you conquer all the markets, only a small market will be left in your hands in the end. So, what is the magic weapon to consolidate the market?The answer is still service. In 2002, Starbucks Coffee conducted new research on the market in order to further enhance its brand influence.After long-term market research, Starbucks found that the core customer group who come to Starbucks to drink coffee is mainly young people aged 25 to 40.This core customer group comes to Starbucks for coffee an average of 18 times a month.In response to this situation, they formulated corresponding strategic goals: on the one hand, to increase the number of visits by customers, and on the other hand, to find ways to make customers stay longer each time, so as to attract them to drink more coffee and improve performance. Considering that more and more young customers will bring laptops to drink coffee, in August 2002, Starbucks launched a service strategy to provide fast wireless Internet access in one thousand stores.Customers use laptops or PDAs, that is, digital notebooks, to surf the Internet wirelessly, receive and send letters, and so on.This service quickly received a response from customers, and the number of people visiting Starbucks has increased significantly compared to before. The free Internet service, which seems commonplace now, was the pioneer of value-added services for Starbucks in 2002.Many companies have proved in marketing that when the market share reaches a certain level, excellent service is better than marketing operations.Service is one of the most important components of a product, and consumers buy more than just the physical part of the product.Just like people go to Starbucks not just to drink a cup of coffee, but to enjoy the experience of working in Starbucks coffee shop and surfing the Internet. Founded in 1971, Starbucks will always provide customers with better "value-added services" as the secret of its everlasting prosperity.As many companies make less money on the goods they sell, they are turning more attention to making money from services.Companies can develop value-added services from the following seven aspects: 1. Repackage its products into system solutions.A company can no longer be satisfied with only selling its products but combine them into a service item to meet the various needs of customers. 2. Restructure the company's internal services into marketable external services.Some firms sell internal capabilities to other firms, such as employee training programs or information technology capabilities. 3. Use the company's material equipment to provide services to other companies.Companies that own material equipment often find that they can provide equipment service to other companies. 4. Provide the business of managing materials and equipment of other companies.After the company has installed the equipment or components, the company can provide on-site management services for experienced employees to external companies. 5. Promote financial services.Companies that sell equipment often find that they can profit from the business of providing financing to customers. 6. Enter the distribution service.Manufacturers can own and operate local retail stores, such as outside store chains of corporate brands, and even restaurants. 