Service mark

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A service mark (actually service mark ) (English service mark or service brand ) is a special form of corporate brand . It can have two meanings:

Both brand aspects are intended to enable the service provider's target groups to clearly differentiate the services of the service provider from competing services of other service providers (origin function through distinctive character ).

Brand promise

Like every brand, a service brand embodies a kind of " promise " in the perception of its target groups . The latter essentially relates to the benefits as well as the quality and price level of the services offered or to be provided.

If a service provider succeeds in establishing its range of services as a brand with the target groups (see branding ), it no longer needs to make its competence credible to every interested party. Rather, the brand trust , which is fed by the awareness and image of the brand, makes a large part of this persuasive work unnecessary. In other words: the brand gives the service provider a general leap of faith, which more or less comes into play in each individual case.

Immateriality of service

In contrast to trademarks on the products of a manufacturer or on goods of a retailer, a service mark cannot be affixed to a service, as the latter is immaterial ( intangible ). As an alternative, the service provider can attach its trademarks to material objects, e.g. B.

Fluctuating or inconsistent service quality

In order for customers credibility to be the quality characteristics and the price level, which provide customers with a service mark must associate (brand image), long-term reliability to be. In other words: The properties of the services provided by the service provider must, for a long time, correspond to the brand image that the service provider communicates.

In principle, the best prerequisites for continuously meeting these expectations are provided by service providers who only provide routine services that can be easily standardized or even automated .

The situation is different with service providers whose services are characterized by a low degree of uniformity. Such so-called " expert services " can be recognized by the following characteristics:

Providers of expert services have to prove the quality promised by their brand with every single service. This harbors the constant risk of disappointing the expectations associated with a customer with the service brand and of losing the customer for the foreseeable future or permanently ( reputation risk ).

The likelihood of failure increases with the size of the service provider. Because as the workforce grows and the order volume increases, so does the risk that individual employees or work groups (e.g. project teams) do not perform their tasks to the satisfaction of the customer. As the company grows, so does the risk of “ black sheep ” in the workforce, who damage or ruin the reputation of the service brand with grossly negligent behavior .

Such service providers have a fundamental interest in ensuring that their employees achieve a constant, company-wide uniform quality of work in order to provide a uniform ( consistent ) brand image. The requirements of these companies in terms of quality and risk management are correspondingly high .

Remarks

  1. ↑ Strictly speaking, it is a firm declaration of intent or self-commitment , not a contractually binding promise that would give the customer the right to liability in the event of non-compliance .
  2. ↑ In a figurative sense, this also applies to sounds that are combined in a certain way with material objects (see sound mark ).
  3. ↑ The case word is made up of the English terms service and landscape ; see J. Bitner, B. Booms: Marketing strategies and organizational structures for service firms. In: J. Donnelly, W. George (Eds.): Marketing of services. American Marketing Association, Chicago 1981, ISBN 0-87757-148-1 .
  4. ↑ Example: Banderole ( sealing function !) Around the toilet seat of the cleaned toilet in a hotel room .
  5. ↑ Example: soccer team in the Champions League .

See also

literature

General representations

Special representations

  • Frank Huber: The soccer star as a brand. Determinants of branding using the example of Lukas Podolski. Gabler, Wiesbaden 2008, ISBN 978-3-8349-0888-9 .
  • Hartmut John (ed.): The museum as a brand. Branding as a strategic management tool for museums. Transcript, Bielefeld 2007, ISBN 978-3-89942-568-0 .
  • Rico Kehrer: Service Branding. A contribution to the development of successful service brands using the example of the telecommunications market. (= European university publications. Series V: Economics and Business Administration. Volume 3154). Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2005, ISBN 3-631-54311-5 .

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