Services (both commercial and not-for-profit) possess a set of unique characteristics that require a distinctive approach to marketing strategy - both in their development and execution. This is particularly true of professional services (banking, legal, accounting services). The course builds on and expands key marketing management concepts and models and adapts them to the services sector. Themes include: analysing a service portfolio, service concept development and testing, service product-market analysis, customisation of services and range extensions, pricing and bundling new services, user analysis and usage management, planning for service platform evolution. Customer-focused external marketing is of importance (measuring and improving service quality, maintaining and increasing customer satisfaction, the use of CRM and eCRM), but so too is internal marketing because many services have a strong people or employee component.