7. Use Internet technology to create new services.Many vendors are offering new services such as product support and value-added services on the Internet. Service has the following four main characteristics, which have a great influence on the formulation of marketing plans.They are: intangibility, inseparability, changeability and perishability. Services are essentially different from tangible products. Understanding the characteristics of services can help marketers better formulate and manage service strategies, so that services can bring greater benefits to corporate marketing. IBM pioneered the idea that "sales and service are two inseparable parts of the marketing function".The advantage of its success is mainly due to its impeccable service strategy. One of IBM's successful experiences is the spirit of thorough service to users. IBM sells not just machines, but the best service.In IBM's eyes, packaging the product and selling it is only the beginning of the service.After that, the company will keep in touch with users and provide various maintenance and services that users need. To this end, IBM has established a set of effective communication services to ensure that all questions raised by users are resolved within 24 hours.Once the IBM mainframe used by Lanier Company in Atlanta, USA, failed. IBM invited 8 experts within a few hours, including 4 from Europe, 1 from Canada, and 1 from Latin America. Troubleshooting for users in time. In order to make customers feel that their very important problems are solved in a timely manner, IBM stipulates that any problems of customers must be resolved within 24 hours, and even if they cannot be solved immediately, the company will give a satisfactory answer; Calls for service are usually dispatched within an hour. There is such a short story: A female service representative and salesperson working in Phoenix drove to a certain place to deliver a small part to a customer. Unexpectedly, the original 25-minute journey turned into a 4-hour crawl.It turned out that the torrential rain turned the river into a raging torrent, and only two of the 16 bridges leading to the destination were open to traffic, and the traffic was jammed due to the head-to-tail connection of cars.The representative salesman was worried about missing the customer's work, so he found a pair of roller skates, left the car, and skated all the way to help the customer. IBM has always made it part of its existence to solve problems for its customers, especially challenging ones. Thomas Watson, the new president of IBM, once made a very apt analysis of "service": "With the accumulation of time, good service has almost become a symbol of International Business Machines Corporation... Many years ago, we published an advertisement , written in bold bold letters: 'International Business Machines is the symbol of the best service.' I always think this is the best advertisement we have ever made, because it clearly expresses the true meaning of International Business Machines. Business philosophy - we want to provide the best service in the world." As the company that provides the best service in the world, IBM formally provides customers with unique services on the basis of understanding service characteristics. In IBM's philosophy, service itself is also a product, but it is different from tangible products.Services are abstract and intangible commodities, and as long as products are not exchanged, products will always be products, and their nature will never change.The production process of the product is not as complicated as the service process.The production process of products is mostly a process in which labor is materialized, which only requires the unilateral operation of labor, while services require the participation of customers to complete.Therefore, we need to have a deep understanding of the characteristics of the service in order to develop better services. 