MARKETING STARNDARDS IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRIES

author Ramila Kaducova

Marketing for the service industries has special importance, but at the same time, unfortunately it developed in a less extent than in the commercial sphere. The reason for this is smaller service firms, and it’s specific interactions with customers.

Features of the service industries marketing do not only reflect the specific features of services: its intangibility, complexity of measuring and comparing, storage disability, etc., but also forms separate marketing paradigms and approaches, thus influencing on the development and changing the very marketing activities. The fact that the features of the service industries marketing forms specific challenges for marketers is discussed in the science literature. Since foreign experts point out the next: "Service industries firms are facing the need to settle three main marketing objectives:

1. Necessity to allocate its proposal and provision of similar services offered by competitors;

2. Necessity to provide such service quality that able to meet or exceed the expectations of the consumer;

3. Necessity to improve productivity, increase the number of services without decreasing of its quality, standardize services, develop effective methods of service, encourage consumers to self-service, using modern technology "[1].

Especially interesting the third group tasks: "the growth of productivity, standardization of services" - before there were no such tasks for marketing in other areas, on the one hand, emphasizes the special role of marketing as an integral part of today's service, on the other hand, shows the influence of the use of service industries marketing on the marketing itself - putting in front of it qualitatively new and broader problems. It is fixed in the general formulation of problems in the service industries marketing provided by foreign literature: "Marketers need to find ways to make the intangible a tangible, to increase productivity in the services, improve and lead to the same quality standards and to regulate the proposition during periods of high demand and its decline "[1].

Solving problems like that defines a special place of marketing not only in the conceptual constructs connected with understanding of the functioning of marketing in the service industries, but also in practical organizational schemes: in the service industries to implement of the marketing activity carried out directly in the production process. Marketing in the service industries is not just a part of business at the management level (planning, information management, etc.), but a factor of production in the system of organizational and technological service of the customer. This is not just a specific characteristic of the service industries marketing, but qualitatively different marketing content, which becomes a part of the technological process of service, aimed on developing customer loyalty, its satisfaction. In this case, marketing is subsystem acts as the operational settings of an existing service processes on the needs of a particular consumer. In the simplest case, this can be illustrated by the example of service work in the area of hairdressing services when the master before making a hair and in the process of conducting an interviews with the client to determine exactly what the result he expects. On how clearly, correctly and politely it can be performed depends how a particular service can be evaluated. In this case, interviewing of the client - is a marketing work done by a specialist with the purpose and process of service delivery. Similar examples can be carried from a variety of areas, where specialists of service firms are much less influence on the composition of the proposed service, but perform no less a marketing job in the process of interaction with the client.

The leading factors of high importance to ensure the quality of the services industries marketing, American researchers signed out the following:

"The higher loyalty of the customers. Quality - is an important part of customer satisfaction. High quality leads to high satisfaction and high satisfaction leads to loyal customers. Purchasing loyalty - is a pledge of high profits and growth.

The higher market share. Loyal customers provide a stable customer base of the organization. Their word of mouth advertizing gives new customers, thereby increasing market share for the organization.

The higher dividends to investors. Research shows that companies are known for its high quality products or services - is profitable companies, and therefore investments in their safety stock - is a good investment.

Loyal employees. When an organization produces goods or services of the highest quality, its employees happy and proud of their work. Satisfied employees are usually loyal and works more productively. In addition, there is no fluctuation of personnel in such organizations.

Lower costs. Higher quality means the correct implementation from the first attempt, which means that organization carried out relatively small cost for error correction and refund to the dissatisfied customers. Prevention of errors increases productivity and reduces costs.

Less vulnerability to price competition. Companies known for it’s high quality of service, usually held the high prices because they provide something that can not afford their competitors. Consequently, they usually do not participate in price competition, and if it still hurts them, they usually are in an advantageous position because of their high performance and low cost "[1].

Improving the quality of service, service companies reaches a solution of a number of marketing tasks. Dialectics of using marketing in services industries is that the marketing is an element this quality.

Despite the fact that quality standards are primarily focused on manufacturing companies, there is no obstacles to their use with appropriate modifications in the service sector. Moreover, the notion of quality, defined as the ability to meet consumer demands (rather than as a set of technical and operational parameters of product), fully corresponds to the both the content of service activities, and to the nature of marketing. The indication of the last is that the quality is a major determinant of competitiveness and customer loyalty: "High quality – it is when the customer returns to the developer, but not to the products of the developer" [2]. Also corresponds to the content of the service and marketing activities the concept of quality assurance as: "a combination of planned and systematic actions which are necessary to make sure that the products or processes satisfy certain requirements for the quality" [3]. Such works can be included into the marketing activities, especially when the tools to identify the needs of consumers in most extents developed in marketing. Key element of the implementation of marketing in a service firm is staff. This position is shared by many scientists, and some are even willing to include all employees of the company to marketers (while maintaining a rational approach to the allocation of marketing functions in the enterprise). For sure, at the various serves enterprises level of personal contact of the staff and clients are different.

Representing, in fact, interpersonal communication, as an economic good - the service can not be standardization, and it is difficult to define in figures the customer satisfaction or the level of staff goodwill. But it is possible to develop a interior or marketing service standards.

Service standard – is a set of binding rules of customer service, which are call to ensure the prescribed level of quality during all operations.

Creation of marketing service standards is not just a few steps of improving the functioning of the individual divisions of the enterprise, but reflects the stage of development as a qualitatively new organization. It is therefore quite logical that the organizational changes associated with the conduct of these standards go beyond the actual marketing activities and covers methods and techniques of organizational activity in general. In the same time marketing work is the most creative and unique component of all commercial and industrial activity of the enterprise.

