Why differentiation is the most important marketing strategy for service marketing?

Differentiated marketing refers to dividing the whole market into several different consumer markets according to different demands, and formulating corresponding marketing strategies according to the characteristics of different sad market segments.

As follows:

Enterprise marketing mix 1-→ market segments 1

Enterprise marketing mix II-→ market segmentation II

Enterprise marketing mix 3-market segment 3.

For example, Ford Motor Company has successively launched famous brands: Ford, Volvo, Lincoln, Jaguar, Land Rover and so on. To meet the different needs of consumers for cars. Coca-Cola Company not only provides a unified 6.5-ounce bottle of coke to the market, but also continues to maintain the original coke carbonated drinks, and has successively introduced soda and fruit juice. Diet coke is a low-sugar beverage based on classical coke, which is popular all over the world, while Cheetos, soda, Fanta and children's juice drinks are very successful. These two giants have changed from the original undifferentiated marketing strategy to differentiated marketing strategy, which has achieved great success and kept their competitive position in the market.

Advantages of differentiated marketing:

Targetedly meet the differentiated needs of several market segments, better meet the different needs of consumers, and increase the sales of enterprises; The dispersion of enterprise resources in multiple market segments can disperse the business risks of enterprises.

Disadvantages of differentiated marketing:

Increase the cost of enterprises, because product varieties, channels and publicity are diversified in various market segments, which increases the cost of enterprises in research, research and development, channels and promotion; Enterprise resources are scattered in multiple markets, so it is difficult to form a competitive advantage immediately; It is easy for two market segments to compete for internal customer resources.

Therefore, enterprises should decide whether they need this strategy according to their own ability, conditions, environment and other factors.

The core idea of differentiated marketing:

The core idea of differentiated marketing is to "segment the market, locate the target consumer groups, introduce brands and establish an image". On the basis of market segmentation, aiming at the personalized demand of the target market, through brand positioning and communication, the brand is endowed with unique value, a distinct image is established, and the core competitive advantage of brand differentiation and personalization is established. The key of differentiated marketing is to actively find the market gap, select the target market, tap the unsatisfied personalized needs of consumers, develop new functions of products and give brand new value. The basis of differentiated marketing is the diversified characteristics of market consumption demand. Different consumers have different hobbies, different personalities, different value orientations, different income levels and different consumption concepts, which determines that they have different needs for product brands, which is why differentiated marketing is needed.

Differentiated marketing is not an innovation of a certain marketing level or a certain marketing method, but a multi-faceted and systematic marketing innovation of products, ideas, values, images and promotion methods. And on the basis of innovation, realize the brand's target focus in market segments and gain strategic leading edge.

Differentiated marketing strategy:

With the development of technology, the vertical division of labor in the industry and the openness and timeliness of information, more and more products are homogenized, and seeking differentiated marketing has become an essential weapon for the survival and development of enterprises. Michael Porter, a famous strategic management expert, describes the differentiation strategy in this way: when a company can provide customers with some unique goods that other competitors can't replace, and its value to customers is not just a cheap commodity, it distinguishes itself from its competitors.

For general commodities, differences always exist, but the sizes are different. The "differentiation" pursued by differentiated marketing is the "incomplete substitution" of products-physical products or service products, that is, enterprises rely on their own technological advantages and management advantages to produce products with better performance and quality than the existing market level; Or in terms of sales, through distinctive publicity activities, flexible promotion methods and thoughtful after-sales service, we can establish a distinctive general image in the minds of consumers.

Strategy 1: product differentiation

Product differentiation refers to the differences in product characteristics, working performance, consistency, durability, reliability, maintainability, style and design. In other words, the products produced by an enterprise are obviously superior to the manufacturers of similar products in quality and performance, thus forming an independent market. For competitors in the same industry, the core value of products is basically the same, but the difference is that in terms of performance and quality, while meeting the basic needs of customers, providing customers with unique products is the goal of differentiation strategy. In the 1980s, China 10 used one product; in the 1990s, 10 used one product; today, one person uses 10 products. Therefore, no enterprise can satisfy 10 demands with one product. It is better to introduce 10 products to satisfy 10 demands, or even meet one demand. Enterprises can implement differentiated marketing from two aspects:

The first is the characteristics. Product characteristics refer to the characteristics that supplement the basic functions of products. Most products have different characteristics. Its starting point is the basic function of the product, and then the enterprise launches new products by adding new functions. The most successful implementation in this respect is Procter & Gamble. As far as its shampoo products are concerned, the purchase purpose of Rejoice consumers is nothing more than dandruff removal, suppleness, nutrition, hair care and blackening. Accordingly, P&G launched corresponding brands: Head & Shoulders, Pan Ting, Sassoon and Runyan. Procter & Gamble also adopts this strategy when developing products of other brands. The beverage enterprises in China also adopted this strategy when they introduced new products, such as "a little sweetness" in Nongfu Spring, "mixed fruit sweat" and "shake before drinking" in Nongfu Orchard, "daily C juice" by Master Kong and "real fresh orange" by Huiyuan Juice, which left a deep impression on consumers. It can be seen that product characteristics are one of the most competitive tools for enterprises to realize product differentiation.