1.intangible. "Service intangibility" is the most important characteristic of services.Compared with tangible consumer goods and industrial goods, the characteristics of services and the elements that make up services are often intangible and intangible, and people cannot touch or see their existence with the naked eye.However, although the service is intangible, the tangible display of the service will affect consumers and customers' evaluation of a service company and the sales of service products.Physical displays include elements such as physical surroundings (decor, colours, furnishings, sounds), physical equipment required to provide a service (such as a car for a car rental company), and other physical cues, such as those used by airlines. Signs, packaging that dry cleaners add to laundry, etc. 2.inseparability.Regardless of entrusting express delivery or taking a taxi, the "production" and "consumption" of services occur at the same time.In other words, while we are providing services, customers have begun to consume.Therefore, the service cannot be "stocked", and even if the customer receives bad service, it cannot be returned or replaced as if it were a purchased item, and it is certainly impossible to repair or improve it by itself.Therefore, once the supplier provides bad service, the customer may leave immediately.Therefore, marketers should know that the consequences of bad service are more serious than bad goods. 3.variability.The intangibility of services and the inseparability of services make it impossible for services to be stored like tangible pre-consumer goods.Enterprises can prepare all kinds of equipment for providing services in advance, but if the produced services are not consumed in time, losses will be caused (such as the vacancy of vehicles and ships). This loss is not as obvious as the loss of tangible products, it only appears as an opportunity loss and depreciation.Therefore, the non-storage feature requires service companies to solve the imbalance between product supply and demand caused by lack of inventory, such as formulating distribution strategies to select distribution channels and distributors, and designing production processes and elastically handling passive service needs. 4.Ease of disappearance.The service disappears after the transaction is complete.The consumer does not "substantially" own the service.For example, when a passenger travels from one place to another and pays for a ticket, all he gets is a payment voucher and the right to ride, but nothing substantial.The lack of ownership will make consumers feel greater risks when purchasing services. How to overcome this insecurity and promote service sales is a problem that marketing managers must face.If some companies adopt the "membership system" method to maintain the relationship between the company and customers, when they become members of the company, they can enjoy certain special benefits, making them feel that they really have the services provided by the company.Depositors go to the bank to withdraw their deposits. After the service process is over, the depositors get the money in their hands, but there is no transfer of ownership, because these deposits belong to the depositors themselves, and the bank is just a storage place. interest. The quality of service provided by a company is tested all the time.If a retailer's department, patience, or expertise is too weak, customers are sure to be wary the next time they consider buying one of their products. A company's supply to the market usually includes certain services.This service component may be a smaller portion of the total supply, or a larger portion of the total supply. One day in December 1978, Wilson, chairman of Boeing, received a call from Nordio, president of Alitalia. Nuodio said very urgently: "A DC9 aircraft of our company crashed in the Mediterranean a few days ago, so now I urgently need a new aircraft to replace this aircraft..." "Old friend, just say what you have to say, I will do my best to meet your request." Wilson felt that the other party hesitated to speak. Nordio said earnestly: "My friend, if you can send a Boeing 727 within a month, I will be very grateful." "One