In the business world, providing the best quality products and services is crucial if we want to survive or be successful. The products and services are closely connected to the business point of view.
Providing good products and services to the customer is a good marketing strategy and approach to succeed in any business of current market conditions.
The main challenge for the marketer is providing service that cannot be experienced prior; a marketer should sell the product before the customer can experience the service.
Key Takeaways
- Tangibility: Products are physical items, whereas services are intangible activities or experiences.
- Ownership: Products result in ownership transfer, while services don’t have ownership transfer.
- Production and consumption: Products are produced before consumption, whereas services are usually produced and consumed simultaneously.
Product vs Service
The difference between Product and service is that product is an item produced by a company to market and exchanged for money. And Service is provided by the business to the customer on demand.
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A product is a tangible item that the organization produces to market and sells to a customer in exchange for money. The product has a physical presence, touch, smell, and taste. The products can be one-time use or used repeatedly.
Services are intangible; it is the service given by a person to another person on demand. People usually get attracted by the services they get from the organization.
Quality of service is one of the best strategies and approaches to attract customers.
What is Product?
A product is a substance with an object space, and we can touch, taste, feel, and smell them. It is a sure thing that is needed or wanted by the customer.
The customers can measure the quality of the product, and it can be returned to a seller for replacement or refund in case of damage.
The value of the product is created by the users when they purchase. Another aspect of the product is ownership, and it is transferable.
Once the buyer purchases the product, the ownership shifts from the provider or seller to the customer or buyer as he takes the consequences to his personal use.
Products are not always physical or an object, anything that can be sold is the product—for example, software services, online bus tickets or board band services.
A product to be relevant for the customer, the user must have immediate use, and it should work with good quality. A product must be communicated with customers.
The uses of products, how to use them and other factors about their benefits to be established. Branding and marketing are a must for the product.
A product must have a name, the customer remembers products only with the name later, and it becomes a brand and helps the business. The product should be adaptable to time and trend changes.
The marketer should understand the product at every level by adding more value. The core product is satisfying the customer’s core needs.
If Lakme sells lipstick, it’s not a product. It shows women’s beauty to the world. The product must be based on customer desires or wants.
The core product is converted to an actual creation by name, benefits, packaging, style, branding, and marketing.
Products can be categorized as consumer, business-to-business, industrial, commercial, or service products.
The customer can buy consumer products for their uses like shopping, essential, and convenience products.
The organization buys business-to-business products to manufacture another product or to provide service. It includes capital products and expensive items.
What is Service?
Service is intangible, provided by the seller to the buyer. The organization provides services to its customers, especially after the sales. Offering service can help build a client or customer relationship.
The people mostly get attracted by the services given by the organization. Quality of service is the best strategy and approaches in the market to attract customer to a business.
The consumer constantly evaluates the quality of service they receive over the product. Once services are provided cannot be taken or returned, so they must be specific and well-qualified.
S, when the organisation offers the service, is a critical component in economics along with the product. It cannot be stored, or it does not result in ownership too.
Sometimes it is difficult to identify the service quality as it comes with the products.
Medicines with a diagnosis, Banking, consultancy, education, insurance, or transportation are some intangible products that depend on the services.
Every service that the organization provides will be charged. Sometimes the same service will be set differently by the organization. When services are sold to customers, no ownership transfer occurs.
Services cannot be stored or transported to others, they should be used immediately, and it is valued only when availing the services.
Many industries provide services and products as value-added services to earn more revenue and attract customers.
Main Differences Between Product and Service
- The main difference between Product and service is, Products are physical items sold by the company for its customer’s use. In contrast, services are add-on values the company offers to keep the product in workable condition.
- Products meet the customer’s needs, whereas services help to excel in product sales.
- Products are different, but the services must be customised to the existing product.
- The looks and the usage quickly experience the quality of the product. In contrast, service quality cannot be judged unless the product works longer without any trouble.
- Products are exchangeable, while Services are a one-time approach to the existing product.
- https://www.elon.edu/u/academics/communications/journal/wp-content/uploads/sites/153/2017/12/Fall2017Journal.pdf#page=77
- https://e-tarjome.com/storage/panel/fileuploads/2019-08-21/1566373352_E12598-e-tarjome.pdf
- https://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/images/9780789751041/samplepages/0789751046.pdf
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Chara Yadav holds MBA in Finance. Her goal is to simplify finance-related topics. She has worked in finance for about 25 years. She has held multiple finance and banking classes for business schools and communities. Read more at her bio page.
