Marketing Services

Services: definitions

The American Marketing Association defines marketing services as an organization and a set of processes for identifying or creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in a way that benefits the organization and stake-holders. Services are (usually) intangible economic activities offered by one party to another. Often time-based, services performed on desired results to recipients, objects, or other assets for which purchasers have responsibility. In exchange for money, time, and effort, service customers expectation of access to goods, labor, professional skills, facilities, networks, and systems; they do not normally take over the ownership of any of the physical elements involved. ^[1]

A service encounter can be defined as a duration in which a customer has a service. The customer’s interactions with a service provider typically involve personal contact with service, in addition to interactions with the physical elements of the service environment including the facilities and equipment. ^[2]

Concepts of service

Scholars have long debated the nature of services. Some of the earliest attempts to define services. Late-eighteenth and early nineteenth century definitions highlighted the nature of ownership and wealth creation. Classical economists contended that they were objects of value over which they could be established and exchanged. Ownership implied possession of a tangible object that had been acquired through the purchase of the goods, or that it was legally identifiable as the property of the current owner. In contrast, when services were purchased, no title to goods changed hands.

Historical perspectives

Adam Smith’s Seminal Work, The Wealth of Nations (1776), distinguished between the outputs of what he termed “productive” and “unproductive” labor. The form, it is stated, that it may be stored after production and subsequently exchanged for money or other items of value. But unproductive labor, however “honorable, … useful, or … necessary” created services that do not contribute to wealth.

French economist Jean-Baptiste Sayed that production and consumption were inseparable in services, coining the term “immaterial products” to describe them. ^[3] In the 1920s, Alfred Marshall was still using the idea that services “are immaterial products.” ^[4]

In the midst of the nineteenth century John Stuart wrote that services are “utilities not fixed or embodied in any object, but without a permanent acquisition.” ^[5]

Contemporary perspectives

When services marketing emerged as a separate sub-branch within the early 1980s, it was largely a protest against the dominance of prevailing product-centric view. ^[6] [7] In 1960, the US economy changed forever. In that year, for the first time in a major trading nation, more people were employed in the service sector than in manufacturing industries. ^[8] Other developed nations followed by shifting to a service based economy. ^[9]Scholars soon began recognizing that their services were important in their own right, rather than being part of the market. This recognition has been changed in the way services were defined. By the mid twentieth century, the role of the author is to define their own unique characteristics, rather than by comparison with products. ^[10] The following set of definitions shows how scholars have been developed with the distinctive features of service and developing new definitions of service. ^[11] [12]

• “Goods are produced: services are performed.” (Rathmell, 1966) ^[13]
• “A service is an activity or a series of activities that requires a place of interaction with a person or a person who is satisfied with the customer.” (Lehtinen, 1983 ^[14]
• “The heart of the service product is the experience of the consumer who takes place in real time … it is the interactive process that creates the benefits desired by the consumer.” (Bateson, 1992) ^[15]
• “Services are deeds, processes and performances.” (Zeithmal and Bitner, 1996) ^[16]
• “Services are processes (economic activities) that provide time, place, form, problem-solving or experiential value to the recipient.” (Lovelock, 2007) ^[17]
• “The term ‘service’ … is synonymous with value. (Gummesson, 2008) ^[18]

Alternative view

A recently proposed alternative is that services involve a form of service. ^[19] Customers are willing to pay for their experiences and solutions that add value to their lifestyle. The term, rent, can be used as a general term to describe payment possible in many instances). ^[19] [20]

There are five broad categories within the non-ownership framework

1. Rented goods services: These services enable customers to obtain the temporary right to use
2. These services may be used in the context of a larger space in a building or a container in a warehouse or simply a means to an end (eg table in a restaurant, seat in an aircraft)
3. Labor and expertise rental: People are hired to perform the work of the customer (eg cleaning the house) or are unable to do due to the lack of expertise, tools and skills (eg car repairs, surgery)
4. Access to shared physical environments (eg museums, theme parks, gyms, golf courses).
5. Access to and use of systems and networks: The benefits to the right to participate in a network of telecommunications, utilities, banking or insurance,

Services: Unique characteristics

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the so-called unique characteristics of services dominated much of the literature.

