5 differences between products and services
- Products go to the
customers through distribution channels. Customers come to the service
locations to avail them.
- Customers like their
products to be standardized. Customers like services to be customized to
their needs.
- The quality that
expect from a product is mostly embedded in the product itself at the time
of its manufacture and depends in turn on the quality of the materials
used and the setting of the machines. Both materials and machines, being
inanimate, can be standardized. On the other hand the quality that people
expect from a service is quite different : customization and variation is
appreciated in service and this depends a lot on the experience, skill and
motivation of the service-giver on the spot.
- The products are
tangible and can be inspected / sampled before buying. Service on the
other hand is experiential and sometimes based on a belief.
- Expanding the
market reach and access to more customers expands the product business. In
services the constraint in increasing the business is also in creating
good service providers through recruitment, induction, training and
motivation.