Because services are intangible, marketing messages for services achieve more than promote services. Communications make services more tangible, and offer prospects something firm to evaluate.

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 give trust to most products. We trust that our new tyres won’t explode, our white sugar will taste sweet, and our aspirin will relieve our headaches without bad side effects. But we are far less trusting and certain about most services.

We fret that our solicitors and web designers will work more than necessary, and charge more than is warranted. We are concerned that the latest weight loss service will fail, just like the three we have tried before. We worry that our home renovators will extend their budget and finish weeks after they agreed to. We worry that the collection agency we hire for our service will badger our clients 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/