The most commonly cited characteristics of services are: ^[21]

Intangibility – services lack physical form; they do not interact with any of our senses in a conventional way, they can not be touched or held.

Implications of intangibility: Ownership can not be transferred, value derived from consumption or experience, quality is difficult to evaluate.

Inseparability – production and consumption can not be separated (compared to goods where production and consumption are entirely discrete processes)

Implications of inseparability: Services are typically high-tech and labor-intensive; less opportunities to transact business at arm’s length, fewer opportunities to substitute capital for labor; subject to human error.

Perishability – service performances are ephemeral; unlike physical goods, services can not be stored or inventoried.

Implications of perishability: Demand is subject to wide fluctuations, no inventory to serve as a buffer between supply and demand; unused capacity can not be reserved; high opportunity cost of idle capacity.

Variability (also known as heterogeneity) is a service that is highly variable, and is often highly variable.

Implications of variability: Service quality is difficult to manage; fewer opportunities to standardize service delivery.

The services are complex, multi-dimensional and multi-layered. Not only are there multiple benefits, but there is also a multiplicity of interactions between customers and organizations.

Framework

Classification of goods and services

There are many ways to classify services. One classification considers who or what is being processed and identifies three classes of services: people processing (eg beauty services, child care, medical services); Mental stimulus processing (eg education services, counseling services, life coaching), possession processing (eg pet care, appliance repair, piano tuning) and information processing (eg financial services, data warehousing services). ^[22] [23]Another method used to classify services as the degree of customer interaction in the service process and classifies services as high contact (eg hospitality, dental care, hairdressing) or low contact (eg telecommunications, utility services). ^[24]

Both economists and marketers make extensive use of the Search → Experience → Credence (SEC) classification of goods and services. The classification scheme is based on the ease or difficulty of consumer evaluation activities and identifies three broad classes of goods. ^[25] [26]

Search goods : Consumers rely on a prior experience, direct product inspection and other information search activities to locate information that assists in the evaluation process. Most products fall under the category search (eg clothing, office stationery, home furnishings).

Experience goods : are goods or services that can be evaluated after the product and experiences. Many personal services fall into this category (eg restaurant, hairdresser, beauty salon, theme park, travel, holiday).

Credence claims : are goods or services that are difficult or impossible to evaluate even after consumption has occurred. Evaluation difficulties may arise because of the lack of knowledge or technical expertise to make a realistic evaluation or, alternatively because of the cost of information-acquisition is prohibitive or outweighs the value of information available. Many professional services fall into this category (eg accountant, legal services, medical diagnosis / treatment, cosmetic surgery). These goods are called credence products because the consumer’s quality assessments are entirely dependent on the manufacturer or service provider. ^[27]

While some services may have a number of search attributes (tangible dimensions), most services are high in experience or credential properties. Empirical studies have shown that consumers’ perceived risk increases along the search-experience-credence continuum. ^[28] The implication is that services tend to be high involvement decisions.

Risk perception and risk reduction in service purchase decisions

Perceived risk is associated with all purchasing decisions, both products and services. In terms of risk perception, marketers and Economists argued That purchase Perceived Risk is Higher for experience goods and credence goods with implications for consumer assessment processes. ^[29] Consumers are more likely to be involved in the acquisition of consumer goods and services. Any activity That a consumer undertakes in an attempt to Reduce Perceived risk is Known as a risk reduction activity .

