Unit-4

Concept of service marketing

Services marketing is a sub-field of marketing, which can be split into the two main areas of
goods marketing (which includes the marketing of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and
durables) and services marketing. Service marketing typically refers to both business to
consumer (B2C) and business to business (B2B) services, and includes marketing of services
such as telecommunications services, financial services, all types of hospitality services, car
rental services, air travel, health care services and professional services.
The term service is rather general in concept, and it includes a wide variety of services. There
are the business and professional services such as advertising, marketing research, banking,
insurance, computer programming, legal and medical advice. Then there are services which are
provided by professionals but consumed for reasons not for business, but for leisure, recreation,
entertainment and fulfillment of other psychological and emotional needs such as education, fine
arts, etc.
Service
A service is any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another that is essentially
intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be
tied to a physical product. Activities such as renting a hotel room, depositing money in a bank,
travelling on an airplane, visiting a doctor, getting a haircut, having a car repaired, watching a
professional sport, seeing a movie, having clothes cleaned at a dry cleaner and getting advice
from a solicitor all involve buying a service.
For e.g. A restaurant provides satisfaction to its customers on the basis of type and quality of its
food, its decor and environment and the behaviour of its staff and its location in a busy
commercial-cum-office complex.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SERVICES
Services have a number of unique characteristics that make them so different from products.
Some of the most commonly accepted characteristics are:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Intangibility
Inseparability
Heterogeneity
Perishability
Ownership

A) Intangibility
When you buy a cake of soap, you can see, feel, touch, smell and use to check its effectiveness
in cleaning. But when you pay fees for a term in college, you are paying for the benefit of
deriving knowledge and education which is delivered to you by teachers. In contrast to the soap
where you can immediately check its benefits, there is no way you, can do so in case of the
teachers who are providing you the benefits. Teaching is an intangible service.
The intangible features are:
a) A service cannot be touched

b)
c)
d)
e)

Precise standardization is not possible

There is no ownership transfer
Production and consumption are inseparable
There are no inventories of the service

B) Inseparability
Service inseparability means that services cannot be separated from their providers, whether the
providers are people or machines. If a person provides the service, then the person is a part of
the service. Service is provided by a person who possesses a particular skill (singer), by using
equipment to handle a tangible product (dry cleaning) or by allowing access to or use of physical
infrastructure (hotel, train). A plumber has to be physically present to provide the service; the
beautician has to be available to perform the massage. This is in direct contrast to products
which can be produced in the factory today, stocked for the next two, three or more months and
sold when an order is procured.
C) Heterogeneity
The human element is very much involved in providing and rendering services and this makes
standardization a very difficult task to achieve. The doctor who gave you his complete attention
in your last visit may behave a little differently the next time. The new bank clerk who cashes
your cheques may not be as efficient as the previous one and you have to spend more time for
the same activity. Airlines, restaurants, banks, hotels have a large number of standardized
procedures. You have to reserve a room in a hotel and this is a straight forward procedure for
which all the steps are clearly defined. Human contact is minimal in the computerized
reservation systems, but when you go to the hotel there will be a person at the reception to hand
over the key of your room. The way this person interacts with you will be an important factor in
your overall assessment of the service provided by the hotel. The rooms, the food, the facilities
may be all perfect, but it is the people interacting with you who make all the difference between
a favorable and unfavorable perception of the hotel.
D) Perishability
Services are perishable; they cannot be stored. Therefore an empty seat on a plane, for example,
is a lost opportunity forever. Apart from the fact that a service not fully utilized represents a total
loss, the other dimension of this perishability aspect is that most services may face a fluctuating
demand. There is a peak demand time for buses in morning and evening (office hours), certain
train routes are always more heavily booked than others. This fluctuating demand pattern
aggravates the perishability characteristic of services.
E) Ownership
When you buy a product you become its owner-be it a pencil, book, shirt, refrigerator or car. In
the case of service, you may pay for its use but you never own it. By buying a ticket you can see
the evening film show in the local cinema theatre; by paying wages you can hire the services of a
chauffeur who will drive your car. In case of service, the payment is not for purchase, but only for
the use or access to or for hire of items or facilities.
Marketing mix of services
A business that offers a set of services to customers, whether it is in hospitality, travel,
healthcare or professional services like a lawyer, engineer, architect etc., is part of the service

