Service Management and Marketing †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Service Management and Marketing. Answer: Introduction Differentiation is defined as a strategy of an organisation to get the customers to accept the products and pay for it and that helps the company to achieve competitive advantages. In order to gain competitive advantage the company changes the existing offering to the customers and creates a new one.Differentiation is defined as the perception of the customers. When the customers perceive a product from another company and that is more valuable then the company is differentiated. In the hospitality industry differentiation plays an important role. The huge competition in the industry encourages the organisation to go for differentiation. In order to differentiate a product in the market, a company focuses on important differentiators. The company focuses on highlighting the features of the products, time and the place when and where it can differentiate its products. The differentiation is initiated by the company through the link between the consumers the organisation. This is done by the organisation by customizing the product as per the demand of the customers(Gronroos, 2007). This is also done by the organisation through a great marketing scheme or through its brand image. The internal the external links of the company also bring differentiation in the organisation. This is done by the company with the help of its mix of products distribution. In this case, the favour of the distributor and the customer service is important. There are the ways or ideas that help to differentiate. The first idea is that achievement of the idea of differentiation. The second idea is that the organisation should attribute that the differentiation cannot be followed by the competitors in the market. The third important thing is the leadership. The credentials of the leaders establish faith in the customers. The fourth important point is to the idea of the positive psychological impact on the customers(Lee, 2014). The fifth idea is that the view and the experience of the customers should be taken into account. The view of the customer in the market determines the differentiation. The seventh point that hospitality industry should focus is on the process of the preparation of the products. The eighth point or idea is that the organisation should focus on the latest the greatest offerings and that determines the differentiation. The last one is hotness. The word of mouth of the customers becomes effective for the spread of hot ness. Levels of differentiations There are different types of levels of differentiations. The differentiation level of merchandise is different from that of differentiation level of support. A system-buy differentiation occurs when the offering shows the high level of merchandise support differentiation. In a hospitality industry service to the customers is a major concern. Let us take an example of a luxury hotel that provides home delivery. The level of the merchandise of the hotel is high as it a luxurious hotel. If it's support level i.e., home delivery 8is low then it is called a product-buy. When the support level and the merchandise level are low then it is called a commodity-buy. A service-buy is a differentiation when the level of merchandise is low and the level of support is very high(Aaker, 2011). The restaurant of normal size offers excellent home delivery for 24 hours. The objective of the differentiation is to draw the customers to its products against the characteristics based competition instead of the price that is visible to the customers(Page, 2009). Differentiation proves to sustain the better performance than the managers cost leadership strategy. The manager of a restaurant prefers to opt for the cost leadership strategies as it becomes less risk unpredictable. Issues related to the differentiation The organisation faces hurdles dilemmas during the time it implements strategies of the differentiation. These strategies are: Collaboration Control History Vision Collaboration is considered a hindrance to the optimal success. Too many people in the process of the differentiation make the things difficult. Innovation does not require too many rules unwanted paper work. It is always true that a little control cannot result effectively (Vitez, 2017). The organisation should not look the past too much. But the past is very important and we cannot avoid completely as the past experience gives opportunities to get the advantage. Vision is important for the organisation so that it can make good innovation. But too much vision can bring tough situations for the organisation because it faces difficulties when the market changes. There are different means and ways to assess the effects of the differentiation. The company comes to know the success of the differentiation for the improvement of the quality service through the survey. The differentiation for the economic benefits is assessed from the return on the investment rates(Pine Gilmore, 2011). The approved patents prove the success of the launch of the new products through differentiation. The inventory can reflect the differentiation that has been meant for the successful improvement of the delivery system. Ways to differentiate The differentiation can be made in three different ways. They are reversal, breakaway hostility. Reversal differentiation means when the competition goes forward that adds speed the organisation decides to make a stop go backwards. This happens when the organisation launches some extravagance that makes the company remain in a differentiated position. Breakaway differentiation refers to the introduction of an offering to a category that is different instead of bringing a simple modification of the products. In the hospitality industry, we find that the organisation launches the products to compete with a slight change in the product. The organisation gives the customers an alternative. Hostility refers to admit the flaws. This is not easy appealing. This model elicits powerful feelings. The organisation requires knowing about the merits and demerits of the competition. There are five forces that play the crucial role in the competition of the hospitality industry. They are the buyer, supplier, competitor, substitute and the potential entrant(Silva, 2014). The hospitality industry uses three strategies such focus, cost leadership differentiation.Differentiation is perceived as unique. It focuses on brand loyalty than price. To sustain in the market the organisation takes steps. In the first step, the company requires finding out the category of products and whether the product is ripe for differentiation. The step should be taken taking all these points into consideration(Banker, et al., 2014). The second step is to identify whether the differentiation is required for product or service. In the hospitality industry products and services are equally important. The success of the business depends on both the product and the services of the hotel or the restaurants. Th e organisation should identify the differentiation required for its competitive growth.Thirds step is that it should ensure the difference. The organisation that brings differentiation strategically should exhibit the difference that has brought though it's differentiation(Tzortzaki, 2014). The proof will be very credentials and proof is required as without proof differentiation has not been achieved.The fourth step is the most crucial step for the differentiation strategy for the hospitality industry. Communication plays an important role. The customers are required to be communicated about thedifferentiation. Without communication, the better offerings will be useless. Conclusion For differentiation, it is to find out the buyers. The individual should be focused. The value chain of the buyers is required to be assessed.The purchasing ability of the buyers should also be taken into account. The present future differentiation sources should be examined and the cost for its should be made taking buyers ability into consideration Bibliography Aaker, D., 2011. Brand relevance: making competitors irrelevant. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Banker, R., Mashruwala, R. Tripathy, A., 2014. . Does a differentiation strategy lead to more sustainable financial performance than a cost leadership strategy?. Management Decison, 52(5), pp. 872-896. Barney, J., 2007. Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage.. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Gronroos, C., 2007. Service management and marketing: customer management in service competition. Chichester: Wiley. Lee, S., 2014. Quality differentiation and conditional spatial price competition among hotels. Tourism Management, Volume 46, pp. 114-122. Page, J., 2009. Transport and tourism: global perspectives. 3rd ed. Harlow: Pearson Prentice Hall. Pine, J. Gilmore, J., 2011. The Experience Economy. Harvard Business Review Press. Silva, R., 2014. Multimarket contact, differentiation, and prices of chain hotels. Tourism Management, 48, pp. 305-315., Volume 48, pp. 305-315. Tzortzaki, A., 2014. Knowledge-based strategies for managers in the service sector.. Management Research Review, 37, 10, pp. 858-879, 37(10), pp. 858-879. Vitez, O., 2017. Decision Making in Business Ethics. [Online] Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/decision-making-business-ethics-446.html