Chapter 1: Introduction to services Flashcards
Services
All economic activities whose output is not a physical product or construction, is generally consumed at the time it is produced, and provides added value in forms (such as convenience, amusement, timeliness, comfort, or health) that are essentially intangible concerns of its first purchaser
Tangibility Spectrum
Each service, we acknowledge that there are very few ‘pure services’ or ‘pure goods’. You can see if it is more directed toward those offerings that lie on the right-hand side, the intangible side, of the spectrum.
Service Dominant Logic
Is another way to look at what service means. It is a new dominant logic for marketing that suggests that all products and physical goods are valued for the services they provide.
Intangibility
The most basic distinguishing characteristic of services is intangibility. Because services are performances or actions rather than objects, they cannot be seen, felt, tasted or touched in the same manner as tangible goods. For example, healthcare services are actions performed by providers and directed towards patients and their families.
Perishability
Perishability refers to the fact that services cannot be saved, stored, resold or returned. A seat on a flight or in a restaurant, an hour of a lawyer’s time or telephone line capacity not used cannot be reclaimed and used or resold at a later time.
Inseparability
Most services are sold first and then produced and consumed simultaneously. Inseparability also means that customers will frequently interact with each other during the service production process and thus may affect each other’s experiences. For example, strangers seated next to each other in an airplane may well affect the nature of the service experience for each other.
Heterogeneity
Because services are performances, frequently produced by humans, no two services will be precisely alike. Heterogeneity also results because no two customers are precisely alike: each will have unique demands or experience the service in a unique way. Thus, the heterogeneity connected with services is largely the result of human interaction.
Services Marketing Triangle
A strategic framework known as the services marketing triangle shows the three interlinked groups that work together to develop, promote and deliver these service promises. These key players are labelled on the points of the triangle: the company, the customers, and the employees/technology.
Servuction System
This model breaks the service delivery process that a customer receives into two parts: that which is visible to the customer and that which is not. (page 24)
Services Marketing Mix
In addition to the traditional four Ps (Product, Place, Promotion, Price), the services marketing mix includes People, Physical evidence, and Process. 7 Ps.
Physical Evidence
The environment in which the service is delivered and where the firm and customer interact, and any tangible components that facilitate performance or communication of the service.