Risk perception has been defined as “a perception or feeling” based on consumer’s judgments of the likelihood of negative outcomes (uncertainty) and the degree of importance of these outcomes to the individual [consequences] “. ^[30] Thus, pre-purchase risk is a function of two dimensions, namely:

Uncertainty : the consumer’s subjective assessment of the likelihood of occurrence

Consequence : the severity of the outcome for the individual in the event that a poor purchase decision is made

For example, consider the case of a prospective air traveler. Most of us know that the probability of being involved in an airline is low (low uncertainty). ^[31]It is a standard that travelers are safer in the air than on the roads. Statistically, you are much more likely to be involved in a vehicle accident than an aircraft disaster. While the likelihood of personal injury is very low, the consequences of this is very serious indeed (high consequence). Whereas, travelers who have been involved in a traffic accident with a minor injury, the same can not be said for airline travelers. It is the severity of the consequence rather than the uncertainty that plays into airline passengers’ fears. Consumers are constantly weighing up the uncertainty and consequences to reach subjective evaluations of the overall risk.

Risk perception drives the information search process. Heightened risk perception can become a barrier to the natural progression of the purchase decision making process. Consumers who are risk-averse tend to spend more time and effort in information acquisition in the pre-purchase stage and look for specific types of information that will alleviate their perceptions of risk. Typical risk relievers might include such things as a reliance on personal sources of referrals; reliance on trusted and trusted brands, reading manufacturers’ specifications, limited scale trials, reliance on warranties or guarantees etc. ^[32]

Are particularly important in service include: ^[32] [33]

High price maintenance: Some evidence suggests that risk-averse people often use a guide to quality. Low prices may be counter-productive since they suggest lower quality. Prestige pricing or premium pricing strategies are more likely to be indicated in service settings.

Limited scale trial: While some services can not be fully trialled, marketers should think about a limited scale trial or a virtual trial. eg computer-aided design to visualize hairstyles, plastic surgery, Many virtual brand sites have successfully built the concept of limited trial. Other examples include: test driving a software application.

Standardize the Product and Delivery: This is the best known McDonald’s approach. Since it is possible to reduce the variation in quality, the technique is to be minimized. This approach can be limited to many customers expect high levels of flexibility and customization as part of the process. Standardization needs to be fully communicated to customers – existing and potential – to be fully effective.

Purchase of a known or trusted brand : Consumers of services may be more likely to use a reputable brand. For this reason, service providers are presented with greater opportunities to engage in relationship marketing

Matching supply and demand

Service operations are often characterized by greater uncertainty with regard to the flow of demand. Service firms are often said to be constrained . ^[34] This refers to the finite carrying capacity for service providers and the lack of availability.

There are two components to capacity (ie, supply) in service operations:

Number of employees : In medium and high contact systems, capacity is constrained by the number of staff available to provide service.

Size of service environment : Service environments have fixed space. A restaurant has a given number of tables, a hotel has a limited number of rooms, buses and trains are licensed to carry a number of passengers.

The factors contributing to a problem are more complex and difficult to predict. The components of demand may be seen as long term demand patterns (trends), short term seasonal fluctuations and irregular effects. ^[35]

Long-term demand patterns: Most industries exhibit Underlying trends in demand over along time frames. A trend is the long term direction in a time-series. Are sales growing, declining or stable? Often the trend is related to the stage of the product life cycle. For example, industries in growth stages exhibit rapid growth in sales while industries in maturity may find that sales figures reach a plateau. Long-term demand patterns are stable and relatively easy to predict.

Seasonal Factors: Seasonal components are systematic, calendar-related movements in sales. Seasonal factors are recurring and relatively easy to predict. Seasonal factors might include peak and off peak seasons for a tourist resort. For a restaurant, however, peak seasons might be coinciding with main meal periods on a daily basis. Other seasonal seasonal factors include day trading day effects and holiday periods.

Irregular Fluctuations: Irregular fluctuations are unsystematic, short term fluctuations. Irregular effects are highly unpredictable. eg inclement weather conditions an airport, forcing local to hotels with minimum advance warning; an unexpected thunder storm leads to a surge in demand for umbrellas.

