Professional Services Marketing Made Easy – Omnichannel Marketing Solutions For Service Businesses

The Best Way To Market a Service Business

1. Service Business Marketing

Service type businesses offer professional skills, expertise, advice, and other similar services while a service being an act of performance 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.

Marketing a service type of business that provides intangible products (products with no physical form) can be either done face-to-face or at a traditional storefront – as it is the case in all brick and mortar businesses – or at a distance by using professional service marketing. Professional Service Automation systems (PSA) and online marketing for professional services streamline the process.

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There are four categories of marketing a professional service business:

Marketing a Classic Professional Service Businesses: Marketing a business that is characterised by a high knowledge intensity, a professionalised workforce, and low capital intensity;
Marketing a Professional campuses (e.g. clinics): Marketing a business that is characterised by a high knowledge intensity, a professionalised workforce, and high capital intensity;
Marketing a Neo-Professional Services Business (e.g. management consultants): Marketing a business that is characterised by a high knowledge intensity and a low capital intensity;
Marketing for Technology developers (e.g. research companies, biotechs): Marketing a business that is characterised by a high knowledge intensity and a high capital intensity.

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2. Marketing a Merchandising Business

This type of business buys products at wholesale price and sells the same at retail price. They are known as “buy and sell” businesses. They make profit by selling the products at prices higher than their purchase costs.

A merchandising business sells a product without changing its form. Examples are: grocery stores, convenience stores, distributors, and other resellers.

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3. Marketing a Manufacturing Business

Unlike a merchandising business, a manufacturing business buys products with the intention of using them as materials in making a new product. Thus, there is a transformation of the products purchased.

A manufacturing business combines raw materials, labor, and factory overhead in its production process. The manufactured goods will then be sold to customers.

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Marketing a Hybrid Business

Hybrid businesses are companies that may be classified in more than one type of business. A restaurant, for example, combines ingredients in making a fine meal (manufacturing), sells a cold bottle of wine (merchandising), and fills customer orders (service).

Nonetheless, these companies may be classified according to their major business interest. In that case, restaurants are more of the service type – they provide dining services.

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Marketing any service category is no longer a path to purchase, but a path to purpose

Buyers paths are a constant string of moments intertwined together equaling an experience, fulfilling a buyer’s purpose. It is critical to create a cohesive customer journey.

Prospect clients do expect to be treated as individuals. Anticipate what they need and respond accordingly with a customized solution and relevant content and support.

The key to addressing the challenges of omnichannel marketing is enhancing user experience and provide consumers, customers and clients with more payment options, more company interaction options, more long-term engagement opportunities and more convenience. People want the same kind of convenience, connectivity and opportunity no matter what device they are on, whether on the go, wherever and whenever they want. For service businesses it is a MUST to provide the customer with a seamless shopping experience whether the customer is shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, by telephone or in a bricks and mortar store. Omnichannel marketing wants to foster an effortless buying experience for consumers.

When it comes to customer retention service businesses with well-defined omnichannel customer experience strategies in place achieve a 91% higher year-over-year increase in customer retention rate on average, compared to companies without omnichannel programs in place.

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