Service marketing, CRM and retail marketing

Services differ from goods in four ways that shape their marketing: intangibility (cannot be seen or touched before purchase), inseparability (produced and consumed together — the haircut happens as it is cut), variability (quality varies by provider and occasion) and perishability (an empty hotel room tonight cannot be sold tomorrow). Because customers cannot inspect a service in advance, they judge it by clues: the premises, the staff, the price and other customers' reviews. Worked example: two clinics offer the same treatment, but one has a clean waiting room, punctual appointments and a doctor who explains clearly — patients choose it and recommend it, because service quality is judged through experience and evidence, not through the treatment alone.