The concepts of quality and marketing, when applied to service companies, must be considered with the characteristics of the services.
It will be a failure to manage both the quality and the marketing of a hotel, a medical clinic or a university in the same way that the quality of a notebook factory is managed.
But then what is the difference?
If you assume that producing a service is simply producing an intangible product, you are leaving aside fundamental aspects of the production of services: the participation of the client in the production of the service, and the interaction of the majority of employees with clients (among others).).
This totally changes the concept of marketing, which ceases to be only outward, that is, oriented to attract customers, and becomes part of the very operation of the company.
This is why operations employees are also called “ part-time marketing employees ”, and marketing actions must have “ internal marketing ” programs (C. Grönroos)
Marketing and quality are also closely linked, making each discipline dependent on the other.
I give you an example so that you understand better what I mean. Suppose you have a new dental clinic. You begin to promote your services in the region, highlighting in advertising that in your clinic the waiting time of the patient is minimized and personalized attention is provided to each one. These are traditional marketing actions.
In this way you attract many clients, and your secretary, who has already worked in other health institutions, begins to register shifts in the agenda. The number of shifts increases week after week and they begin to exceed the expected occupancy. The secretary begins to reduce the time of each shift, just as she did in another clinic (normal practice), in order to be able to attend to all the existing demand.
For her part, a lady has listened to your advertising, and as she is tired of being made to waste time due to delays in shifts, she decides to change her dentist to come to your clinic, which promises to minimize waiting time. But when her turn comes, she must wait the same way she did before, and of course she gets upset, promising not to return any more (they are all the same).
What happened? Advertising promises are not consistent with the actions of employees. Why? Because outward communication (advertising to attract customers) was not consensual inward (with employees). This is what internal marketing is all about, and see how much it has to do with quality of service.
If the concept of service is not agreed with the employees, they will not know the direction you want to give to the company, and therefore it will be impossible to design the production of services that they will carry out themselves and the way of acting with customers.
So how can you start doing internal marketing? I suggest these activities:
1. Define your concept of service. What sets you apart from your competitors? How will you give more value to your customers?
2. Get your team together and transmit this concept to them. Put it up for discussion so that everyone understands the direction you want to give your business.
3. Evaluate together what impact this concept has on your functions. Design the service and the way to produce it so that it can give that additional value you are looking for.
4. Now yes, design your marketing campaign "outward" consistent with the system you have prepared and with the commitment of your people.
And remember that in order to achieve quality service, the first ones who have to "buy" the service proposal are not your clients but your work team.
