Communication as an element of service value

Abstract

Purpose

The paper explores consumers' responsiveness to marketing communication about various services and products in three different media. Communication value is seen as an element of service value and is measured as consumer responsiveness to marketing communication.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical data is based on interviews with consumers concerning their perceptions of the relevance and acceptance of marketing communication of 15 different services/products in three media, traditional direct mail, e‐mail and SMS. The consumers have responded to scenarios of marketing communication.

Findings

Findings showed differences in consumer responsiveness to different services and physical products. The overall responsiveness was relatively low for the offerings in all media. A division into responsiveness groups demonstrates that there are also consumers that are positive to communication. The share of positive consumers varies considerably over offerings.

Research limitations/implications

The present study did not account for some important aspects in marketing communication. Firstly, the communication was not considered as part of a firm's integrated marketing communication. The creative element was omitted even if it in practice is important in planned marketing communication. Moreover, the respondents have evaluated scenarios based on their general attitudes toward the communication. The consumer's relationship to the company/brand/offering was excluded. However, despite these limitations it shows that it is necessary to consider that products and services may have different responsiveness patterns.

Practical implications

The emergence of digital media has increased the number of ways to interact with consumers. The variation in the responsiveness to products and services for different media indicates that it is important to have an understanding of how the media adds and subtracts value. The analysis points to the need for companies to measure the responsiveness of consumers in order to understand and enhance consumer perceived value of the communication as a part of the service.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to service marketing research by introducing the communication value and responsiveness conceptualisations that have an interest both for academic research and practitioners. This includes a new perspective on the role of communication on one hand and on the empirical findings of differences in digital interactive media on the other hand.

Citation

Heinonen, K. and Strandvik, T. (2005), "Communication as an element of service value", International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 186-198. https://doi.org/10.1108/09564230510592306