The importance of service marketing and design in a retail environment

Opening up your very own retail store isn’t as easy as choosing a space and stacking shelves with your product. With the saturated retail market, modern shopping environments are more susceptible to competition, so it means more needs to be done to entice and retain customers.

This is where the retail mix comes in, which considers place, product, promotion, price, presentation and personnel. Each of these aspects considers the customer journey and places them at the forefront of the business to ensure they are attracted to and satisfied with the product. Via intangible means, service marketing ensures the customer develops a personal connection to the retail space and brand, which goes above and beyond just purchasing a product, also creating brand value.

What is service marketing?

Our new store at KL East Mall is open today! 🥳 Celebrate with 2 Grande-sized selected promotional beverage at RM28/ Venti-sized at RM30 from 5pm – 8pm and get a complimentary Starbucks Notebook Sleeve with a minimum spend of RM25 in a single receipt.

*T&C Apply pic.twitter.com/YJcA4wYIzA

— Starbucks Malaysia (@StarbucksMY) December 3, 2020

Service marketing uses intangible resources to create a valued relationship between the customer and the brand/business. More often than not, this includes store location, retail design, customer service and an online presence.

Take Starbucks as an example: the interior design of its stores conforms to brand beliefs as most of the furniture is of a dark wood colour, allowing its stores to create a natural, cosy feel which entices customers to stay for longer and buy another coffee.

In stark contrast, fast-food chain McDonald’s has bright, often white, furniture which encourages customers to eat their food quickly and leave to uphold its status as a fast-food restaurant. This is all in the name of sustaining businesses brand values and helping the customer to connect with the brand.

What does it work alongside?

Service design works alongside many other business factors, one of those being location. In order to offer a service, you have to have a space where you can do so and choosing the right space for you can have as detrimental effect as it can have a positive one on your service marketing.

In order to provide context, we speak of Manchester, which is full of diverse retail spaces. By choosing a location in somewhere like the Northern Quarter, then your retail space automatically becomes quirky, but place it in Spinningfields and you’ve gone high end. That’s why choosing a location is key as it helps to conform to your brand’s identity. Though, we know that choosing a location is never easy and often boils down to financial capabilities. In this instance, it’s important to have the right tools at your disposal. Looking at what mortgages are available to you can help narrow your search down to your appropriate location. Platforms like Trussle can help with this, by not only allowing you to compare a wide range of lenders but also providing vital information in an easy-to-digest format.

By making yourself aware of all the accompanying factors and choosing the right tools to help you get the most for your money, you can achieve some of the top results from service marketing and design.

The value of service marketing

Israel, we’ve arrived 📍 Come and see us IRL at our new store in the Beer Sheva Cinema City + follow us over on Instagram @missguided_il for more updates ⚡️💕 #missguided pic.twitter.com/hz0r0oHvGU

— Missguided (@Missguided) August 5, 2020

Service marketing helps to differentiate what you have to offer in comparison to your competitors. While there is a multitude of clothing stores on the market, there is so much that can be done other than hanging clothes on a rail. Often retail stores opt for music, lights and fun designs that turn the space into much more than a clothing shop, but rather a valued experience.

Whilst marketing as a whole is essential in creating brand value and getting your products off your shelves, utilising the benefits of service marketing and design can really bolster your sales. This is simply because customers feel more satisfied when they receive a good experience when buying into a brand as it is that they are likely to remember more than the actual product itself.