with Complete Solutions
services - Answer-intangible activities or benefits that an organization provides to satisfy
consumers' needs in exchange for money or something else of value
Four I's of Services - Answer-intangibility, inconsistency, inseparability, inventory
intangibility - Answer-The characteristic that a service is not physical and cannot be
perceived by the senses
- marketers try to make them tangible or show the benefits of using the service
inconsistency - Answer-The quality of a service is inconsistent and dependent on the
people who provide it
- organizations attempt to reduce inconsistency through standardization and training
inseperability - Answer-the inability of the production and consumption of a service to be
separated; consumers must be present during the production
inventory - Answer-unused service capacity from one time period cannot be stored for
future use
- inventory cost of a service is the cost of paying the person used to provide the service
(+ resources)
idle production capacity - Answer-when the service provider is available but there is no
demand for the service
service continuum - Answer-the range of product-dominant to service-dominant
offerings
Classifying Services - Answer-(1) Delivered by People or Equipment
(2) Delivered by Business Firms (For-profit) or Nonprofit Organizations
(3) Delivered by Government Agencies
Successful service organizations - Answer-must:
(1) understand how the consumer makes a service purchase decision
(2) understand how the consumer evaluates quality
(3) determine how to present a differential advantage relative to competing offerings.
The Purchase Process - Answer-- search properties (can be searched, know prior to
purchase)
- experience properties (discerned only after purchase or during consumption)