Chapter 8_NEW! Mini Sim_Service Marketing MARK3300

Verdure Health and Fitness customers are primarily busy working professionals. Currently 20%-30% of appointments booked by Verdure clients result in no-shows. Verdure management knows that one of the keys to profitability is maximizing therapy appointment reservations while minimizing unused appointment times and no-shows. The VP has asked you to develop a policy to address this inventory management issue. Which of the following reservation policies would benefit Verdure the most by minimizing unused appointment times? Select an option from the choices below and click Submit. - Provide customers with a reminder text message and e-mail 48 hours before the scheduled service. - Develop a loyalty program that provides customers with a free massage after a certain number of massages. - Charge customers a fee of 50% of the service price when they miss an appointment.

- Charge customers a fee of 50% of the service price when they miss an appointment.

Members of Verdure pay a premium price for their gym membership and are accustomed to professional, attentive customer service. Service quality depends not only on who provides the service, but also when, where, and how the services are provided. The Spa wants to ensure that its consumers receive the highest level of service at every interaction. What policy would most effectively reduce service variability and increase customer value? Select an option from the choices below and click Submit. - Design a descriptive protocol for each spa service including clear delivery standards. - Allow therapists to adjust the delivery of spa services based on client request. - Give therapists flexibility to adjust spa service delivery based on their professional strengths.

- Design a descriptive protocol for each spa service including clear delivery standards.

When consumers evaluate service quality, they often do not separate the service from the provider because products are sold, produced, and consumed at the same time. Which two of the following strategies would have the most positive effect on the overall service encounter by addressing inseparability? Select two options from the choices below, and then click Submit. - Encourage customer coproduction - Create a brochure for The Spa featuring the new therapy rooms and line of essential oils - Design a professional dress code for employees - Offer a wider variety of therapeutic services

- Encourage customer coproduction - Design a professional dress code for employees

Perhaps the fundamental challenge in marketing services is intangibility because it limits consumers' ability to evaluate the product before purchase. One way firms can try to overcome the intangibility of services is by using quality signals. The Spa at Verdure is renovating its Spa area to increase its capacity to provide the new, Eastern-style treatments. As part of the renovation, new decor and finishes will be chosen. What quality of decor and finishes do you recommend that The Spa install? Select an option from the choices below and click Submit. - Inexpensive low-end finishes: laminate countertops, budget furnishings, commercial lighting - Mid-priced moderate finishes: man-made stone countertops, mid-priced furnishings, ordinary lighting - Expensive high-end finishes: natural Carrara marble countertops, sleek Italian leather furnishings, opulent lighting

- Expensive high-end finishes: natural Carrara marble countertops, sleek Italian leather furnishings, opulent lighting

With the finishes for The Spa chosen, you consider other ways to overcome intangibility. You appreciate that consumers are hesitant to purchase spa services that they cannot evaluate before consumption. What is the best strategy to address the intangibility of spa services? Select an option from the choices below and click Submit. - Offer specials on the new services for the first month by reducing the price by 25%. - Frame and post positive Trip Advisor and Yelp reviews at The Spa. - Ensure that all therapists are cross-trained so they can provide all new services.

- Frame and post positive Trip Advisor and Yelp reviews at The Spa.

As you consider your task, you reflect on the customer experience you are working to develop. You understand that products can be placed on a service-goods continuum with purely tangible goods and purely services as endpoints. To choose the best marketing tactics, you evaluate The Spa at Verdure's position on the continuum. Which classification most accurately represents The Spa's position on the service-goods continuum? Select an option from the choices below and click Submit. - Mostly a tangible good - Purely a tangible good - Mostly a service - Purely a service

- Mostly a service

One of the other inventory challenges faced by The Spa is maximizing the number of reservations throughout the day and across the week. Although demand is strong for weekend and evening reservations, demand is soft for weekday, daytime reservations when most of Verdure's clients are at the office. The Spa at Verdure needs a strategy to address this capacity management issue, and the VP once again asks you for a recommendation. Which of these sales promotions would benefit The Spa the most? Select an option from the choices below and click Submit. - Offer a free 30-minute massage to new Verdure Health and Fitness members. - Offer a 25% discount on the price of services booked during off-peak times. - Offer complimentary massage oil to customers who book appointments during peak times.

- Offer a 25% discount on the price of services booked during off-peak times.

Customer service is a critical component in the service encounter. You now must decide how to train your staff to provide customer service. Choose the training option that will create the most customer value and reduce perceived variability. Select an option from the choices below and click Submit. - Train the staff to be patient but firm with customers, and whenever possible to steer them towards options that are profitable to Verdure. - Train the staff in customer delight—to understand the wants and needs of the customer and to exceed customer expectations. - Training is too expensive. The staff should rely on their own instincts and experiences.

- Train the staff in customer delight—to understand the wants and needs of the customer and to exceed customer expectations.

Intangibility

Because she cannot see, touch, or smell the Thai Tok Sen treatment before the message, Audrey is unsure of the tapping massage's quality and value.

Perishability

Every day, The Spa at Verdure can provide up to 40 treatments across its 5 luxurious treatment rooms. On average, 30 treatments are booked each day, leaving 25% of its capacity unused.

Variability

Jose loves getting weekly massages to treat his aching muscles from his therapist, Tim. Last week he was not happy with Tim's massage because the massage pressure was too hard and it felt rushed.

Inseparability

Ryan just had his first cupping treatment from his therapist, Ava, and he's pleased. Ava was professional and attentive, and the therapy alleviated his aching muscles.