When demand is low, the capacity may be underutilized while Service managers need to develop strategies for managing demand and supply under different conditions. Strategies for managing the ability to pay attention to considerations of both demand-side considerations and supply-side considerations. ^[36]

On the capacity side: ^[34]

Add to capacity – hire additional staff (eg casual or temporary staff for peak periods); add to space (eg, extra floor space in retail, hospitality or increased size in transport services) Increasing capacity may require service.

Reconfigure interior space – with careful reconfiguration of interiors, it may be possible to accommodate a larger number of customers.

Use Customers to Boost Productivity – Customers can self-service, e-ticketing.

Transact business at arm’s length – Transact business.

Ask Customers to use Third Parties – Where possible, have customers use or brokers to minimize the number of individual contacts and reduce pressure on the service system.

Share capacity – it may be possible to share with other operators that it is possible to make a request for more information.

On the demand side: ^[37]

Locate and target market segments with different demand patterns – and more.

Develop innovative products for off peak periods – eg an airline Could Develop mystery flights, fly over Antarctica specials, singles flights, blues or jazz flights, gourmet flights, fight sensitivity training Flights for nervous travelers, Winter wonderland specials, etc. (a medium term strategy ).

Use efficiency based pricing methods – price incentives, such as time-based differential pricing (peak and off peak); market-based differential pricing (eg economy and business class); price-volume discounts, use pricing to encourage pre-booking which facilitates superior forecasting. Car hire company, Uber, uses surge pricing during periods of high demand.

Use reservations systems – supply management or dynamic pricing which uses a combination of segment-by-segment application and forecasting. patterns.

Use stand-by systems – allow customers the option of taking up last minute vacancies or “no-show” places.

Shape demand – management may or may not be required to support the organization of the organization of the education program in order to spread the price for holiday services more evenly across the year.

When demand exceeds capacity, then reductions in service quality are likely outcomes. Over-crowding and lengthy waiting lines can be used to improve the customer experience. Employees may compensate by the time they spend with each other in an effort to serve more people. When capacity far exceeds supply, then capacity becomes idle. Spare capacity is unproductive and inefficient use of resources. A short-term solution to spare capacity. For instance, management might ask staff to take leave limited number lifts operating and closing off floors of a building to reduce costs operating costs. In addition, routine maintenance tasks or planned refurbishment activities, which involve downtime, should minimize disruption to bosses.

Managing waiting lines

When demand exceeds capacity, customers may have to wait for services. Lovelock identified a range of different types of waiting lines or queuing systems: ^[38]

Single Line / Single Server Tails : Single line tails are among the most common. Examples can be found in cafes and sandwich bars around town. At Disneyland, for example, single line tails are employed despite the large numbers of visitors. However, Disney provides roving entertainers to visit as a form of distraction.

Parallel Lines / Multiple Servers : Parallel lines are useful when there is more than one service station. However, a major drawback is often at different speeds. When bosses perceive that their line is moving more slowly, it can give rise to a sense of inequity. A variation of this type of tail is to devote some stations to different classes of customer. This variation is used in supermarkets where an express lane can be set up for a small basket of items. It is also used at airport check-in for different types of passengers and class passengers.

Snake Tail : The snake tail is used by the service provider. Its main advantage is that it will be served on a first-in, first served basis, which for many people is the fairest system.

Take a Number : They have been assigned a number. Instead, customers can relax and enjoy the service.

Other types of systems : Of course, other types of systems can be found in service environments. Hospital emergency department, for example, Triage in which patients are assessed by a nurse who ranks the severity of their condition and assigns them to a doctorate based on need.

