Question

What are the differences between goods and services? Discuss how service providers may take into consideration these differences and better market their services.

Answer 1

Difference between goods and services

Basis	Goods	Services
Ownership	Transfer of ownership of title is possible. Eg: Buying a house meeans you own it.	Transfer of ownership of title is not there. Eg: Buying a haircut at a salon doesn't mean you own the salon
Nature	Goods are tangible i.e, you can touch and see them.	Services are intangible, you cannot touch them.
Inventory	Goods can be kept in stock for the next period that is inventory can be maintained.	Inventory of services is not possible. You cannot store them.
Returnability	Goods bought can be returned in case of any discrepency.	A serive once bought, cannot be returned.
Time of Consumption	Production and distribution can be seperated from consumption.	Production, distribution and consumption are at the same time.

How services providers can better market their serives:

1. Goods are produced at a large scale and thus are majorly standard, however services can be customised by adding personal touches and taking care of consumer preferences.

2. Goods are bought once and can be used forever however services are used in a particular time period. The service providers can launch schemes where they provide extended validity for services or low cost subscriptions.

3. A bad good can be returned or exchanged but a poor quality service cannot be reversed and the customer will never buy your services again. So, it is extremely important for service providers to ensure top quality.