Week 7: Understanding the Services Sector

 Assalamualaikum w.b.t,

   Today's post is my reflection on the seventh week of classes of MKTG 4312 (Responsible Consumerism). There are 4 parts to the chapter and the first part is on personalization consumption or otherwise known as private consumption. Private consumption measures the consumers' spending on goods and services. There are 4Rs to personalization, which are recognize, remember, reach, and relevance. The 4Rs are a way to personalize or alter the service to fit the customer's needs and demands. To recognize, the firm has to know the customer's demography and background to customize the service to the customer. In the second R which is remember, a service provider has to have a memory of the specific customer and what they like. The third R, reach, requires the service provider to be in contact with the customer to provide promotions and such. The last R which is relevance, requires the service provider to only provide content that is relevant to the customer. 

    To better illustrate the 4R, let me create a scenario. Siti works for a tourism company providing touring services and products. She has a loyal customer named Zaiden who often goes on luxury tours through her company's services. From her interactions with Zaiden, she recognizes that Zaiden is from a higher-income background. Whenever she is creating a tour package for him, she remembers his preferences and small quirks so she can alter the package to fit him. Because she can remember him, she will reach him to inform him of new packages. The packages are relevant to his background and his preference for luxury travel. When there are budget packages, Siti does not contact Zaiden because she can recognize that Zaiden does not need budget packages. This makes Siti a great employee and an asset to her firm as she can provide customization for her customers. 

   The next part of the chapter is regarding the services sector. The service sector is a part of the tertiary sector and consists of retail, financial services, communication, hospitality, real estate, and information technology. The service sector is a very important part of the Malaysian economy. In 2021, the service sector dominated 57.5% of the country's GDP. Contrary to goods, services are intangible and do not have a physical output. 

   The third and fourth parts of the chapter are customer awareness and education and, advocacy for customer awareness. These parts are similar to previous chapters. To learn more, read my post for week 5. 

Thank you for reading. In your opinion, how can the service sector in Malaysia be improved? Comment down below!