Consistent Service Brands Through Staff

One of the most problematic aspects associated with service brands is that consumers have to deal with intangible offerings. In an attempt to overcome this problem, marketers put a lot of emphasis on the company as a brand, especially in sectors such as financial services, since this is one way of making the service more tangible. Because of their intangible nature, service brands run the risk of being perceived as commodities. To overcome this problem, strong brands with a clear set of values which result in positive? Perceptions amongst consumers are essential. However, these common and consistent perceptions amongst consumers are difficult to establish for intangible offerings. Service brands need to be made tangible to provide consumers with well- defined reference points.

The first points of contact with a service organization, such as car parking, design of building and appearance of the reception area, all interact to give consumers clues about what service brand will be like. Other ways that brands communicate with consumers are through tangible elements such as stationery, the way employees dress and brochures, as Virgin airlines has to so successfully done with its vibrant red colour reflecting the dynamic, challenging position being adopted.

One major retailer had a full-length mirror that its entire staff passed as they left the canteen to go into the store. Above the mirror was a sign saying, ‘This is what the customer sees’, to draw their attention to the importance of thinking about the tangible cues consumers are presented with as representative of the brand.

Package design plays an important role for branded goods, and in service brands this likewise represents an opportunity for more effective differentiation. McDonald’s boxes for children’s’ meals, for instance, have been shaped as toy houses to reflect the playful element associated with the experience of a lunch in the fast-food chain. The tangible elements surrounding the brand can also serve to facilitate the service performance – the setting within which the service is delivered may either enhance or inhibit the efficient flow of activities.

The yellow and blue stripes in IKEA stores, for example, not only allude to the Scandinavian tradition of the company but also guide consumers through the different sections. The design of the surroundings also plays a socialization function, informing consumers about their expected behavior, the roles expected of staff and the extent to which interactions are encouraged between them. Club Med dining facilities are structured so that customers can easily meet and get to know each other. Finally, the design of the physical facilities may be used to differentiate the service brand from its competition.

The tangible elements of a service brand encourage and discourage particular types of consumer behavior. For example, a 7-Eleven store played classical symphonies as background music to retain their ‘wealthier’ customers while driving away teenagers who tended to browse the shelves rather than spend any money. Different aromas can elicit emotional responses and thereby influence consumer behavior some food retailers pump the fragrances of freshly baked bread into their stores, evoking a more relaxed, homely feeling.

The previous example that we talked about showed different ways in which service organizations can make their brands more tangible. The approach adopted when ‘tangibalizing’ the service brand must be consistent with the service and should not promise more than the service will actually deliver. British Airways and Forte ensure that the perceptions of their consumers are affected in a consistent manner by taking a holistic approach to presenting their brands – they use the same music from their television advertising while customers are put on hold on the phone. The elegant uniforms worn by sales assistants at Marks & Spencer clearly communicate the brand message of fashion and excellence, and the staff dress at Woolworths is representative of good value-for-money core brand values. If the physical evidence of the brand is un- planned, inconsistent or incompatible with the message of the added values the brand aims to convey, consumers will perceive a gap and reject the brand. The following questions can help marketers to assess the extent to which they are capitalizing on tangible cues to support their brand strategy –

• Do all the elements of the physical evidence convey a consistent message?
• Do the physical evidence and the conveyed message appeal to_ the target market?
• Does the physical evidence appeal to employees and motivate them to develop the brand?
• Are there additional opportunities to provide physical evidence for the service?
• What are the roles of the surrounding elements of the service? How does each tangible element contribute to the development of the brand?

Even though the service organization may have developed a well conceived positioning for their brand and devised a good communication programme, the brand can still flounder because a insufficient attention to the role the staff play in producing and delivering the service. In particular, the following factors can compromise the success of the brand –

• Ineffective communication
• Conflict in the duties staff are required to perform.
• Poor fit between staff and technology.

Furthermore, unlike products, the quality and process of every service performance can vary and often requires the involvement of several employees, empowering employees and building a culture based on teamwork is likely to enhance consumer satisfaction.

You all must understand this very carefully that the staff embodies the service brand in the consumer’s eyes. In many cases the service staffs are the only point of contact for the consumer and by thoroughly training staff and ensuring their commitment to the brand, its chance of succeeding are greater. The success of the Disney brand results from the firm’s insistence that employees recognize they are always ‘on stage’ whenever in public, encouraging them to think of themselves as actors who have learnt their roles and are contributing to the performance and the enjoyment of visitors.

The staff of a service organization can positively enhance the perception consumers have of the service quality through their –

• Reliability – for example, Lufthansa pilots strive to ensure that their brands has an outstanding track-record of punctuality.
• Responsiveness – a member of cabin staff may be sympathetic to the family who have been split up on their flight and take the initiative to enable them to sit together.
• Assurance – while the plane is kept waiting before taking off, the pilot informs travelers of the reason, the expected length of delay and that all is being done to minimize the delay.
• Empathy – cabin staff may show empathy by confo0072ming a crying child who is flying for the first time.
• Appearance – the uniform worn by the Alitalia crew is perceived as particularly elegant and fashionable as some travelers recognize that it is designed by Armani.

Failing to take heed of these factors can have a negative impact on the perceived quality of the service. Marketers should know that to ensure the willingness of the staff and the ability to deliver high-quality services, the organization should motivate their staff and encourage customer-orientation culture by considering the following –

• Recruit the right people – successful companies such as Hewlett Packard or Microsoft are regarded as preferred employers. The brands of the major consultancy firms are built on their policy of hiring only the best people. Some firms explore the values of potential staff to assess whether these are similar to the values of their firm.
• Train staff to deliver service quality – the consistency of the McDonald brand is ensured by the formal education employees undergo at the famous ‘Hamburger University’. To enhance their brands, companies such as Federal Express invest heavily in the training of their employees.
• Provide Support Systems – appropriate technology and equipment are essential to support staff in delivering quality service. For example, bank clerks need to have easy and fast access to up-to-date customer records if they are to deliver accurate and prompt customer service.
• Retain the best people –although many organizations are aware of the importance of recruiting the best people, there are instances where firms do not put as much effort into retaining them as they could do. A high staff turnover usually translates into low consumer satisfaction and poor service quality. In order to retain their employees, organizations need to involve them in the company’s decision-making process and devote as much attention to them as to their customers. They should reward employees for good service delivery through financial and non-financial measures, as McDonald’s scheme ‘The employee of the month’.

By addressing some of these issues a company can establish more customer-focused service culture, which is a prerequisite for delivering consistently high-quality services and for building successful service brands. A customer- centered focus should pervade the whole organization so that the commitment to customers becomes second nature for all employees. The development of a genuine service culture is neither easy nor quick, but companies that have overcome this challenge have been duly rewarded. The development of a service culture at SAS, for example, contributed to turning the loss-making business into a successful brand.