Marketing Chapter 13
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
Perishability (Big Four)
A characteristic of a service: it cannot be stored for use in the future (Inability of a service to be inventoried or stored)
Voice-of-customer (VOC) program
An ongoing marketing research system that collects customer inputs and integrates them into managerial decisions
Service
Any intangible offering that involves a deed, performance, or effort that cannot be physically possessed; intangible customer benefits that are produced by people or machines and cannot be separated from the producer
Procedural fairness
Refers to the customer's perception of the fairness of the process used to resolved complaints about service
distributive fairness
Pertains to a customer's perception of the benefits he or she received compared with the costs (inconvenience or loss) that resulted from a service failure
instrumental support
Providing the equipment or systems needed to preform a task in a job setting
Zone of tolerance
The area between customers' expectations regarding their desired service and the minimum level of acceptable 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
Intangible (Intangibility Big Four)
a characteristic of a service; it cannot be touched, tasted, or seen like a pure product can (Lack of tangible assets which can be seen, touched, or smelled prior to purchase)
heterogeneity (Variability Big Four)
as it refers to the differences between the marketing of products and services, the delivery of services is more variable (Unwanted or random levels of service quality customers receive when they patronize a service firm)
inseparable (Inseparability Big Four)
characteristic of a service: it is produced and consumed at the same time; that is, service and consumption are inseparable (Simultaneous production and consumption of a service)
emotional support
concern for others' well-being and support of their decisions in a job setting
the service quality
customers' perceptions of how well a service meets or exceeds their expectations
empowerment
in context of service delivery, means allowing employees to make decisions about how service is provided to customers
standards gap
pertains to the difference between the firm's perceptions of customers' exceptions and the service standards it sets
communication gap
refers to the difference between the actual service provided to customers and the service that the firm's promotion program promises
Knowledge gap
reflects the difference between customers' expectations and the firm's perception of those expectations
delivery gap
the difference between the firm's service standards and the actual service it provides to customers