month!?" This time it was Wilson's turn to hesitate. Nodio's request for help made Wilson quite troubled. The Boeing 727 is a medium-sized aircraft that is very popular in the world. If you order it normally, you have to wait at least two years, and it is impossible to deliver it within one month.Wilson couldn't agree to Nuo Dio immediately, but said he would try his best to find a way. Putting down the phone, Wilson immediately summoned the company's senior staff to study the matter. "Let's say no. One month is too short. If we can't deliver the goods on time, it will affect our reputation instead." Many people hold the view of "I would rather have nothing to do." But some people think that we should do everything possible to meet customer requirements: "We can't reject customers because of risks. If we dare not take risks, we are not Boeing." Wilson was very satisfied with everyone's discussion. He encouraged and said: "We should handle this matter flexibly. As long as everyone works together, we can find a solution." At the meeting, Wilson instructed the relevant departments to come up with a feasible plan to meet the Italian Airline requirements. Relevant departments of Boeing immediately acted to review the supply contracts in detail, and re-arranged the customers who had already signed the contracts according to the priorities, so as to meet the requirements of Alitalia without harming the interests of other customers.After analysis and careful arrangement, they found a way to transfer a Boeing 727 among other orders and adjust the production order. Then, the company replied to Alitalia as quickly as possible: Please rest assured that the plane will arrive in one month. As the spring of 1979 rolled around, a new Boeing 727 landed on the Alitalia tarmac.At this time, it was less than a month since Nordio called Wilson. Nuodio, who didn't have much hope at first, was very moved. Time passed day by day, and the people at Boeing almost forgot about it. One day, an unexpected order report arrived on Wilson's desk. The order report was from Alitalia. The report stated that Alitalia canceled its plan to order DC-O aircraft from Douglas and turned to Boeing to order 9 Boeing 747 large passenger planes in return for Boeing's charitable act of solving difficulties. Do you know how much this business is worth? $580 million! High-quality services can retain customers, and companies should pay attention to cultivating loyal customers. They are not only a rich source of future sales revenue for the company, but also because the cost of generating these revenues is extremely low, it will inevitably make the company ahead of competitors in terms of financial performance.In this regard, Boeing has already set an example.The biggest cost saved by high-quality service is the cost to restore those dissatisfied old customers, which is the "throttling" effect of high-quality service. According to a rough calculation, the marketing cost invested in acquiring a new customer is about 3 to 5 times the marketing cost required to retain an old customer.And providing high-quality customer service is the way to effectively maintain old customers.Loyal customers—customers that won't be lost to poor service—will bring in countless sales to a business over the course of their lifetime.Peters, author of "The Pursuit of Excellence," estimates that a regular customer in a retail store in the United States will buy $50,000 in merchandise over a 10-year period.Loyal customers provide 3 times return to the company, and they will take the initiative to buy again, so that the marketing cost invested by the company on them is much lower than the cost spent on attracting new customers; spend too much time; loyal customers buy more than other customers. According to a survey conducted by the American