Engage a Customer with an Intangible Service – a Financial Services Story
Aug 7th, 2008 by Paul Miser
In his epic article “Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles,” Dr. Theodore Levitt stated,
“When you ask prospective customers to buy promises —as all service-oriented firms do - you must provide metaphorical reassurances of quality and ‘industrialize’ the service-delivery process.”
Think about it. A promise…isn’t that what a service really is? There is nothing we can touch, smell, see or hear, but we pay for a promise of a particular benefit.
Let’s look at this through the Financial Services industry. What are we really buying? Basically, we are buying a promise that if we give a company money, in the future it will be worth more. The firms that have prevailed in this arena have mastered the art of providing it’s customers with “reassurances of quality” (turning intangible aspects tangible through portraying key benefits) and have “industrialized the service-delivery process” (creating a tangible service through visually-appealing retail locations and customer-oriented service).
This theory and strategy have worked wonders in the past, but as customer expectations rise and consumer perceptions deteriorate, Financial Service companies are at a marketing crossroads. The marketing strategies that have worked in the past are becoming less effective. The next logical step is Customer Engagement. If Financial Service companies can engage their customer on an individualized level through 1:1 multi-channel marketing communications and social media they will be able to increase individual customer satisfaction and loyalty and create individual brand advocacy by building and maintaining an open, two-way conversation.
Dr. Levitt built a foundation for service marketing with one quote and it’s worked wonders until now. The change of power from the company to the consumer has brought new, exciting, and scary marketing opportunities. But, if a company can master the art of engaging a customer on an individualized level, they will prevail because it’s not the ‘masses’ that purchase, it’s the ‘individual.’
