“Standards” as a Service Marketing Tool

Abstract

Standards have the potential to be a significant tool in the marketing of services, just as they have been in the marketing of products. Ranging from regulatory to voluntary, product-based to producer-based, standards can increase the competitive position of a product by reducing customer uncertainty. However, the lack of a framework for understanding and designing standards has limited their application in service industries.

Examination of existing standards suggests a framework of five key dimensions. Through the example of chemical management services (CMS) we show how this can be done, resulting in three options for the CMS industry. Using this framework as a guide, other service industries can determine if a standard would provide significant competitive advantage and, if so, design the optimal standard for their market conditions.

Key Words:

• Standards
• customer uncertainty
• differentiation
• chemical management