The second is style. Style refers to the visual effect and feeling of the product to the buyer. Take the refrigerator products of Haier Group as an example. Haier refrigerator has three different styles: Europe, Asia and America. European rigorous, square, white; The Asian style is mainly elegant, with arc doors, round doors, colorful patterns and steel plates; The American style is prominent and luxurious, appearing in a wide-body streamlined shape. For another example, some domestic beverage manufacturers have got rid of the previous rotating opening mode and used the so-called "moving lid" to directly pull up the bottle opener, which has also achieved great success. In addition, for ordinary consumers, working performance, consistent quality, durability, reliability and maintainability are also the key points of seeking differences. If the car is composed of standard parts and it is easy to replace parts, then the car is easy to maintain and has a certain competitive advantage in the hearts of customers.

Strategy 2: service differentiation

Service differentiation means that enterprises provide excellent services different from competitors to the target market. Especially when it is difficult to highlight the difference between tangible products, the key to successful competition often depends on the quantity and quality of services. The main factors that distinguish service levels are delivery, installation, user training, consultation and maintenance. The difference of pre-sales and after-sales service has become a competitive weapon between rivals. For example, the same computer is guaranteed for one year and three years; Lenovo Computer and Hisense Computer both have free training schools, but the training contents are different. The same sales of electric water heaters, Haier Group implements 24-hour full service, and a set of high-quality services before and after sale make every customer pleasing to the eye.

In the increasingly fierce market competition, service has become the starting point and destination of all commercial activities. Now the gap between product price and technology is gradually narrowing. Besides product quality and company image, the most important factor affecting consumers' purchase is service quality. Service can lead the sales trend of products, and the ultimate goal of service is to improve the customer's return rate and expand market share. Only differentiated services can make enterprises and products occupy a "place" in the hearts of consumers forever. Based on the analysis of the technical performance of similar products in the computer industry, American International Business Computer Corporation (IBM) believes that service is the urgent need of users, so it is determined that the business philosophy of the enterprise is "IBM is service". China Haier Group regards "providing perfect service to customers" as its success creed. Haier's service concepts, such as "Try to make users' troubles tend to zero as much as possible", "Users are always right", "Star service concept", "Selling credit, not products", "Quality service is the foundation of the company's sustainable development" and "Delivering quality service can bring more sales to the company", really put users in the position of God. Naturally, Haier's brand image is getting higher and higher in the eyes of consumers.

The essence of Haier's differentiated service is innovation and speed. Through the continuous introduction of innovative models, the service is upgraded at the first speed in the industry, and the differentiation of services is not only the differentiation of forms and concepts, but also the continuous innovation on the basis of user differentiation to meet the needs of users. Therefore, service differentiation itself is also the response of enterprises to market awareness and enterprise strategic adjustment.

Strategy 3: Image differentiation

Image differentiation refers to gaining competitive advantage by shaping the image of products, enterprises and brands different from competitors. Image is the public's views and feelings about products and enterprises. The tools to shape the image are: name, color, logo, slogan, environment, activities and so on. In terms of color, Kodak's yellow, Fuji's green and Le Kai's red; The blue color of Pepsi and the red color of Coca-Cola are easily recognized by consumers among many similar products. Let's talk about the image differences of liquor products in China: Maotai as a state banquet wine, Jiannanchun as a prosperous Tang wine, LU ZHOU LAO JIAO CO.,LTD Co., Ltd. as a historical vicissitudes, Jinliufu as a blessing wine, Luzhou-flavor health wine and so on. , all have their own characteristics. When consumers buy a certain wine, the first thing they think of is the image of the wine; When tasting wine, what you taste is wine, and what you taste is the different spiritual pleasure brought by the different image of wine.

Enterprises must adopt different strategies according to competitors' image strategies and consumers' minds when implementing image differentiation. If enterprises skillfully implement the strategy of image differentiation, they will get unexpected results. For example, in order to highlight its natural image, Nongfu Spring not only printed the scenic photos of Qiandao Lake on the label of the red bottle, but also showed its pure characteristics from Qiandao Lake invisibly. In order to show the company's image differentiation, Nongfu Spring launched a "penny" campaign on 200 1 to support Beijing's Olympic bid; In 2002, the "Sunshine Project" was launched to support basic physical education in poor areas. Nongfu Spring has achieved excellent social benefits, enhanced brand value and achieved image differentiation through such public welfare activities. In just a few years of growth, these differentiation strategies and tactics have played a very key role in the status of Nongfu Spring today. It can be said that without the differentiation of these images, Nongfu Spring would not have developed today. In terms of Midea Group breaking through the price blockade of Galanz and successfully entering the microwave oven market, it also adopted the strategy of image differentiation. Midea made full use of its good image in the public, and successfully extended the "Midea" brand to microwave oven products by adopting strategies such as sub-brand and animal spokesperson (bodybuilding chicken). It can be seen that the implementation of differentiation strategy is undoubtedly a sharp weapon for enterprises to distinguish competitors, occupy consumers' minds and gain competitive advantages.