Services Marketing
Lecture 1 – Introduction
Five Gaps to Perceived Service Quality
Key Factors leading to Gap 5
Definition of a service
“a change in the condition of a person or of a good belonging to some economic unit which is
brought about as a result of the activity of some other economic unit, with the prior
agreement of the former person or economic unit” (Hill, 1977)
“Deeds, processes and performances” (Book)
,Service versus product
Services process matrix
Challenges for managers
• Low interaction/customization
• marketing, attention to physical surroundings, standardization of operations
• Low labor intensity
• capital decisions, technological advances, peaks
• High labor intensity
• Hiring, training, employee welfare
• High interaction/customization
• fighting costs, maintaining quality, reacting to customer intervention
Differences between goods and services
,Characteristics of services
• Intangible
• Not possible to keep in Stock
• No patents
• Not visible
• Pricing is difficult
• “In Franeker a purchase agreement costs a bit more than €700,-, while
the same agreement at a notary in The Hague costs almost €2000,-
euro ”.
• Perishable
• Not possible to keep in stock
• Restricted in time and place
• Simultaneous production and consumption
• Employees play an important role!!!
• Customer takes part in production process
• Other consumers are co-producers
• Problems with mass production
• Not possible to keep in stock
• Heterogeneity
• Difficult to standardize and quality control
• Communication is difficult
Solutions
• Intangibility
• Focus on “tangible cues”
• Use personal sources
• Stimulate W-O-M
• Create company image
• Communicate after sale
• Perishability
• Demand management
• Supply management
• Inseparable
• Training and selection
• Manage consumers
• Multi-site strategy
• Heterogeneity
• Industrialize service
• Customize service
The service mix
, Lecture 2 – Consumer
Services framework 2
1) People processing
• Involvement customer
• Investment in time and effort
• Process/output => advantages
• Non-Financial costs
• Time, Mentally/ Physically, Fear/ Pain
• Examples
• Public transport
• Health service
• Sports club
2) Processing processing
• Separate consumption/production
• Involvement customer
• Examples
• Freight transport
• Repair service
• Storage
• Cleaning service
3) Mental stimulus processing
• Thoughts/memory/attitudes
• Involvement customer
• Active vs. passive presence
• Information transformation
• Examples
• Education services
• Information services
• psychotherapy
• Art and entertainment services
Lecture 1 – Introduction
Five Gaps to Perceived Service Quality
Key Factors leading to Gap 5
Definition of a service
“a change in the condition of a person or of a good belonging to some economic unit which is
brought about as a result of the activity of some other economic unit, with the prior
agreement of the former person or economic unit” (Hill, 1977)
“Deeds, processes and performances” (Book)
,Service versus product
Services process matrix
Challenges for managers
• Low interaction/customization
• marketing, attention to physical surroundings, standardization of operations
• Low labor intensity
• capital decisions, technological advances, peaks
• High labor intensity
• Hiring, training, employee welfare
• High interaction/customization
• fighting costs, maintaining quality, reacting to customer intervention
Differences between goods and services
,Characteristics of services
• Intangible
• Not possible to keep in Stock
• No patents
• Not visible
• Pricing is difficult
• “In Franeker a purchase agreement costs a bit more than €700,-, while
the same agreement at a notary in The Hague costs almost €2000,-
euro ”.
• Perishable
• Not possible to keep in stock
• Restricted in time and place
• Simultaneous production and consumption
• Employees play an important role!!!
• Customer takes part in production process
• Other consumers are co-producers
• Problems with mass production
• Not possible to keep in stock
• Heterogeneity
• Difficult to standardize and quality control
• Communication is difficult
Solutions
• Intangibility
• Focus on “tangible cues”
• Use personal sources
• Stimulate W-O-M
• Create company image
• Communicate after sale
• Perishability
• Demand management
• Supply management
• Inseparable
• Training and selection
• Manage consumers
• Multi-site strategy
• Heterogeneity
• Industrialize service
• Customize service
The service mix
, Lecture 2 – Consumer
Services framework 2
1) People processing
• Involvement customer
• Investment in time and effort
• Process/output => advantages
• Non-Financial costs
• Time, Mentally/ Physically, Fear/ Pain
• Examples
• Public transport
• Health service
• Sports club
2) Processing processing
• Separate consumption/production
• Involvement customer
• Examples
• Freight transport
• Repair service
• Storage
• Cleaning service
3) Mental stimulus processing
• Thoughts/memory/attitudes
• Involvement customer
• Active vs. passive presence
• Information transformation
• Examples
• Education services
• Information services
• psychotherapy
• Art and entertainment services
