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Because services are intangible, marketing messages for services do more than market services. Communications make services more tangible, and give prospects something firm to make reference to.

As a result, marketing communications for most services drag 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 shout 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 cure our headaches without bad side effects. But we are far less trusting and certain about most services.

We fret that our solicitors and auto mechanics will work more than necessary, and bill more than necessary. We are concerned that the latest weight loss service will be useless, just like the four we have tried before. We worry that our home renovators will exceed their budget and finish weeks after they agreed to. We worry that the collection agency we hire for our service will harass our customers worth keeping and collect only a small part of our outstanding receivables.

So unlike communicating about products, communicating about services must make the service more tangible and real, and must reduce risk for 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/