Foam Consulting Company, customers switch from one shopping mall to another for regular shopping, and 7 out of 10 people do it because of service problems, not because of price problems.The same survey shows that if a salesperson neglects a customer, it will affect 40 potential customers; while a satisfied customer will bring 8 businesses, at least 3 of which will be closed. Excellent service not only keeps existing customers, but also attracts new ones.In general, customers' expectations of a business are shaped by how the business treats them.But for new customers and those who rarely interact with the company, this expectation mainly comes from the word of mouth of friends and colleagues.Word-of-mouth has more influence on customers' purchase decisions than advertisements. According to some surveys, word-of-mouth has twice as much influence on customers' repurchase decisions as advertisements. For business operators, of course everyone hopes to have a good reputation.However, word of mouth is not something managers can manipulate.You can't buy a word-of-mouth maker, and you can't buy a reputation with money, the only action you can take is to provide a service that makes every customer happy. Sometimes a company differentiates by strictly differentiating the services it offers.A major challenge is that most service innovations are easily imitated by others.However, some service companies still carry out frequent R&D in service innovation, gaining a temporary continuous advantage over their competitors. With the progress of the times and the development of science and technology, quickly satisfying customers' requirements has become a focus of enterprise competition.In the case of fierce market competition and homogeneous products, service differences often determine the fate of an enterprise.Therefore, if an enterprise wants to be successful, it must work hard on services to provide customers with faster services to promote itself, so as to distinguish itself from other enterprises. Only in this way can users become loyal customers of the enterprise . In the computer market full of strong players, Dell does not have the long history and wealth of IBM, Compaq and other companies, but it can squeeze in and perform very well, which is closely related to its unique customized production method. Dell's marketing innovation lies in its integration of new retail methods into high-tech products such as computers.Dell produces millions of personal computers each year, each assembled to a customer's exact specifications.Dell is a perfect example of where entrepreneurs, networking technologists, and enterprise software come together. Take Dell as an example of providing services to its major customer Ford Motor Company. Dell has designed various configurations for employees in different departments of Ford.When an order comes in through Ford's intranet, Dell immediately knows what kind of worker is ordering and what kind of computer he needs.Dell assembled the appropriate hardware and even installed the appropriate software, some of which included Ford Motor Company's proprietary passwords stored at Dell. Dell's logistics service software is very comprehensive and advanced, so it can carry out mass customization services at a lower cost.As far as Ford is concerned, it has to pay an extra fee for this special order service.Is it worth paying the money?Of course it's worth it.If Ford buys personal computers from other dealers, the dealers are only responsible for shipping some boxes, and Ford has to hire workers who understand information technology to take out the machines and configure them.This process requires a professional to spend 4 to 6 hours, and there are often configuration errors.Therefore, Dell's customized services are worth the money. Dell makes about 4 