industry and offers its skills and technology to the end-users or other businesses. If the business
directly interacts with the consumer, then it falls under the business-to-consumer (B2C) service
category; whereas, if the business offers its services to other businesses, it falls under
the business-to-business (B2B) services. Whatever the kind of services your business offers, you
need a marketing plan to promote it and create the right service marketing mix to communicate
your offerings to your audience.
While product marketing involves tangible goods that can be seen, heard, felt, smelt or tasted by
the consumers, service marketing highlights on performance, process, customer value and
benefits to the end-users. So, whether you are a service executive in a large firm or the owner of
a small services company, it is imperative for you to understand the various aspects of service
marketing and creating the right mix of promotional tools and methods.
What is Service Marketing Mix?
The service marketing mix is a combination of the different elements of services marketing that
companies use to communicate their organizational and brand message to customers. The mix
consists of the seven Ps i.e. Product, Pricing, Place, Promotion, People, Process and Physical
Evidence. The service marketing mix, also known as the extended marketing mix, treats the
service that the business offers just as it would treat a product. While the first four Ps are
involved in product marketing too, the remaining three Ps focus mainly on service delivery and
enhancing customer satisfaction.

1. Product
The most important issue in the service product is to understand what benefits and
satisfaction the consumer is seeking from the service. From the view-point of a restaurant's
manager, the restaurant simply provides food. But the customers coming to the restaurant
may be seeking an `outing', an atmosphere different from home, relaxation, entertainment or
even status. The marketing of services can be a success only if there is a match between the
service product from the consumer's view-point and the supplier's view-point. In case of

services, the product is intangible, heterogeneous and perishable. Moreover, its production
and consumption are inseparable. Hence, there is scope for customizing the offering as per
customer requirements and the actual customer encounter therefore assumes particular
significance. However, too much customization would compromise the standard delivery of
the service and adversely affect its quality. Hence particular care has to be taken in designing
the service offering.
2. Price
In the case of products, the term `price' is used for all kinds of goods, fruits, clothes,
computers, building etc. but in the case of services, different terms are used for different
services. The pricing strategy for services is difficult to achieve unlike in products, wherein the
final price depends on the raw materials, cost of production and distribution etc. However, in
service pricing, you cannot measure the cost of the services you offer that easily. For
example, in the education industry, how would you set the price of the quality of education
imparted? Or if you are in the food and hospitality industry, how would you charge the
customers for the care shown by the host or hostess, the ambience in the restaurant or the
fine taste of your delicacies? Therefore, pricing plays a crucial role in the services marketing
mix for your business.
In determining the prices of services there are certain characteristics that have to be kept in
mind:1. Perishability and the fact that fluctuations in demand cannot be met through inventory. For
e.g. hotels and airlines offer lower rates in off-season.
2. Another characteristic of services that creates problem in price determination is the high
content of the intangible component. The higher the intangibility the more difficult it is to
calculate cost and greater the tendency towards non-uniform services, such as fees of
doctors, management consultants, lawyers. In such cases, the price may sometimes be
settled through negotiation between the buyer and seller.
3. The third characteristic to be kept in mind while determining prices is that in many
services, the prices are subject to regulations, either by the government or by trade
associations. Bank charges, electricity and water rates, fare for rail and air transport in
India are controlled by the government. In all such cases, the producer has no freedom to
determine his own price.
The pricing tactics that may be used to sell services are:
1. Differential or flexible pricing - Differential price implies changing different prices
according to the customer's ability to pay differentials as in professional services of
management consultants, lawyers, balcony tickets are more expensive than front row
seats
2. Discount pricing - The practice of offering a commission or discount to intermediaries
such as advertising agencies, stock brokers, and property dealers for rendering a
service.
3. Diversionary pricing - It refers to a low price which is quoted for a basic service to
attract customers. A restaurant may offer a basic meal at a low price but one which
includes no soft drink or sweet dish. Once the customer is attracted because of the
initial low price he may be tempted to buy a drink or an ice-cream or an additional dish.
Thus he may end up buying more than just the basic meal.

