chapter 13: mktg services: the intangible product

service

any intangible offering that involves a deed, performance, or effort that cannot be physically possessed intangible customers benefits that are produced by people or machines and cannot be separated from the producer

5. tangibles

the appearance of the physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials updating rooms

4. empathy

the caring, individualized attention provided to customers personalizing communications

1. intangible

A characteristic of a service; it cannot be touched, tasted, or seen like a pure product can • When you get a physical examination, you see and hear the doctor, but the service itself is intangible. This intangibility can prove highly challenging to marketers • It makes it difficult to convey the benefits of services try describing whether the experience of visiting your dentist was good or bad and why • Some services have found excellent ways to make their offerings more tangible to their customers

service quality

customer's perceptions of how well a service meets or exceeds their expectations. o Voice of customer program: an ongoing marketing research system that collects customer inputs and integrates them into managerial decisions. o Zone of tolerance: the area between customer's expectations regarding their desired service and the minimum level of acceptable service- that is: the difference between what the customer really wants and what he or she will accept before going elsewhere.

3. heterogeneous

heterogeneity: as it refers to the differences between the marketing of products and services and the delivery of services is more variable. • The more humans are needed to provide a service, the more it is likely to be heterogeneous • A hairstylist may give bad haircuts in the morning because he or she went out the night before yet the stylist still may offer to better service than the undertrained stylist working in the next station over • Marketers can also use the variable nature of services to their advantage • In an alternative approach, some service providers tackle the variability issue by replacing people with machines.

service marketing differs from product marketing

intangible, inseparable product and consumption, variable/ heterogeneous, perishable

- finding a fair solution

o Distributive fairness: pertains to a customer's perception of the benefits he or she received compared with the costs that resulted from a service failure. o Procedural fairness: refers to the customers perception of the fairness of the process used to resolve complaints about service

2. The standards gap

pertains to the difference between the firm's perceptions of customer's expectations and the service standards it sets. • Setting appropriate service standards, training employees to meet and exceed those standards, and measuring service performance, firms can attempt to close the gap • Getting service standards • Service providers generally want to do a good job as long as they know what is expected of them

4. communication gap

refers to the difference between the actual service provided to customers and the service that the firm's promotion program promises. • If firms are more realistic about the services they can provide and at the same time manage customer expectations effectively. • Communicating the service promise • Poor communication between marketers and their customers can result in a mismatch between an ad campaigns and a salesperson's promises and the service the firm can actually offer. • Is to coordinate how the expectation is created and the way the service is provided

1. knowledge gap

reflects the difference between customer's expectations and the firms perception of those expectations • Can close the gap by determining what customers really want by doing research using marketing metrics such as service quality and the zone of tolerance • Understanding customer expectations: it doesn't pay to invest in services that don't improve customer satisfaction. • Establish service quality using well established marketing metrics

providing great service: the gaps model

service gap: results when a service fails to meet the expectations that customers have about how it should be delivered.

customer service

specifically refers to human or mechanical activities firms undertake to help satisfy their customers needs and wants

service quality 1. reliability

the ability to perform the service dependably and accurately orientation sessions

3. delivery gap

the difference between the firm's service standards and the actual service it provides to customers. • Getting employees to meet or exceed service standards when the service is being delivered by empowering service providers, providing support incentives, and using technology. • Where the customers directly interacts with the service provider, delivering service quality • Empowerment: allowing employees to make decision about how service is provided to customers • Emotional support: concern for others well-being and support of their decisions in a job setting • Instrumental support: providing the equipment or systems needed to perform a task in a job setting • Use of technology: tech can be used to reduce delivery gaps.

3. assurance

the knowledge of and courtesy by employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence empowering its employees

2. responsiveness

the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service every employee has to identify and take care of promlems

2. inseparable product and consumption

• Inseparable: a characteristic of a service: it is produced and consumed at the same time; that is, service and consumption are inseparable • Services are produced and consumed at the same time. They are inseparable. • When getting a haircut, the customer is not only present but also may participate in the service process • Furthermore, the interaction with the service provider may have an important impact on the customer's perception of the service outcome • Some companies extend 100% satisfaction guarantees.

service recovery

• Listening to the customers and involving them in service recovery • Finding a fair solution • Resolving problems quickly

4. perishable

• Perishable: in that they cannot be stored for use in the future. You can't stockpile your membership at planet fitness like you could a six-pack of V8 juice. The perishability of services provides both challenges and opportunities to marketers in terms of the critical tasks of matching demand and supply. • This is yield management / matching supply of service to demand for service. • As long as the demand fro the supply of the service matches closely, there is no problem. However, this is not usually the case • Ski arenas often offer less expensive tickets during off peak periods to stimulate demands.