1. MM University has accepted to publish an article by Mr V. V. Vara Prasad
2/15/2011
*MM University, India, has accepted to publish an article by Mr V V Vara Prasad, Lecturer in Marketing Specialization, in the forth coming issue of their journal, "MM University Journal of Management Practices (ISSN 0974 7257). The article is entitled, "Global Marketing of Services - Marketing Implications and options." The abstract of the article is presented below and please contact the author in case you need the full text at varaprasadvv@rediffmail.com
*MM University, Mullana- Ambala, 133-207 (Haryana) INDIA.
GLOBAL MARKETING OF SERVICES
Marketing Implications and Options
By
V.V.Vara Prasad*
It is a fact that many nations world wide have realized the importance of services and their contribution to the foreign exchequer, thereby extending their full support in the form of subsides and putting forth the government support mechanism to this flamboyant sector. For example, the contribution of services sector to India's GDP in the last few years was to the tune of around 55 per cent, compared to that of 60 per cent to Bangladesh, 77 per cent to Maldives, 52 per cent to Pakistan and 55 per cent to Sri Lanka. The magnitude of this contribution has prompted the governments to declare this sector as priority sector.
However, there are some striking differences between the marketing implications of services and products and the resultant strategies to mitigate the challenges. Product marketing is much easier than services as they are tangible and can be stored and transported, but the problem with services is they are intangible and cannot be stored or transported. The very feature of intangibility puts a point of doubt in the mind of the potential customer and the task of marketing manager of a service firm is daunting in establishing that the service is matching the desired expectations of the customer.
The task of marketing is much enduring in case of global marketing, where the customers are unique from market to market with high quality competition in front. The implications of marketing are to be carefully matched with the options and alternatives to get the desired benefits.
This paper tries to examine various features of services and their implications and recommended marketing strategies for a service firm to be global.
* Earlier worked as Associate Professor, and HoD, Department of P.G.Courses-MBA- Former Group General Manager, Globe Investments Ltd., Malawi, Central Africa, varaprasadvv@rediffmail.com