4. Guaranteed pricing - It refers to pricing strategy in which payment is to be made

only after the results are achieved. Employment agencies charge their fee only when a
person actually gets a job.
5. High price maintenance pricing This strategy is used when the high price is
associated with the quality of the service. Many doctors, lawyers and other
professionals follow this pricing strategy.
6. Loss leader pricing - It is the one in which an initial low price is charged in the hope
of getting more business at subsequently better prices.
7. Offset pricing - It is quite similar to diversionary pricing in which a basic low price is
quoted but the extra services are rather high priced. For example, a management
consultant may quote a price for his time but exclude the extras associated with an
assignment like travel and hotel costs or a gynecologist may charge a low fee for the
nine months of pregnancy through which she regularly checks her patient, but may
charge extra for performing the actual delivery and post-delivery visits.
3. Place
The most important decision element in the distribution strategy relates to the issue of
location of the service so as to attract the maximum number of consumers. The place where
you choose to conduct your service business can make or break your organizational growth.
You need to understand how visible your setup would be to potential customers and how
frequently it would be visited by consumers. For example, would you set up a fast-food centre
near a college or office hub, where students and professionals can quickly grab a bite or next
to a big restaurant in a classy neighborhood? The inseparability characteristic of services such
as those of doctors, teachers, consultants, mechanics etc. poses a distribution constraint
since they are able to serve only a limited, localized market. The other characteristic of
services which affects the distribution strategy is the fixed location of services such as
universities, restaurants, hospitals which necessitates the customer to go to the service
location rather than vice-versa. Service providers have to give special thought to where the
service would be provided. Thus, a fine dine restaurant is better located in a busy, upscale
market as against on the outskirts of a city. Similarly, a holiday resort is better situated in the
countryside away from the rush and noise of a city.
4. Promotion
The service industry usually has stiff competition across different verticals and your business
would need a lot of promotions to pass on the right message to potential customers. Since a
service offering can be easily replicated promotion becomes crucial in differentiating a service
offering in the mind of the consumer. Thus, service providers offering identical services such
as airlines or banks and insurance companies invest heavily in advertising their services. This
is crucial in attracting customers in a segment where the services providers have nearly
identical offerings. Since it is difficult to sample the service before paying for it, the customer
finds it difficult to evaluate its quality and value. Thus, buying a service is a riskier proposition
than buying a product. As a marketing manager you must design a promotion strategy which
helps the customer overcome the constraints. The four methods used for promoting services
are Advertising, personal selling, publicity and sales promotion.
Advertising - Advertising is any kind of paid, non-personal method of promoting by an
identified organization or individual. Certain services such as entertainment (cinema,
theatre), passenger and freight transport (roadways, airlines, trains), hotel, tourism and

travel, insurance have been advertising heavily in newspapers magazines, radio, TV to

promote greater usage and attract more customers.
Personal Selling Demo by sales people about the effectiveness of detergent powder by
washing the clothes at home.
Publicity - Publicity is gaining public visibility or awareness for a product, service or your
company via the media. It is the publicist that carries out publicity. Publicity is unpaid for
exposure which is derived by getting coverage as a news or editorial item. It is possible to-get
publicity when the service which you are offering is unique and, therefore, newsworthy, by
holding a press conference in which you can associate your service with some issues of
greater social relevance or by involving the interest of the newspaper or its staff in covering
your service.
Sales promotion - In the case of services, the sales promotion techniques which are used
are varied and various in number. A doctor may charge lesser amount of fee on subsequent
visits to encourage the patient's loyalty; a car mechanic may offer a guarantee for repairs
undertaken up to three months.
Difference between Advertising and Publicity:

