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Chapter 3Characteristics of Services
Chapter 3Characteristics of Services
TIP Pharmacists provide services - not drugs.
TIP Pharmacists provide services - not drugs.
Chapter 3 slides for Marketing for Pharmacists, 2nd Edition
Learning ObjectivesLearning Objectives
Define the following terms: services, value-added services, pure services.
Identify four characteristics of services that differentiate them from products.
Discuss how the characteristics of services make them difficult to market.
Describe service categorization methods that can be used to develop strategic insights into the provision of pharmaceutical services.
Apply marketing strategies for dealing with the unique characteristics of services.
Defining ServicesDefining Services
Services are performances or processes that benefit others.They can accompany tangible product or be of
value by themselves.Services that accompany a tangible product often
called value-added services.Pure services do not accompany a tangible
product.
Pharmacy is a service profession.Services often revolve around the provision of a
tangible product.
Pharmacist servicesPharmacist services
Pharmacist value-added services enhance value of tangible products.
The level of service or product orientation of a pharmacy depends on the intangibility of the offering.
Characteristics Unique to ServicesCharacteristics Unique to Services
Intangible
Actions or events
Can’t be seen, held, or touched
Heterogeneous
No two service experiences alike
Service quality depends on uncontrollable factors
Actual service often not what was planned
Characteristics Unique to Services
Characteristics Unique to Services
Production and consumption inseparable
Services can’t be saved, returned, or resold
Once services are delivered, they are lost
Difficult to synchronize supply and demand
Customers participate and influence service
Customers influence each other’s experiences
Challenges in Marketing Services
Challenges in Marketing Services
It is difficult to promote their value
Challenging to get customers to notice and desire a product when it cannot be seen or touched
Customers have difficulty evaluating services
Intangibility and variability makes them difficult to assess
Often invisible
Difficult to synchronize supply and demand
Classifying Pharmacist Services
Classifying Pharmacist Services
Classifying helps identify new strategies for serving patients and competing.Avoids inbreeding.
TIP To market services, we
must understand them.
TIP To market services, we
must understand them.
Tangible/Product Oriented
Mix
Intangible/Service Oriented
Mix
Low ServiceDispensing
High ServiceDispensing
DrugInformation
Durable MedicalEquipment
OTCs/Herbals
Home TestingEquipment
Tangible/Product Oriented
Mix
Intangible/Service Oriented
Mix
Low ServiceDispensing
High ServiceDispensing
DrugInformation
Durable MedicalEquipment
OTCs/Herbals
Home TestingEquipment
FIGURE 3-1Pharmacist services on a continuum of product to
service orientation
Professional or nonprofessionalProfessional or nonprofessional
ProfessionalsConsidered to have unique skills, expertise,
and training Have distinct group identity and are largely
self-regulatory Are experts in specialized fields and use
their expertise to advise and assist customers
Are less subject to price sensitivity and promoted more through word of mouth
Strategies for Marketing Services
Strategies for Marketing Services
Use tangible clues to the quality of your services
Lighting, cleanliness, neatness
Dress, appearance, and body language of the pharmacist
Organization of merchandise on shelves
Provide something tangible with your services
Strategies for Marketing Services
Strategies for Marketing Services
Take advantage of word-of-mouth promotional communications.Ask customers to recommend the pharmacy to others. Identify and cultivate opinion leaders.
Emphasize the professional nature of pharmacist services.Use good judgment and show professionalism.Emphasize expertise, competence, and training.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5675094
Marketing insuranceMarketing insurance
Can marketing work with pharmacist services?
Strategies for Marketing Services
Strategies for Marketing Services
Establish and maintain a strong image in the mind of customersThrough all elements of marketing mix.
Practice relationship marketing.Develop formal and informal
relationships.
Take a long-term view of transactions.
Strategies for Marketing Services
Strategies for Marketing Services
Expand services to more than one site.
Store services if possible.
Manage supply and demand.
ATM-style dispensing machines
ATM-style dispensing machines
In physicians’ offices
In pharmacies
For refills or new prescriptions
Self-diagnostic testsSelf-diagnostic tests
Pharmacists conduct diagnostic testing and provide information and assistance on OTC diagnostic products:Pregnancy Cholesterol Blood glucose Blood pressure AIDS Narcotics use
Point-of-purchasePoint-of-purchase
Touchscreen information
Self checkout and payment
ConclusionConclusion
The pharmacy profession needs to look beyond current ways of practice and explore how other businesses serve customers.
Pharmacists can learn by emulating the best practices of businesses outside pharmacye.g., hospitality, retailing, and food
service industries.