Program

The argument that services require different marketing strategies is based on the understanding that the services of the customer are different. ^[39] The “marketing mix” (also known as the oven Ps ) is a foundation concept in marketing and has the so-called managerial approach defined since the 1960s. The marketing mix or marketing program is understood to be “the set of marketing tools that the firm uses to market its objectives in the target market”. ^[40] The traditional marketing mix refers to the various marketing decisions, namely: product , price ,promotion , and place . ^[41] [42]

Expanded and modified marketing mix

The prospect of expanding and modifying the marketing mix for services first took hold at the inaugural AMA Conference dedicated to Marketing Services in 1981, and to the point of departure of many important limitations of the 4 Ps concept. ^[43] Collectively, Taken collectively, the papers presented in this paper are based on an understanding of the reality that they are fundamentally different, and that they are fundamentally different. At the Services Marketing Conference in 1981, Booms and Bitters proposed a model of seven Ps, comprising the original oven Ps plus process, people and physical evidence , being more applicable for marketing services.^[44] Since then there have been a number of different proposals for a marketing mix (with various numbers of Ps – 6 Ps, 7 Ps, 8 Ps, 9 Ps and occasionally more). The model of 7 Ps has been widely accepted, to the extent that some theorists have argued for the Ps Ps. ^[45]

Ps. Rather it also modifies the traditional mix of product, price, place and promotion for superior application to services.

Product

Service products are conceptualized as a result of a bundle of tangible and intangible elements: ^[46]

Core service: the basic reason for the business; that which solves consumer problems

Supplementary goods and services: Supplementary services and services (eg consultation, safe-keeping, hospitality, exceptions)

Facilitating services : (sometimes called delivery services ) (eg, provision, order-taking, billing, payment methods)

Supporting services : support the core and could be slashed without destabilizing the core.

The distinction between supplementary and facilitating services varies, depending on the nature of the service. For instance, the provision of coffee and tea would be considered to support a facility. Whether an element is classified as supportive or supportive depends on the context.

Price

Service marketers need to consider a range of other issues in price setting and management of prices:

• Price Charged: the traditional pricing decision.
• Timing of Payment: clients who are part of the service process When the service is initiated, during the encounter or the termination of an encounter. Deposits, installments and exit fees are all options that can be considered.
• Mode of Payment: Given that it is possible that some bosses will expect to be able to pay on account. Payment options include: EFTPOS, direct transfer, cash / credit check, invoice.

Many services firms operating in the United States, where prices have been influenced by professional codes of conduct or by government. It is possible to identify three broad scenarios: ^[47]

• Services subject to public regulation (eg healthcare, public transport)
• Services subject to formal self-regulation (eg universities, schools)
• Services Subject to marketplace regulation (eg hospitality, tourism, leisure services)

In situations Where the service is subject to Some kind of public regulation, government departments May suit les ceiling prices qui Effectively limit the amount That can be charged.

The concept of a social market may be more important for service marketers. A social price refers to “non financial aspects of price”. Fine identified four types of social price: Time, Effort, Lifestyle and Psyche. ^[48] In fact, this means that consumers may be more aware of the costs associated with the consumption of a service. In practice, this may mean that consumers of services experience has a heightened sense of temporal risk.

Pricing tactics quoted in service firms

Place

In making place decisions, there are several related issues which must be asked. What is the purpose of the distribution program? Who are the customers? Who should the intermediaries be?

• Purpose of Distribution: Mass distribution; selective distribution or exclusive distribution
• Number of levels in distribution channel: Direct distribution vs. multi-marketing and location decisions ^{[49] [50] [51]}
• Intermediaries: Agents versus Resellers; Brokers and other parties; Surrogate Consumers ^[52] [53]

Promotion

The expanded marketing mix

Contemporary service marketing texts tends to be Organized around a framework of seven Ps gold eight Ps. The 7 Ps included the original 4 Ps more processes , people , physical environment . ^[54] The eight Ps framework; including the 7 Ps plus performance which refers to the standards of service performance or service quality. ^[55]

Physical evidence

Given the intangible nature of services, consumers often rely on the physical evidence to evaluate service quality. Therefore, service marketers must manage the physical evidence – which includes any element of the service environment – the sense of smell, taste, hearing, sight and touch. ^[56] Theorists identify two types of physical evidence, namely; ^[57]

Peripheral evidence: It is actually possessed as part of the purchase of a service but has no independent value unless backed by the service. eg a check book, credit card, admission ticket, hotel stationery.