1. Advertising is paid form of ideas, goods and services while publicity is not paid by the sponsor.
2. Advertising comes from an identified sponsor while publicity comes from a neutral and
impartial source.
3. Advertising is controllable by the organization while publicity is not controllable because it
comes from a neutral source.
4. Advertising is less credible in comparison to publicity while publicity is more credible because
it comes from an impartial source.
5. Advertising is what you or your organization says and promotes about you or your organization
but publicity is what others say for you or your organization.
6. In advertising same content is repeated by the sponsor while in publicity it is not generally
possible.
7. Advertising always carries a positive message about your organization because it is the
content you pay for but publicity can be positive or negative because it comes from an impartial
source.
8. In advertising you have full chance to show your creativity but in publicity creativity is limited
because it comes from non paid source.

9. Advertising is targeted to the particular audiences by the sponsor while in publicity it is not
focused.
10. Most of the times in advertising social responsibility is ignored while in publicity special focus
is given on social responsibility.

5. People
Your business is not just built on your goals, company vision and principles but also depends
heavily on your employees. It is the people who work for you who are responsible in creating
happy and returning customers. People in your organization are the epicenter of the quality of
your services and need to have the best of talents to gain customer loyalty and trust.
People are an essential ingredient in service provision; recruiting and training the right staff is
required to create a competitive advantage. Customers make judgments about service
provision and delivery based on the people representing your organization. This is because
people are one of the few elements of the service that customers can see and interact with.
Staff requires appropriate interpersonal skills, aptitude, and service knowledge in order to
deliver a quality service.
6. Process
How efficiently your services are delivered to the customer is an important aspect of your
service blueprint and you need to emphasize on setting up a process for doing so. You need to
ask yourself Do I want to have a process in place that is quick, reliable and easy to monitor
or one that is sluggish but necessarily passes through several layers of hierarchy? In todays
competitive world, companies are always in the race to deliver services quickly, efficiently
and with the highest quality.
The element Process represents the activities, procedures, protocols by which the service in
question is eventually delivered to the customer. As services are results of actions for or with
customers, a process involves a sequence of steps and activities to get there. Imagine you
walk into Mc Donalds and order a burger and you get it delivered within 2 minutes. What was
the process that allowed you to obtain an efficient service delivery? Banks that send out
Credit Cards automatically when their customers old one has expired again require an
efficient process to identify expiry dates and renewal. An efficient service that replaces old
credit cards will foster consumer loyalty and confidence in the company. All services need to
be underpinned by clearly defined and efficient processes. This will avoid confusion and
promote a consistent service. In other words processes mean that everybody knows what to
do and how to do it.
7. Physical Evidence (Physical Environment)
While offering your services, you can either do it without adding a personal touch or by
differentiating your offerings by adding an element of delight to the customer. For example,
would you prefer to visit a bookstore that only has a stack of books with a cashier nearby or
one that also has a place to sit, where you can browse through the book you are interested in
and enjoy the light music in the backdrop while you make a choice? The ambience of a

