Service marketing is usually defined as a promotion of an intangible good or a service to a particular segment of the audience. It is distinguished from product marketing by such features as Inseparability, Heterogeneity, Intangibility, and Perishability. This paper will focus on the last characteristic, perishability, which implies the impossibility of any storage or repeated use of the service. In case the service is not used, it is most likely to be lost forever (Hole et al., 2018). Examples of such can be a concert or a sports event. Sometimes they can be canceled either by a performing party or by a consumer. In this case, the service does not take place at all. Perishability also underlines a limited time of their use, which is usually specified. For instance, a concert of classical music which lasts for two hours. Because of these time constraints, the consumers can reasonably demand more from the services than from the products.
Another implication of this feature from the marketing perspective is the difficulties in regulation of supply and demand as it is rather unpredictable. Moreover, in case of poor marketing, economic losses are guaranteed. An example could be not a fully loaded plane or fifty percent of unsold tickets for a concert. As the service still occurs despite these facts, a part of the revenue will be lost. Also, the services cannot be returned in case of a consumer’s dissatisfaction in contrast to other commodities – it is also the feature of perishability. Thus, it also leads to a more demanding consumer as they cannot get a refund and should be considered in a marketing strategy. To conclude, in order to overcome the problems caused by the perishability of the services, it is essential to have proper planning, pricing, and flexibility.