Essential evidence: unlike peripheral evidence can not be possessed by the customer. It contributes to ambience or image eg building and furnishings, layout, equipment, people etc

A number of different theoretical traditions can be used to inform the study of service environments including stimulus-organism-response (SOR) models; environmental psychology ; semiotics and servicescapes.

Stimulus-response models

The SOR model (stimulus → organism → response model) describes the way that organisms, which includes both customers and employees, respond to environmental stimuli. In a service setting the environmental stimuli might include lighting, ambient temperature, background music, layout and interior design. In essence, the model proposes that people’s responses both to emotional and behavioral responses to stimuli in the external environment.

Environmental psychology

Environmental psychologists investigate the impact of spatial environments on behavior. Emotional responses to environmental stimuli fall into three dimensions; pleasure, arousal and dominance. The individual’s emotional state is thought to mediate the behavioral response, namely approach or avoidance behavior towards the environment. Architects and designers can use insights from environmental psychology to design environments. ^[58]

Three emotional responses are suggested in the model. These responses should be understood as a continuum, rather than a discrete emotion, and can be viewed as falling anywhere along the continuum. ^[59]

Pleasure-displeasure refers to the emotional state of the customer and is satisfied with the service experience.

Arousal-non-arousal refers to the emotional state that consumers feel and excited about.

Dominance-submissiveness refers to the emotional state that reflects the degree to which consumers and employees feel comfortable in the environment.

The individual’s emotional response mediate the individual’s behavioral response of Approach → Avoidance.Approach Refers to the act of moving towards something while avoiding interferes with people’s ability to interact. In a service environment, approach behaviors may be characterized by a desire to explore an unfamiliar environment, remain in the service environment, interact with the environment and with other persons in the environment and a willingness to perform tasks within that environment. Avoid behaviors are characterized by a desire to leave the establishment, ignore the service environment, and feelings of disappointment with the service experience. Environments in which people feel they lack control are unattractive. Customers often understand the concept of approach intuitively when they comment on a particular place “inviting looks”. The desired level of emotional arousal depends on the situation. For example, at a gym arousal might be more important than pleasure (No Pain; No gain). In a leisure setting, pleasure might be more important. If the environment pleases, then the customer will be encouraged to stay and explore all that the service has to offer. Too much arousal can be counter-productive. For instance, a romantic couple might be out of place in a busy, noisy and cluttered restaurant. Obviously, some level of motivation is necessary to buy. The longer a customer stays in an environment, the greater the opportunities to cross-sell a range of service offerings. Too much arousal can be counter-productive. For instance, a romantic couple might be out of place in a busy, noisy and cluttered restaurant. Obviously, some level of motivation is necessary to buy. The longer a customer stays in an environment, the greater the opportunities to cross-sell a range of service offerings. Too much arousal can be counter-productive. For instance, a romantic couple might be out of place in a busy, noisy and cluttered restaurant. Obviously, some level of motivation is necessary to buy. The longer a customer stays in an environment, the greater the opportunities to cross-sell a range of service offerings.

Mehrabian and Russell identified two types of environment based on the degree of information processing and stimulation: ^[60]

High load : Environments that are unfamiliar, novel, complex, unpredictable or crowded are high load

Low load : Environments that are familiar, simple, unsurprising and well organized are low load.

Activities or tasks that are low load require a more stimulating environment for optimum performance. If the task to be performed in a relatively simple, routine or boring then users benefit from a slightly more stimulating environment. On the other hand, tasks that are complex or difficult to benefit from a low load environment. In a service environment, a high load environment encourages patrons to enter and explore various services and spaces.

Servicescapes

The services model was developed by Mary Jo Bitner and published in 1992. It is an applied model, specifically developed to inform the analysis of service environments, and was influenced by both stimulus-response theory and environmental psychology.

Physical environment dimensions

As the diagram of the services of the model, the service environment consists of stimuli. Environmental ^[61] [62]

Ambient Conditions : Temperature, air quality, ambient noise, lighting, background music, odor, etc.