bookstore or restaurant, the music, the friendly face of your travel host etc. are all part of the
physical evidence of a service and they are an important element of the service marketing
mix.
Physical evidence is about where the service is being delivered from. It is particularly relevant
to retailers operating out of shops. This element of the marketing mix will distinguish a
company from its competitors. Physical evidence can be used to charge a premium price for a
service and establish a positive experience. For example all hotels provide a bed to sleep on
but one of the things affecting the price charged, is the condition of the room (physical
evidence) holding the bed. Customers will make judgments about the organization based on
the physical evidence. For example if you walk into a restaurant you expect a clean and
friendly environment, if the restaurant is smelly or dirty, customers are likely to walk out. This
is before they have even received the service.
Difference between service marketing and product marketing
1. WHO COMES TO WHOM: Products come to customers whereas customers come
to services. Product benefits are embedded inside the product / package and can be
transported to their customers through distribution channels. Services are location-based
and the customers need to travel to theses service locations.
2. WHAT
DO
THE
CUSTOMERS
WANT
STANDARDIZATION
OR
CUSTOMIZATION? Customers like their products to be standardized but like their services
to be customized.
3. QUALITY DELIVERY: The quality expected from a product is mostly embedded in the
product itself at the time of its manufacture and depends in turn on the quality of the
materials used and the setting of the machines. On the other hand the quality that people
expect from a service is quite different: customization and variation is appreciated in
service and this depends a lot on the experience, skill and motivation of the
service-giver on the spot.
4. TANGIBILITY: The products are tangible and can be inspected / sampled before
buying. Service on the other hand is experiential and intangible.
5. SCALABILITY: The product business is scaled up by expanding the manufacturing
capacity, market reach and access to more customers. The service business is not easy
to scale up because it needs a supply of trained service providers manpower involving
either poaching people from the competitors or in increased activity of recruitment,
induction, training and motivation. Attrition of trained manpower is a danger to service
business.
6. OWNERSHIP: A product (flat, car, and machine) can be owned and can go into your
balance sheet as an asset and is re-salable and you can accumulate it to build your
wealth. A service (surgery, haircut) cannot be owned and is always shown as an expense.
It is not resalable and cannot be transferred to someone else.
7. THE SOURCE OF VALUE: The customers buy "products" essentially for the value they
find inside the box - whether a soap or a TV . On the other hand, the customers buy
"services" for the value of they find in the "encounter" with the service provider - whether
doctor, waiter or a consultant.

8.

THE POSITION OF THE CUSTOMER: In the product business, the customer is outside
the manufacturing process and hence a marketing process needs to be created to bring
the voice of the customer in the process where the products are created. In the service
business the customer is inside the business and his requests and demands forces you to
understand and adapt to her.

Important Questions in Designing a 7P Model

When setting out to design or improve a marketing mix for a service provider, the marketer
should ask the following questions:
1.

How can we develop our product?

2.

How can we price fairly?

3.

How can we provide the right place for the customer to access and experience our
product?

4.

How can we promote our product to create an impact, differentiate from competitors and
further brand image?

5.

What is the process we will use to deliver our service to the customer?

6.

Who are the people who represent us and what are the skills that they need?

7.

How can we provide physical evidence of the superior nature of our product?

EXAMPLE 7Ps MARKETING MIX AT McDonalds

The Company

McDonalds was created by Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1937. They created food processing and
assembly line techniques at a tiny drive-in restaurant near Pasadena, California. In 1954, the restaurant was
franchised in the USA. In 1967, the restaurant went global with a foothold in Canada. The key to McDonalds
successful global presence has been franchising. Through this activity, the product and its delivery are translated
to fit local sensibilities while maintaining an essential McDonalds experience.

The McDonalds Marketing Mix

An effective and relevant marketing mix has enabled the restaurant to flourish while remaining true to its think
global, act local philosophy.
1. Product
The product offered is a standard set of items that are similar in taste and appearance wherever in the world they
are being sold. There is some adaptation according to local tastes and laws. For example, a more vegetarian
menu is offered in India, where a majority does not eat meat. In Muslim countries, any pork products are
eliminated and halal meat is used. There are also taste adaptations such as beer in Germany, yogurt drinks in
Turkey and espresso in Italy. There are also burger variations in different countries. Despite these differences,
the menu is structured in the same way which allows for the same experience everywhere.
2. Price
The organization attempts to price differently across its operations. This means that the right price is selected for
the right market. Pricing decisions are made by setting a pricing objective, determining demand, estimating
costs, analyzing competing offers, deciding on a pricing method and then finalizing a price. By following this
method and primarily assessing competitors, the company can understand what the customer is willing to pay
and what value they attach to the product.
3. Place
McDonalds has presence in 116 countries of the world. The organization believes in strategic expansion that
focuses on a locations long term potential.
4. Promotion
By first understanding cultural differences, a localized promotion strategy is employed. The focus is on both the
brands global image and its local sensitivity.
5. Process