Marketing Standards - multifunctional enterprises standards, implemented on a specially developed techniques (till now such each method is unique, but with the accumulation of experience of similar work, proven and effective ways will be a methodical standard activity).

Formation of marketing standards should be implemented in the course of standardization, which is required to establish a common patterns, the introduction of uniform, standard forms of organization of anything.

The quality of marketing as a process characterized by distinctive features of skilled organizational activities aimed on both creating and (or) improving already created (previously arranged) marketing systems, and to develop an algorithm of interaction of the company’s subsystems to formation and implementation of marketing activities. Which in its turn should accumulate all company’s systems and guide to the improvement of service and desire to the highest customer satisfaction.

If to consider the Marketing Standards in the way of action orientation it can be considered in the following groups:

1. Standards of calculations and drawing up marketing plans and programs.

2. Organizational standards.

3. Qualification standards.

4. Information and instrumental standards.

5. Safety standards.

6. Other standards.

1. Standards of calculation

This group of standards can be incorporated with the rules of making plans, formulas, methods of calculation of indicators, plans and schedules to make comparisons. Also in this group may include standards for data from different sources. Different formulas and rules of performing forecast calculations are well represented in the scientific literature and its standardization in this case have an adjustment character and specially applied based on the specifics of the industry's market of the implementation of marketing activities.

2. Organization standards

This group of standards is a key to control the marketing activities, as it should be included with the rules for actions of the participants of this work, required activities and control procedures. Organizational standards should reflect the allocation of tasks between the performers, ways of coordination of their work.

3.Qualification standards

Qualification standards must link the content of the work and the level of training of it performer.

4. Information and instrumental standards

The group of Information Standards in terms of content largely reflects the composition of the first two sets of standards, because of the various indicators, evaluations, and working rules are expressed in certain forms of information. The overall composition of information standards can be represented as:

1. Common terms.

2. Standards for the use of tools.

3. Standards for documents circulation.

5. Safety standards:

Safety standards should reflect the main current risks of marketing activities, which generally comes to:

- Technical and environmental;

- Financial;

- Environment;

- Social, ethical and legal

6. Other standards:

The components of other marketing standards may be included different requirements to the order of performance. For example, the secrecy of some research (preservation of trade secrets relating to business development and market development). Or, conversely, the development of publicity to attract a market niche for attracting to its implementation of the bigger number of interested parties. Also to other standards can be attributed requirements associated with the work carried out during the marketing activities: marketing research expertise of other organizations, auditing, business planning, asset valuation, etc.

In the process of creation marketing standards for certain sectors of employment is possible to use only a few groups. For example, during developing of marketing standards for enterprise providing hairdressing services were used the following groups of standards:

1. Organizational standards;

2. Qualification standards;

3. Service standards;

4. Safety standards.

Each group consist of the next standards.

1. Organizational standards:

1.Standard of premises design - Interior, furnishings in various branches of the enterprise network must be done in a common style.

2. Standard of the employees appearance - Codex of branded clothing, maintain high standards of personal hygiene.

3. Standard of complete set of equipment - the employees should have all the necessary tools and equipment, (including clothes hanger for visitor, a shelf for client’s bags).

4. Standard of premises cleaning - cleaning process should not adversely affect the public.

5. Standards for the brand - Presence of the logo badge at employees, signage and advertising.

2. Qualification standards.

Standard of education of employees, work experience, skills - the skill level of workers depend on the economic, consumer and operational characteristics of services, as well as health and mood of customers.

3. Service standards:

1. Booking Standard – booking is made by the administrator and distributed among the masters, depending on customer feedback.

2. Standard working hours – the schedule of the employees in different situations.

3. Standard of behavior of the workers - The basic rules of behavior in the presence of the client.

4. Standard of client’s admission - Greeting clients and aid in the implementation of choice.

5. Standard preparatory and concluding activities - Preparation of a workplace, tools, equipment, laundry and other work necessary to perform a specific operation. And also work at the end of customer service.

6. Standard of the services - The process of providing the service.

7. Standard of the paying for the services – paying in advance, payment after the performance and payment on mutual trust, which means the contract work, when the client is calculated directly from the master.

4. Safety standards:

Safety standards in the provision of hairdressing services - Rules to be followed by the master to the client security (shaving, coloring, manicures, etc.)

In today's service economy more and more attention is paid to the quality of services, the most complete customer satisfaction and protection of their interests. Quality has been a major factor in determining consumer demand for competitive services. The specificity of service activities is that during its implementation, marketing is not only a means of promoting of the provided services on the market, but also becomes an independent factor in the service because with the help of marketing the contact with the customer of the services is determined by the composition and level of its requests. The marketing standard allows to control of quality system of the services, common framework for evaluating services firm and the consumer, and a continuous process of training staff. Moreover, corporate or marketing standard has always been associated with the brand name that identifies the company and contributes to effective positioning in the relevant market.

REFERENCES

1. C. Haksever, B. Render, R. Russell, R. Merdik. Management and organization of services, 2nd ed. / translation from English. Ed. V.V. Kulibanovoy. - St. Petersburg. Peter, 2002. – p.752.

2. E. Cryer. Successful certification for compliance with the standards ISO 9000: Translation from German. - M.: IzdAT, 1999.

3. Collection of existing international standards ISO 9000. V. 1, 2, 3. - M.: VNIIKI, 1998.