Because services are not touchable, marketing communications for services achieve more than promote services. Communications make services more tangible, and offer prospects something firm to make reference to.

As a result, marketing communications for most services haul around a heavier load than communications for products. A bright red Porsche 911 convertible, for example, chants loudly and beautifully for itself. Very few services speak for themselves at all.

We implicitly trust most products. We trust that our new tyres won’t explode, our brown sugar will taste sweet, and our aspirin will reduce our headaches without bad side effects. But we are far less trusting and certain about most services.

We fret that our lawyers and auto mechanics will work more than necessary, and charge more than is warranted. We are concerned that the latest weight loss service will be useless, just like the two before it. We worry that our remodelers will exceed their budget and finish weeks after they promised. We worry that the collection agency we hire for our service will badger our customers worth keeping and collect only a small part of our outstanding receivables.

So unlike communicating about products, talking about services must make the service more tangible and real, and must soothe the worried prospect. It’s not like selling Porsche automobiles.

For more information about services marketing and making services more concrete, visit Rob Johnson’s Twitter page. Sponsored by Rob Johnson of http://seocairns.seovoodoo.com.au/