In all of the thousands on McDonalds worldwide, the same process is used for making the food. The food
specifications for size, weight and content are the same everywhere. All suppliers need to meet these
specifications. Kitchen and restaurant layouts are the same. To cater to language differences, the menu displays
contain images that help create similarities everywhere. There are also defined processes for service delivery
such as all orders need to be filled within 90 seconds in the restaurant while drive through wait time is 3.5
minutes.
6. People
The company staffs locally and also promotes from within. This allows the team managing the operations to
understand local cultures as well as the corporate philosophy. The people chosen are trained in both technical
skills and customer focus. A Hamburger University in the USA as well as other training centers in different parts
of the world teaches standard practices that are to be employed in restaurants all over the world. This training
helps standardize product and service delivery.
7. Physical Evidence
All McDonalds locations are similarly created with a family friendly environment. There is a play area for
children, and service is always provided with a smile. All menus are structured in similar ways with fries and
drink combos. The childrens meal always has toys. These are all elements of physical evidence that are
standard in all McDonalds locations.
Digital marketing for attracting and retaining customers: recent trends
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is marketing that makes use of electronic devices (computers) such as personal
computers, smart phones, cell phones, tablets etc. to engage with stakeholders. Digital
marketing applies technologies or platforms such as websites, e-mail, apps (classic and mobile)
and social networks. Social Media Marketing is a component of digital marketing. Digital
marketing is an umbrella term for the targeted, measurable, and interactive marketing of
products or services using digital technologies to reach and convert leads into customers.The key
objective are to promote brands, build preference and increase sales through various digital
marketing techniques. It is embodied by an extensive selection of service, product and brand
marketing tactics, which mainly use the Internet as a core promotional medium, in addition to
mobile and traditional TV and radio.
The term 'digital marketing' was first used in the 1990s. In the 2000s and the 2010s, digital
marketing became more sophisticated as an effective way to create a relationship with the
consumer that has depth and relevance. While the term 'digital marketing' may not have been
used until the 1990s, digital marketing itself has roots to the mid-1980s when the Soft Ad Group,
now Channel Net, developed advertising campaigns for several major automobile companies,

wherein people would send in reader reply cards found in magazines and receive in return floppy
disks that contained multimedia content promoting various cars and offering free test drives.
The rapid evolution of digital media has created new opportunities and avenues for advertising
and marketing. Fueled by the proliferation of devices to access digital media, this has led to the
exponential growth of digital advertising.
In 2012 and 2013 statistics showed digital marketing remained a growing field.

Two different forms of digital marketing exist:

In pull digital marketing, the consumer actively seeks the marketing content, often via web
searches or opening an email, text message or web feed. Websites, blogs and streaming media
(audio and video) are examples of pull digital marketing. In each of these, users have to navigate
to the website to view the content.
In push digital marketing the marketer sends a message without the recipient actively seeking
the content, such as display advertising on websites and news blogs. Email, text messaging and
web feeds can also be classed as push digital marketing when the recipient has not actively
sought the marketing message.
5 Differences between push and pull marketingWhat is Push Marketing?
Push marketing brings content to the user. Also known as traditional marketing, push is the
grandmother of modern marketing. Direct mail marketing, such as catalogs and brochures, are
prime examples of push marketing.

What is Pull Marketing?

Pull marketing is the opposite of push marketing. This type of marketing pulls a consumer into
the business. Meaning: the customer seeks out your company. Todays consumer is an avid
researcher. He or she reads reviews, conducts keyword searches and asks Facebook friends for
suggestions. Pull marketing gives you an opportunity to attract the customers who want answers
you already provide. When you see a social media offer for a product you love, this is pull
marketing at work.
Push marketing and pull marketing differ in concept and application. Lets explore the five main
differences between push and pull.
1.

Concept

Push Marketing: This is also known as outbound marketing, since it pushes marketing out to
customers.
Pull Marketing: This is also known as inbound marketing. The term inbound means that
your marketing efforts generate a response: interest, inquiries, transactions, etc. That is,
customers come to you for answers.
2.

