Intangibility is a fundamental characteristic of services that distinguishes them from physical goods. It refers to the inability to physically touch, see, feel, hear, or smell a service before it is purchased and experienced.
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Intangibility means that services cannot be inventoried, patented, easily displayed, or communicated.
Intangibility makes it challenging for customers to evaluate a service before purchase, leading to higher perceived risk.
Intangibility requires services to be marketed and sold differently than physical goods, with a greater emphasis on personal selling and building trust.
Intangibility also makes it difficult for service providers to demonstrate quality, leading to a focus on tangible cues like physical facilities and employee appearance.
Overcoming the challenge of intangibility is a key strategic consideration for service marketers.
Review Questions
Explain how the intangibility of services affects the marketing and sale of services compared to physical goods.
The intangible nature of services means they cannot be physically inspected or demonstrated before purchase, leading to higher perceived risk for customers. This requires service providers to focus more on personal selling, building trust, and providing tangible cues like physical facilities and employee appearance to signal quality. Service marketing must also emphasize experiential aspects and customer testimonials to help potential customers visualize the service offering.
Describe the key challenges that the intangibility of services presents for service providers and how they can overcome these challenges.
The intangibility of services makes it difficult for providers to demonstrate quality and differentiate their offerings. To overcome this, service providers must focus on creating tangible cues that signal quality, such as modern facilities, well-trained employees, and professional branding. They also need to emphasize the experiential aspects of the service and provide opportunities for potential customers to try or sample the service before purchase. Building a strong reputation through customer testimonials and word-of-mouth can also help mitigate the challenges posed by intangibility.
Evaluate how the intangible nature of services impacts the customer's decision-making process compared to purchasing physical goods.
The intangibility of services means customers cannot physically inspect or experience the service before purchase, leading to higher perceived risk and uncertainty. This requires customers to rely more on indirect cues, such as the provider's reputation, personal recommendations, and the tangible elements of the service environment. Customers may also seek out more information, such as reviews and demonstrations, to reduce the risk associated with an intangible purchase. The decision-making process for services is often more complex and subjective compared to purchasing physical goods, where the product can be directly evaluated.
Related terms
Tangibility: The quality of being able to be touched or perceived as real and physical.
The characteristic of services where the production and consumption occur simultaneously, unlike goods which can be produced, stored, and then consumed later.