Dr. Madhvendra Misra, Faculty, IIIT-Allahabad

Keywords: Internal Marketing; Benchmarking; Services Sector; Service Creator (People); Preaching

Scripting: Practicing

The services industry with time and growing competitiveness in the market place is no more an un-chartered domain. The real effects of a globalized economy are most evident in this particular sector, where in every new product and its provider is breaking the earlier barrier and establishing a new benchmark. It can also be said that most progressive and innovative expressions of marketing competence of corporate bodies is exhibited through services marketing.

The thought of intangibility has genuinely created a universe of new possibilities. The prospects put forward can only be capitalized upon by a relentless effort and be differentiated. This can well be crystallized by active involvement of the service creator (people) and customizing the process of service creation, which actually embodies aspects of internal marketing and maintenance of a relatively high quality of services.

Importance of value addition holds similar level of integrity and dominance in services marketing as it does in the product marketing. The factors of value addition to the services sector are different to that of the product sector. In the later, the human factor, which was an important component but was not all that crucial as in the services sector. The dominance achieved by the human factor in the services marketing is an outcome of the fact that a services product is much different to a tangible or a normal product. The aspect intangibility and instant perishability along with absence of any standardized procedure makes the role of service creator (people) far more important.

In the present context where the thought of over-whelming the competitor is a pre-disposition of every marketer, the task force (people) comes to the rescue. To infuse high degree of motivation and confidence among people who really mean a lot for the business is essential. This can be achieved through an innovative thought of internal marketing, which in-fact perpetuates and propagates the ever-desired oneness of thought and action in an organized set-up. The effort is not to develop a stereotyped system but to inculcate creativity and responsiveness towards one's personal as well as organizational interest. The whole philosophy is pivoted on the fact that motivated people tend to learn faster, read promptly, show concern and belongingness, and need less supervision, which in effect creates an environment, which is more friendly and receptive to innovative thoughts and ideas, infusing zeal to perform and excel. This assortment put together provides an ideal foundation for individual and organizational growth by infusing team spirit which is more seen in a soccer match, where-in all advances towards the goal are breathtaking and results come through the efforts of an individual. This develops dependence yet deters lousiness, where sharpness of wits, action and joint reflexes are a regular feature.

Creating an over-all environment of interaction with emphasis on developmental aspects of individuals and organizations, infusing a team spirit and developing power of belongingness and commitment.

The aspect of quality, which is detrimental to the level of services being crated and provided, is actually a benchmark being established and achieved consistently through the efforts of the service provider. Quality in services marketing is a supply side function, guiding and determining the level of services being created through people. To the special context of services owing to its nature of versatility as a product, the quality is handled through a different mode of provisions, which are -

•  Preaching

•  Scripting

•  Practicing

In propagation of the thought about quality as the distinctive feature of the product, the provider initially aware the interested customer base about the various benchmarks decided by himself. In consolidation of the thought of the nuance of quality, the provider follows it up at internal level through making quality as a way of performing by writing or putting in black & white all what has been preached or assured to the customer. In pursuit to maintain the commitment and validity of the offered services, the provider tends to follow-up- initial action through a practice of providing assured level of quality through people.

These provisions of bench marketing or establishment of quality standards in the services industry are actually a self-adjustment mechanism to improve and excel upon the prior performance or out-put. Wherein the services organizations have to prove to be resilient learning systems.

Quality and creator of service (people) are exhibiting a hand in glove situation which is a hall-mark of services industry as assurance to a certain quality cannot be ensured in absence of people, and people without quality cannot exist.

Customer satisfaction in the services sector is more dependent on factors of quality and level of relationship which is shared by personnel to customer where-in tangible attributes like waiting time, customized products, specialized help, commitment, and involvement are merely out-come of adherence to a standard by people involved in the process of services creation and distribution.

So to achieve the prominence through operations in services industry and be reckoned as exclusive service provider, commitment to customer satisfactions through establishing new norms of performance, it is required to inculcate within the system and appreciation of associations and undying commitment towards quality and coherence.