million PCs, laptops, servers and workstations a day, mostly to businesses rather than consumers.Buyers only need to call the "800" number paid by Dell or log on to Dell's website, propose their own machine configuration, wait for the quotation to appear on the screen, enter their credit card number, and press enter. Direct-to-customer is the paramount philosophy of Dell.At present, Dell, which features "order directly and configure on demand", has offices in 34 countries around the world to develop, design, produce, sell, service and support a series of personal computer systems from notebook computers to workstations. Products and services are available all over the world, and each system is tailor-made according to the requirements of customers. Dell is well aware of the differences in needs among customers, so what it sells are not just computers, but personalized services based on computers.In fact, tailor-made methods were not uncommon in the early market. Producers made the products they needed for different customers. For example, tailors processed fabrics according to customers' height, body shape and favorite styles; shoemakers Design shoe samples according to the size, width and shape of each customer's foot.Today, digitization has made the dream of "mass ordering" a reality, allowing customers to specify what features they want in a product or service. The scope of application of customization is very wide. It can be used not only for tangible products such as automobiles, clothing, and bicycles, but also for customization of intangible products, such as financial consulting and information services. The degree of customer participation, choose different ways of customization: Cooperative customization.When the structure of the product is relatively complex and there are many parts and styles to choose from, customers generally find it difficult to make a trade-off, and even feel helpless.They don't know which product mix suits their needs, and in this case, cooperative customization can be adopted.Enterprises communicate directly with customers, introduce the characteristic performance of each component of the product, and deliver customized products to customers at the fastest speed. Adaptive customization.If the structure of the enterprise's product itself is relatively complex and the degree of customer participation is relatively low, the enterprise can adopt an adaptive customized marketing method.Customers can adjust, transform or update the product according to different occasions and needs to meet their specific requirements. Optional customization.In this kind of customized marketing, the product has the same purpose for customers, and the structure is relatively simple, and the degree of customer participation is high, so that the product has different forms of expression. Consumer order.In this case, the customer's participation is very low, and they are generally unwilling to spend time accepting the company's survey, but their consumption behavior is relatively easy to identify.At this time, the company can grasp the individual preferences of customers through investigations, and then design a series of products or services that better cater to their tastes, so as to increase the number or frequency of consumption. Services are intangible, inseparable, mutable and perishable.Each of the above characteristics requires companies to increase the quality and innovation of service offerings to enhance customer experience. In order to make users feel new services, marketers need to continuously provide new additional services to bring different experiences to customers.Service innovation is to make potential users feel different from the previous brand-new content.服务创新为用户提供以前没有能实现的新颖服务，为顾客带来全新的体验，自然也会让更多的顾客愿意接受我们的产品。 美国的寇克旅游公司事业的发端，是来自创始人寇克想方设法帮助穷人戒酒的服务创新理念。 