Strategy
Push Marketing: Push strategy is about devising ways to place products before prospects.
This usually involves some form of paid advertising: TV ads, radio spots, billboards and flyers.
Pull Marketing: Pull makes it easy for customers to find you. The focus is on creating
awareness and increasing brand visibility, particularly on the web. Pull marketing strategies
include eBooks, white papers, blogs and social media marketing.

3.

Channels
Push Marketing: This type of marketing typically starts offline, with a few exceptions. A
direct mail postcard is an example of offline marketing. An email offer is a perfect example of
how push marketing can translate to the web. You can also combine both. For example, send
a postcard that includes a URL to an irresistible online offer.
Pull Marketing: Pull is usually a web-based method. Blog posts, eBooks and other onlinecontent machines are forms of pull marketing that live on the web.

4.

Application
Push and pull also differ in application. Lets consider a few specific examples.
Example 1: Phone
Push: You pick up the phone and cold call a list of prospects
Pull: They call you and place an order, having found your number on your site
Example 2: Direct Mail
Push: You mail out a holiday coupon
Pull: A customer emails you to inquire about your services

5.

Engagement

Push Marketing: If done incorrectly, push marketing can be disruptive. As a result, push
customers tend to be less engaged. This happens when marketers send a Hail Mary to a
large swath of customers hoping for a lucky touchdown.
Pull Marketing: Marketing is easy when customers come to you. Pull marketing generally
enjoys a higher level of engagement because the customers seek out the companies. Pull
marketing can also fail if you target the wrong audience, or betray a customers trust.

Why You Need Both

Successful marketing campaigns adopt the best of both worlds. You need push to reach out to
those who might not have heard of your company. You need pull to attract those in the research
phase of the purchase cycle.

Some of the latest developments include:

As digital marketing is dependent on technology which is ever-evolving and fast-changing, the
same features should be expected from digital marketing developments and strategies. This
portion is an attempt to qualify or segregate the notable highlights existing and being used as of
press time.
1. Segmentation: More focus has been placed on segmentation within digital marketing, in
order to target specific markets in both business to business and business to consumer
sectors.
For E.g. AmazonBusiness.in and amazon.in
AmazonBusiness.in is a members-only B2B website that has been specifically
designed for businesses including small offices, entrepreneurs, department stores, kirana
stores, drugstores, clinics, hospitals, hotels, and restaurants. As a member, you can
purchase thousands of items, including business supplies and products for resale, at
wholesale prices and in bulk quantities. You can order from anywhere at any time of the
day, pay via Amazons trusted payment platform and get door-step deliveries through
Amazons
reliable
delivery
service.
AmazonBusiness.in is currently serving businesses in Bengaluru and Mangaluru.
AmazonBusiness.in is operated by Amazon Wholesale (India) Private Limited, an
affiliate of Amazon.com, Inc. Amazon.com, Inc. is a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle,
which opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995; and today offers the Earths Biggest
Selection. Amazon.in and Junglee.com are two other websites operated by Amazon and its
affiliates in India.
2. Influencer marketing: Important nodes are identified within related communities, known as
influencers. This is becoming an important concept in digital targeting. It is possible to reach
influencers via paid advertising, such as Face book or Google Ad sense campaigns, or through
sophisticated sCRM (social customer relationship management) software, such as Microsoft
Dynamics and Sales force CRM.
To summarize, Pull digital marketing is characterized by consumers actively seeking marketing
content while Push digital marketing occurs when marketers send messages without that
content being actively sought by the recipients

3. Online Behavioral Advertising: Online Behavioral Advertising refers to the practice of

collecting information about a users online activity over time, on a particular device and across
different, unrelated websites, in order to deliver advertisements tailored to that users interests
and preferences
4. Collaborative Environment: A collaborative environment can be set up between the

organization, the technology service provider, and the digital agencies to optimize effort,
resource sharing, reusability and communications.

