Write a note on External Marketing

External Marketing:

The external marketing efforts are the traditional functions of marketing of the customers and make promises to the customers as to what is to be delivered. Anything conveyed to the customer in any form before the delivery of service can be viewed as a part of external marketing function.

The first step towards external marketing is to make the firm understand what makes a customers’ want a particular type of service and what are their expectations of a certain type of service, since external marketing builds customers’ expectations and beliefs about service delivery. The external marketing then gives promises that correspond with the personal needs of the target group.

It becomes necessary to understand the needs of the customer for the service provider. This leads to market segmentation on a suitable basis i.e. demographic, psychographic and wage pattern. Once the market segment is identified, the next task is to find ways to compete in that segment.

This can be achieved by using the right marketing mix after taking into consideration the external factors. The services planning, pricing, promotion and delivery of the service tend to differ in respect of a customer group. The promises which the service provider makes must highlight the reasons why the customer should choose his particular service from the several service providers. The promise made should also match with the customers’ expectations of the service.

The company conveys promises through promotion campaign, corporate image and word of mouth communication. It also conveys through the past experience which the customer has had with the firm.

According to Zeithamal and Bitner, the customer’s expectation of the services can be derived from the following sources:

i)                    Past Experience.

ii)                  Corporate image.

iii)                Word of mouth communication.

iv)                Explicit service promises which are personal and non-personal statements about the service made to the customer by service firms through contracts, personal selling, advertisement, etc.

v)                  Implicit service promises which are related over other than explicit promise that leads to  inference about what service should and will be like.

vi)                Care should be taken to maintain credibility while setting the promise because a very high expectation may lead to a highly dissatisfied customer.