BSHS 4200

All State Insurance uses the tagline "You are in good hands with Allstate" to provide _____________, fill in the blank, to customers considering their insurance services.

Assurance

When customers receive the service they expect, it creates customer satisfaction which ultimately influences:

Customer Loyalty

When Barbara brought her daughter to the counseling center to talk about the issues she was having in school, she immediately felt at peace. The therapist listened to her concerns, asked her thoughtful questions, and spent time getting to know her daughter and making her feel comfortable. This encounter was extremely positive given the fact that the counseling center demonstrated the service quality of _____________, fill in the blank, in dealing with this sensitive subject matter.

Empathy

Although services are important to the U.S. economy, they are not of great importance yet in the global economy.

False

Goods and services both share the quality of inseparability.

False

Manufacturing continues to represent the vast majority of private industry in America today.

False

When Jake picked up his dry cleaning, he was so satisfied with the price and quality that he told his colleagues at work about the company. Vanessa brought all of her business suits in the next day, but upon examining them when she picked them up, she noticed a missing button, some stains that had not been treated and removed, and a few wrinkles in her clothing. When she asked the service provider about the damage, they simply pointed to a sign that said "No Refunds" and turned away without even an apology for the poor service. The difference in Jake and Vanessa's experiences can be explained by the fact that services are:

Heterogeneous

Employees are a vital part of the success of a service based business, particularly because they are normally present and interact with the customer considerably while the service is being provided. This is due to the unique nature of service production and consumption being:

Inseparable

When developing an advertising campaign to promote her hair salon, Rebecca remembered her days working in marketing for a car dealership and how each ad showed photos of automobiles for sale on the lot. She realized that it might be a bit more difficult to find the proper image to use in advertising her salon due to the _____________, fill in the blank, of her service.

Intangibility

The fact that most customers equate a service provider's employees with the service itself, rather than simply a salesperson (like you might expect in a traditional "goods" industry), demonstrates the importance of _____________, fill in the blank, in the service marketing mix.

People

Marketing practitioners commonly refer to the 4 P's of the Marketing Mix: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. In the service environment, however, three additional P's are added due to the unique nature of services. They are:

People, Process and Physical Evidence

Oftentimes, doctors, salons and other service providers will charge a cancellation fee if a customer does not show up to their agreed upon appointment time. This is because the provider cannot simply keep that appointment time in inventory for another potential buyer, but rather loses the opportunity to sell that space to someone else once the time has passed. This best demonstrates the _____________, fill in the blank, of services.

Perishability

A local restaurant provides new employees with a blueprint of how to interact with customers. Hostesses must greet customers as they enter the building and offer assistance. Servers must visit a guest's table within the first 2 minutes of being seated, to offer drinks and menus. Every possible interaction between employees and customers has been mapped out and timed to ensure consistency in the way the service is delivered. It is evident that the restaurant has invested a great deal of thought into which "P" of the service marketing mix?

Process

All of the following are ways that services are different than goods, EXCEPT:

Profitability

FedEx offers a money-back guarantee if your shipment does not arrive within 24 hours as they promise. FedEx understands that when customers evaluate shipping services, the quality of _____________, fill in the blank, is very important to them.

Reliability

Only 3 days after the attacks of 9-11, Northwestern Mutual began providing death benefits to surviving families of the first responders who were killed in the line of duty, although official death certificates had not yet been issued. Other insurance companies took months to a full year to process similar claims for their customers. In this example, Northwestern Mutual demonstrated the service quality of _____________, fill in the blank, to its customers.

Responsiveness

Due to the intangible nature of services, consumers often rely on people they know, as well as online forums and reviews, for feedback regarding past customer experiences with a service provider prior to making a purchasing decision.

True

Trends that have influenced the proliferation of services in today's economy include the rise of technology as well as the demands of time-starved consumers.

True

When evaluating services, consumers generally compare their expectations prior to the service to the outcome once the service is provided.

True

A new day spa is opening up and wants to be perceived as a quiet oasis where customers can retreat from daily stresses and be pampered in luxury. They plan to have plush bathrobes and slippers with their company's logo embroidered on them. The ambience will include soft music, dim lighting and warm inviting colors in the decor of the space. They will rely heavily on _____________, fill in the blank, to communicate that message to new customers.

answer is NOT Advertising