Elements of digital marketing: the

(Attracting and Retaining customers)

digital

marketing

communications

mix

Email marketing
Email marketing is one of the earliest forms of digital marketing. It involves database marketing:
segmenting your customer data and delivering personalized, targeted messages at the right
time. As email marketing has developed, it has become increasingly personalized, with brands
like Amazon and ebay delivering emails that are custom-made to each user depending on buying
patterns.
The skills involved vary from database analysis & CRM, through to crafting the right message,
designing emails in HTML, and analyzing the results to act upon them.
SEO (search engine optimisation)
Search Engine Optimisation is the art (or science) of increasing a websites visibility in the search
engines. This can be done by increasing the ranking of a particular keyword, or increasing the
volume of keywords that a site ranks for. There are a variety of SEO techniques, from on-site
technical analysis and improvement, to content creation, outreach, blogging & link-building.
The skills involved are wide-ranging: technical capabilities, an analytical approach, and creativity.
PPC (pay per click)
Paid Search, PPC or pay-per-click is the management of paid adverts in the search results. Search
engine advertising is one of the most popular forms of PPC. It allows advertisers to bid for ad
placement in a search engine's sponsored links when someone searches on a keyword that is
related to their business offering. For example, if we bid on the keyword PPC software, our ad
might show up in the very top spot on the Google results page. Every time our ad is clicked,
sending a visitor to our website, we have to pay the search engine a small fee. When PPC is
working correctly, the fee is trivial, because the visit is worth more than what you pay for it. In
other words, if we pay $3 for a click, but the click results in a $300 sale, then weve made a hefty
profit.
Skills involved are equally wide-ranging: a keen eye for detail in data is required, as well as
creativity for crafting adverts and responding to trends in the data.
Social media

Social media management isnt just about sending out tweets its about managing a brands
image through multiple social channels. That may be Twitter or Facebook, but it may also be
Linkedin.
Its also about combining proactive business development, helping fill the top level of the sales
funnel, with customer support helping support the bottom end of the funnel. Social media
management has become increasingly mature and complex over the last few years, with greater
reporting tools available, and a wider range of social networks.
Skills involved blend brand awareness, customer service and creativity, as well as an awareness
of how social media metrics reflect on other marketing metrics.
Online advertising
Online advertising differs from PPC in that you are advertising on other peoples websites. For
instance, you may want to buy banner space on a specific website, and you would pay the
website owner either based on the number of impressions, or the number of clicks the advert
receives.
Skills involve design, creativity, negotiation, and data analysis, ensuring that the right advert is
placed in the right place, at the right time.
Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing can be quite similar to online advertising, except that the website hosting the
advert will be compensated only when a sale is made. The payment, therefore, will be higher
and will give the website owner the incentive to promote the advert more prominently.
Affiliate marketing isnt restricted to banner advertising. Many affiliates make money through
simple links, e-mail marketing, or even developing ecommerce shops with affiliate products.
On the one hand, brands have to negotiate with affiliates, and provide the best possible deal that
will ensure the best possible promotion, while ensuring that costs are kept down to a level that
ensures margins are high.
Skills involve negotiation, planning & data analysis.
Text messaging
Mobile marketing is one of the biggest growth areas in digital marketing. The increased usage of
smartphones around the world has resulted in a greater dependency on them for quick and
timely information.
Text messaging is a push strategy that some view as spam, but if used correctly, can be an
effective customer messaging strategy.
Blogging, RSS & News Feeds
Blogging and ensuring that blogs are visible involves not just writing blogs, but creating a
blogging strategy that brings together SEO, PR, social media and web design.
A good blog will be one that attracts natural, organic traffic through effective keyword research,
as well as social traffic. It will be well designed, and it will have a consistent voice that makes it
instantly recognizable.

Viral marketing
Viral marketing combines many elements of the marketing mix. Some call it content marketing,
as it always involves disseminating an element of content across multiple channels.
This can include videos on Youtube, blogs, email marketing, as well as traditional elements, but
the aim is to ensure that the content captures the imagination of your market, and that the
content spreads naturally through online communities.