为了帮助人们戒酒，寇克特意组织了一个戒酒会。嗜酒的人，多半精神苦闷、意志消沉。为了帮助他们摆脱精神上的苦恼，寇克决定让会员们看看外面广大的世界，接近大自然。 于是，他把会期安排在铁路沿线的几个重镇上，让会员们有一个旅行观光的机会。为了减轻会员的负担，他还要求铁路当局在票价上打折优待。这就是他发展旅游事业的起点。 寇克的聚会成了穷人廉价旅行的机会。接近大自然放松身心让很多人戒酒成功，寇克的名字也就越来越响。 戒酒会的成功，使寇克酝酿出发展旅游事业的计划。他认为，不但戒酒的人喜欢旅行，其他人也应该会喜欢。于是，他成立旅游服务处，代客人安排交通工具。 由于寇克自小在外流浪奔波，对出门远行者的心情了解得特别透彻，因此他非常注意照顾客人的起居细节。他常说：“出远门旅行的人，都跟小孩子差不多，需要特别的照顾和关怀。” 寇克曾说：“虽然观光旅行是花钱的事情，但作为一个旅行事业的经营者，一定要把客人的钱包当作自己的钱包。替他们能省一文就省一文。万万不可因为他们不熟外地的情形，而胡乱开价。” 寇克的理念一直被旅游业奉为金科玉律，他的公司也以此话作为宗旨，在开拓各项旅游业务的同时，不断提高服务质量，从而最大限度地满足各层次顾客的要求。 寇克父子公司所组织的几个特殊性质的旅行团，最为人们所乐道，例如创办百慕大蜜月旅行、巴厘岛观光等，都是很吸引人的旅行活动。 “经营旅行观光事业，不仅是带别人去游山玩水，更是探求新知识、新事物的先锋队。”这是老寇克的理想，寇克公司提供了不少很特别的服务，如：每年组织一个探险队去非洲探险；提供水上旅游活动；为未来的月球旅行预作安排，而且现在已开始受理订票。 寇克的旅游服务创新，使他以迅雷不及掩耳的声势，很快地取得了美国旅游事业的霸主地位。 寇克旅游业的成功经验表明，在激烈的市场竞争中，要想取得成功，必须不断地提高服务质量，关心旅客，敢于开拓新的市场。寇克从旅客的角度出发，替旅客考虑，为旅客着想，制定一系列服务原则作为公司服务的宗旨，从而使该公司在现今仍能在国际旅游业中处于领先地位。 服务是公司永远的主题，也是解决不完的管理难题。其实，服务的标准和服务的动力都有一样的定义，那就是连续不断的创新。公司不但要为消费者提供价廉物美的产品，还要为消费者提供优质、高效的售前、售中以及售后服务。因为在买方市场上，公司要得到生存和不断发展，就必须不仅在产品上做到人无我有、人有我优，而且在服务上也同样如此。同时，消费者的需求是不断变化的，公司要适应消费者不断变化的需求，在不断推出新产品的同时，也必须不断推出新的服务，使服务得以创新。 为了帮助我们在花样繁多的服务竞争中轻松脱颖而出，不妨来品读寇克公司带给我们的几点启发： 1.创新服务，不一定需要太高的成本。寇克的旅游事业，起源于一个戒酒会。并不需要太高的运作成本。只要是为消费者服务，每个人都会有服务创新的机会。 2.根据现有服务，勇于拓展。寇克公司为了帮助戒酒者摆脱精神上的苦恼，让会员们看看外面广大的世界，接近大自然。这样的服务，成了寇克发展旅游事业的起点。 “出远门旅行的人，都跟小孩子差不多，需要特别的照顾和关怀。”寇克的服务创新思路，为他赢得了拓展的机会，也为我们的业务拓展提供了典范。 3.大胆构思，秀出特色。创办百慕大蜜月旅行、巴厘岛观光等吸引人的旅行活动，每年组织探险队去非洲探险，提供水上旅游活动，为未来的月球旅行预作安排，而且现在已开始受理订票等这样的活动，体现了服务创新的思想，很容易赢得消费者的认同。 与西方注重服务传递的效率形成对照的是，亚洲的服务方式更加关注以人为本。在亚洲，即便是低成本服务的消费者也希望得到高水平的服务。 大多数的服务都是由人提供的。因此，企业员工是服务的执行者，因此，对员工的选择、培训、激励可能会导致不同的客户满意度。科特勒提醒营销人员，企业应当培养具备竞争力、关怀的态度、责任感、主动性、解决问题的能力以及良好愿望的服务人员。 美国希尔顿饭店创立于1919年，在不到90年的时间里，从一家饭店扩展到一百多家，遍布世界五大洲的各大城市，成为全球最大规模的饭店之一。近百年来，希尔顿饭店生意成功的秘诀牢牢确立自己的企业理念并把这个理念贯彻到每一个员工的思想和行为之中，饭店创造“宾至如归”的文化氛围，注重企业员工礼仪的培养，并通过服务人员的“微笑服务”体现出来。 希尔顿始终向员工灌输“微笑”的经营理念：“微笑，记住了，我们要让顾客有回家的温暖，微笑是很重要的，以后我检查你们工作的重要标准就是，今天你对客人微笑了吗？”凭借“一流设施，一流微笑”的信念，希尔顿饭店生意十分红火。 1930年是美国经济萧条最严重的一年，全美国的旅馆倒闭了80%，希尔顿的旅馆也一家接着一家地亏损不堪，一度负债达50万美元，希尔顿并不灰心，他召集每一家旅馆的员工向他们特别交代和呼吁：“目前正值旅馆亏空靠借债度日时期，我决定强渡难关。一旦美国经济恐慌时期过去，我们希尔顿旅馆很快就能进入云开日出的局面。因此，我请各位记住，希尔顿的礼仪万万不能忘。无论旅馆本身遭遇的困难如何，希尔顿旅馆服务员脸上的微笑永远是属于顾客的。” 经济萧条刚过，希尔顿旅馆系统就领先进入了新的繁荣期，跨入了经营的黄金时代。希尔顿旅馆紧接着充实了一批现代化设备。此时，希尔顿到每一家旅馆召集全体员工开会时都要问：“现在我们的旅馆已新添了第一流设备，你觉得还必须配合一些什么一流的东西呢？” 员工回答之后，希尔顿笑着摇头说：“请你们想一想，如果旅馆里只有第一流的设备而没有第一流服务员的微笑，那些旅客会认为我们供应了他们全部最喜欢的东西吗？如果缺少服务员美好的微笑，正好比花园里失去了春天的太阳和春风。假如我是旅客，我宁愿住进虽然只有残旧地毯，却处处见到微笑的旅馆，也不愿走进只有一流设备而不见微笑的地方……” 希尔顿生前总是不断到他分设在各国的希尔顿饭店、旅馆视察业务。当他坐专机来到某一国境内的希尔顿旅馆视察时，服务人员就会立即想到一件事，那就是他们的老板可能随时会来到自己面前再问那句名言：“你今天对客人微笑了没有？” 希尔顿的成功与其服务人员的“微笑”绝对不无联系。企业服务的执行有赖于企业员工的表现，积极的员工态度会促进顾客忠诚。也正因为此，希尔顿始终坚持向全体员工灌输他的“微笑”理念。泛太平洋酒店连锁公司信封“根据态度招聘，针对技巧培训”。当一个表现良好的员工向顾客提供更优质的服务，或是花费更多的时间与顾客建立更加私人化的关系时，会逐渐形成良性的循环，不仅会减少顾客的流失率，增加利润，而对员工自身而言，也会获得更多的补偿，士气也会相应提高。相反，如果员工不能理解公司的服务理念，不能为客户提供优质的服务，恶性循环也会开始，客户流失率增加，利润下降，员工补偿水平和士气自然也都会下降。 服务良好的员工能够为企业形象与品牌的建设贡献力量。因此，企业应该尽可能地吸引能够提供优秀服务的员工。同时，企业可通过有效的培训，以及激励制度，为表现优异的员工提供支持和奖励，并经常检查员工对工作的满意状况。 服务营销者经常抱怨说，把他们的服务与竞争者的服务差异化十分困难。诸如童心、运输、能源、银行等主要行业的业务不规范，使得价格竞争愈演愈烈。然而，服务时可以差异化的。解决价格竞争的最好办法是发展差异化提供物、交付或形象、 对于每个营销人员而言，我们所销售的同一件产品是无差别的。例如，某企业推出同一型号的手机，无论是售出一款还是数百上千款，这件手机产品是没有差别的。然而，我们所面对的顾客却是形形色色千差万别的。同一款手机，有些人买是为了上网娱乐，有些人是为了商务助理，有些人是为了听音乐或玩游戏……不同的消费者哪怕对于同一件产品也有不同的需求与偏好。那么，我们如何让同一件产品满足完全不同的人的要求？ 答案就是服务。 服务的概念十分广泛，它包括具有无形特征却可给人带来某种利益或满足感的可供有偿转让的一种或一系列活动。服务具有不可感知性、不可存储性以及品质的差异性。可以说，在产品高度同质化的今天，“服务创造价值”的时代已经来临。我们在进行产品销售的过程中，销售的不一定是产品本身，而更多的，是你能否为顾客提供他所需要的服务。 于先生是一个业务繁忙的生意人，常常全世界到处飞，忙得忘了自己的生日自然也不足为奇。 又一个生日到来时，于先生收到了一封意想不到的生日贺卡：“尊敬的于先生，我们是泰国的东方饭店，您已经有三年没有光顾我们这里了，我们全体员工都非常想念您，希望能再次见到您，今天是您的生日，祝您生日快乐！” 自己忘了生日，远在泰国的饭店的陌生人却还记着！于先生感动得热泪盈眶，他不禁回忆起自己上一次入住东方饭店的情形来。 一大早，当于先生走出房门准备去餐厅用餐时，楼层服务生恭敬地问道：“于先生，要用早餐吗？” 于先生奇怪地反问道：“你怎么知道我姓于？” 服务生说：“按照饭店规定，我昨晚已经背熟所有入住客人的姓名。” 于先生在惊讶之余高兴地进电梯去往餐厅。刚刚走出电梯，餐厅服务生就鞠躬说：“于先生，里面请。” 于先生更疑惑了：“你没看我的房卡，也知道我姓于？” 服务生答：“上面的电话刚刚下来，说您已经下楼了。” 走进餐厅，服务小姐立即微笑着问：“于先生，还是要老位置吗？” 老位置？