A marketing eye sees things differently than a government economist. Economics data of the government shows a suit to be a product because it is tangible. They classify a vehicle loan as a service because it cannot be touched. But this is superficial ! The way the marketing eye sees it , the "litmus test" of service is not its tangibility but it is asking yourself the following 3 questions sequentially
- What is the main value a customer is seeking
- This value cannot be inspected / experienced by a customer before buying
- The source of this value is hidden in a given person or an entity
If your answer is "Yes" to both "2" and "3" you are surely talking about a "service". Even if what you are selling is tangible. There are many examples that come to my mind : a photo frame of a god is tangible but the main benefit the customer expects to get from it is to bring good luck. It cannot be inspected or experienced and is a hidden quality. The value comes more out of faith. You must use the principles of service marketing if you are marketing photo frames of gods.
If you apply these criteria, it turns out that a tailored suit is largely a service whereas a vehicle loan is largely a product.
TAILORED SUIT : The main value you expect from any suit is that it should sit well on you and that it should make you look good. This main value does not come either from using good materials or a good sewing machine – it comes from the quality of craftsmanship hidden in an individual tailor. A good tailor knows how to measure you, how to advise you, how to cut the fabric and how to adjust the fit at the time of the trial. Therefore a tailored suit is more of a service : it is people dependent, customers will pay a good price for the right person and it is difficult to scale up. Ability to scale up is another important criterion of service. If a tailor is doing good business in a location, you cannot fund him and ask him to start 10 tailoring shops. The crucial ingredient is a talented tailor – how will you recruit or develop 10 tailors for these 10 shops?
VEHICLE LOAN : The main value you expect from a vehicle loan is a good interest rate, suitable repayment terms and an easy documentation requirement. These main values can be easily pre-inspected. Besides, the source of these values is not some qualities hidden in some individual person. Therefore a vehicle loan is more of a product and this is reflected in the fact that it can be quickly scaled up. A vehicle loan scheme successful in one city can be rolled out to hundreds of cities nationally within a week by briefing the local staff and by advertising.
Strange are the ways of the Marketing Eye.