于先生想自己差不多已有一年的时间没有来这里，上次坐在哪里，自己都不是很清楚了，服务员怎么还记得呢？ 看到于先生惊讶的表情，服务小姐马上解释说：“我刚刚查过电脑，您去年的6月8日曾坐在靠近第二个窗口的位子上用餐。” 于先生想起来了，马上说：“老位子，老位子！” 小姐接着问：“还是老菜单？一个三明治，一杯咖啡，一个鸡蛋？” “老菜单，老菜单！”于先生满意地点头。 于先生兴奋至极，这是一顿他从未享受过的最美妙的早餐。 这就是服务的意义。其实酒店的服务几乎每个步骤都是完全标准化、无差异化的，而这家东方饭店却善于通过差异化、人性化的服务，为顾客营造“宾至如归”的归属感。这家给于先生留下深刻印象的贴心酒店，相信一定也会成为于先生下一次旅居泰国时的首选。 东方酒店记住每一位旅客的姓名，给每个顾客建立独特的数据档案，其实就是将每一名顾客都当做是差异化的个人，按照每一名顾客的习惯与偏好，提供专属于他的独特服务。 其实，很多时候，我们都可以采用个性化服务来促进我们的销售。通信服务中通过给顾客定制不同的套餐组合，理财、保险行业的业务员针对特定顾客提供对其有利的业务办理建议，健身会所为每一名会员建立独特的健康档案……这些都是通过差异化的服务，来为自己的推销的产品锦上添花。聪明的推销员懂得在推销过程中因人而异，用不同的服务打动不同的人，为每一个顾客提供独一无二的服务，相信你的产品也一定不愁没有销路了。 服务正在成为公司的主旨。现在许多著作指出，很多公司正式由于其出色的服务而获得可观的利润。 客户对服务的需要是多样的，但一般总是在一定环境中、对一定对象的需求。因此，能想客户所想，采取行动为客户创造一个惬意的服务环境，就能赢得更多的顾客。 美国是一个珍惜时间、讲究效率的国家。克罗克经营的麦当劳连锁快餐店，就是突出了一个“快”字。为了突出“快”字，麦当劳快餐店的经营，一律采取“自我服务”的形式。快餐店里所有的食物都盛放在纸盒或纸杯里，由客户自行取走。而站柜台的服务员身兼三职：照管收银机、开票和供应食品。客户只需排一次队，就能取到他所需要的食物。在麦当劳快餐店里，找不到公用电话，也不设投币式自动电唱机之类的装置，这样，就避免了客户在此闲逛消磨时间。因此，餐桌的周转率大大提高了。即使生意最忙时，只消几分钟，热气腾腾的快餐就会送到客户手里。 一方面，麦当劳用最简洁的环境提供最快捷的服务，另一方面，麦当劳也为顾客创造温馨的就餐环境，让顾客流连忘返。 欧美家庭对孩子的假日极为重视，喜爱在周末或假日带着孩子外出游玩，或为孩子举行宴会或聚餐晚会。针对这一需要，麦当劳致力于将每一家分店都成了吸引孩子们的地方。店里专门设置有儿童游乐园，供孩子们边吃边玩。游乐园里播放快餐店用重金聘请美国著名小丑演出的电视节目，这些滑稽逗乐的节目，常使小孩们笑得前仰后合，非常开心。在麦当劳，孩子们可以在儿童游乐园玩，父母则可以一边隔着大玻璃窗注视孩子的活动，一边静心用餐。不断为客户营造最好的就餐环境的麦当劳特地备有全家聚餐的食谱，并不断推出新菜式。这样，每逢星期六、星期日这两天，麦当劳快餐店总是顾客盈门，热闹非常。 给孩子过生日是最令家长头痛的事情，在家中举行这类庆祝活动时，小天使们总是兴之所至，乱丢东西，无论是蛋糕、饮料，还是果皮、面包，全被扔在地上，将家里搞得一片狼藉。麦当劳快餐店针对此种情况又出新招，专门为小孩举办生日庆祝会，吃什么，花多少钱，由家长决定，一切游乐服务均由快餐店侍应生负责。小主人和小来宾吃够玩腻，尽兴而归，父母也尽情享受，清闲自在，一举几得，十分惬意。 顾客的需求总是不断发生变化的，而我们提供的服务也需随着顾客不断提升的心理需求来完善与进步。美国心理学家马斯洛通过对人类需要的研究，提出需要阶梯论，日益受到人们的重视，并被用于客户服务管理学的研究。这一理论认为：人类的需要，由低级向高级发展而形成一个阶梯式。 一是生理需要。这是属于最低限度的需要，即人们对衣、食、住、行的需要。马斯洛认为，在一定条件下，生理需要是最优先的，当一个人在生活上什么东西也没有的时候，他的最主要的动机就是生理的需要。生理需要是推动人们消费的主要动力。 二是安全需要。当人们的生理需要得到满足后，就会产生为免于生理及心理方面受到伤害所要求的保护和照顾的需要，如财产安全、职业安全、人身安全、健康安全等需要。 三是社交需要。在生理、安全需要得到满足之后，人们就会有希望被多种群体接纳或被他人所重视的需要。当社交需要强烈时，人们便会致力于与他人感情的联络和建立社会关系，如跟朋友交往，希望得到友谊等。 四是尊敬需要。一个人在社会上希望获得荣誉，希望别人在能力上、品德上给自己以较高评价，希望得到别人的尊重与好评。这种尊敬需要的满足，可以使人产生自信、权威、独立、自尊等感觉。 五是自我实现需要。上列需要得到初步满足之后，人便希望有自我成就，这是促使人们的潜在能力得以实现的趋势。这种趋势是希望自己成为自己所期望的人物，完成与自己能力相称的一切事情，如对成就的渴望和对理想的追求等。这是最高级的需要。 马斯洛认为，人在基本需要得到充分满足后会去寻求更高一层的需要。因此，随着社会生活水平的提高以及人们社会交往的扩大，消费需要的层次势必不断向上移动。此时市场销售服务部门可以利用这一理论鉴别在其目标市场范围内已经被激发起来的需要的情况，在较高一层需要到来以前就制定出相应的服务策略，设法予以满足。 麦当劳的成功就在于其善于研究客户对服务形式的需要。为了满足客户的需要，麦当劳采用了各种各样的办法，最终赢得了众多的客户，缔造了庞大的“快餐帝国”。而我国不少企业在经营中则习惯于一哄而上，一旦市场上某一行赚了钱，大家都一起干，结果短时间内就造成了大量的供过于求，从而导致该行业的萧条。如果摸透顾客的购买动机，企业就能够以多种服务手段开辟新颖且富有市场的赚钱领域。想客户所想，应是客户服务管理行动选择的第一步。 服务利润链造就了许多一流的公司，他们通过管理服务利润链在竞争中遥遥领先。 成功的服务公司会把注意力同时集中在顾客和职员身上，因为他们懂得公司的利润和雇员以及顾客的满意构成了服务利润链。 利润和回报的增长来自忠诚的顾客，顾客的忠诚又源于顾客满意，而顾客满意受感知服务价值的影响。服务价值是由那些满意的、投入的、生产性的员工创造的，只有对信息技术和培训进行投资，以及保证员工授权的政策，员工才会产生满意度。 花旗银行是一家有200年经验，总资产规模已达9022亿美元，分行遍布世界100多个国家和地区的跨国公司。 花旗银行在管理内部服务利润链时，根据与客户的接触程度，把员工分为四类：与客户直接接触者、间接干涉者、施加影响者和隔离无关者，每一类员工都被作为营销组合中的一个因素。在营销中，花旗银行的管理者首先将银行推销给员工，先吸引员工，再吸引客户，让员工主动地去营销和服务客户，按照这样的链条，推广效果极佳。 在内部关系营销中，花旗银行建立了低成本、高效能的供应链和具有高度凝合力的服务利润链。在供应链中，营销人员、部分联络人员、客户服务代表以及分行经理的工作就是发现未满足的潜在客户并为其提供产品，而不是将产品强加于不需要或不想要的客户。利润链的作用是把银行的利润和员工及客户的满意连在一起。 花旗银行自创业初始就确立了“以人为本”的战略，十分注重对人才的培养与使用。它的人力资源政策主要是不断创造出“事业留人、待遇留人、感情留人”的亲情化企业氛围，让员工与企业同步成长，让员工在花旗有“成就感”、“家园感”。 在花旗银行，客户经理们能够得到银行各协作部门的支持和尊重，客户经理部门与其他协作部门紧紧相连，各部门协作共同完成一笔业务，同时体现在各部门的业绩上，形成了各个部门之间密切的利益制约关系，强化了团队精神。 花旗银行历经两百多年的发展，被誉为“金融界的至尊”。在花旗的企业文化中，很重要的一点就是实行内部关系营销，而这正是服务利润链的关键所在。花旗以人为本，通过科学的管理和明确的奖惩制度激发员工主动向客户提供优质服务的积极性。这些对于我国的服务业而言，有着极其重要的借鉴意义。 营销人员建议，在我国，服务利润链的五个关节总的内部联结主要有以下几个方面： 1.内部质量驱动员工满意。公司需提供的外在服务质量，如薪水、红包、福利、舒适的工作环境等，以驱动员工的满意度。另外，员工的工作环境，包括员工的挑选和开发、奖励和认可、对服务信息的获得、技术和工作设计等，也能有效驱动员工满意。 2.员工满意度与工作的内在质量相关联。在西南航空公司，只有当前台员工觉得自己单独处理顾客意见不太合适时，他们才会请求管理人员的帮助。在其他情况下，他们都是自主决定，或者事后向管理人员汇报。这样，他们可以为顾客提供不可思议的服务行动。这一措施之所以能在西南航空公司取得成功，是因为员工们在公司工作一年之后，就可以通过利润分享计划成为公司真正的所有者。因此，他们内心感到的“舒坦程度”与自己的判断直接挂钩，而这些判断将影响公司的赢利能力。 3.员工保留率和生产率导致服务价值。正如上例，西南航空公司虽然不提供餐饭、不指定座位、不与其他航空公司共享售票系统，但顾客看中其频繁的离港班机、准时服务、友好的员工以及低于市场60%~70%的票价。公司可以实行低票价的部分原因是，具有训练有素的、灵活性强的员工可以同时执行几种类型的工作。 4.服务价