Space / Function : Equipment such as cash registers, layout, furnishings and furniture, etc.

Signs, symbols & Artifacts : Directional signage, personal artifacts (eg souvenirs, mementos), corporate livery and logos, style of decor (including color schemes), symbols etc

Each element in the physical environment serves specific roles -and some may perform multiple roles. Signage may provide information, but may also serve to help customers navigate their way through a complex service environment. For instance, they may provide seating, but the construction materials, such as fabric, may be used for symbolic role. Plush fabrics and generous drapery may suggest an elegant, up-market coming, while plastics may mean an inexpensive, family-friendly come. When evaluating the services, the combined effect of all elements must also be taken into consideration.

The holistic environment

When consumers enter a servicescape, they scan the ambient conditions, layout, furnishings and artefacts and aggregate them to derive an overall impression of the environment. In other words, the holistic environment represents the cumulative effect of multiple stimuli, most of which are processed within a split second. These types of global judgments represent the summation of multiple stimuli to form a single, overall impression in the consumer’s mind. ^[63]

Through the care of the environment and the environment, managers are able to communicate with the firm. Ideally, the physical environment will be designed to achieve desired behavioral outcomes. Clever use of space can be used to encourage the provision of services. At other times, the ambient conditions can be manipulated to encourage avoidance behavior. For example, at the end of a busy night of trading, a bar manager could turn up the turn of the lights, turn off the background music and start stacking the tables. These actions send a signal to the bosses that it is closing time.

Customers and employees: moderating and mediating factors

Customers and employees represent the two groups that regularly inhabit the servicescape. Their perceptions of the environment are likely to be different, because each one comes to the space with different purposes and motivations. For example, a waiter in a restaurant is likely to be satisfied with a crowded dining room. Customers, on the other hand, may be less pleased with a crowded space because of noise and queues have the potential to diminish the service experience.

In the servicescape model, a moderator is anything that changes the standard stimulus-response emotional states of pleasure-displeasure, arousal-non-arousal or dominance-submissiveness while the mediator explains the response behavior, typically in terms of internal responses (cognitive, emotional and physiological responses). ^[64] The consumer’s response to an environment depends, at least in part, on situational factors. ^[65] For example, a waiter in a restaurant is likely to be satisfied with a crowded dining room. Customers, on the other hand, may be less pleased with a crowded space because of noise and queues have the potential to diminish the service experience.

Behavioral response

The model shows That There are different kinds of response – individual response ( approach and AVOID ) interaction and responses (eg social interactions ).

In the context of servicescapes, approach has a special meaning. It refers to how customers use the space, during and after the service encounter. Approach behaviors demonstrated during the encounter include: ^[66]

Enter and explore – exhibiting a desire to explore the total service offering, a willingness to do more things, keen to learn about all the company’s products and services; showing an interest in cross-selling opportunities

Stay longer – exhibiting a willingness to stay within the physical environment; longer stays present more opportunities for cross-selling, up-selling or impulse buying. Some studies have shown a correlation between length of stay and the size of average boss expenditure

Carry out plan – exhibiting a willingness to act on information provided, fully immersing themselves in the experience and a determination to achieve personal goals

Social interactions refer to customer-employee interactions and customer-customer interactions. In some services, such as clubs, bars and tours, the act of meeting other people and interacting with other customers forms an integral part of the service experience. Managers need to think about design features that can be used to facilitate interactions between bosses. For instance, some cafeterias and casual dining establishments install communal dining tables for the express purpose of encouraging customers to mix and socialize.

Different types of approaches to the behavior of the person concerned: affiliation – a willingness to become a regular user, form intention to revisit; commitment – the formation of intention to become a branded advocate, to provide referrals, write favorable online reviews or give positive word – of – mouth recommendations.

Types of servicescape

Bitner’s pioneering work on servicescapes identified two broad types of service environment: ^[67]

Lean servicescapes – environments that include relatively few spaces, contain few elements, and involve interactions between customers and employees. eg kiosks, vending machines, self-service retail outlets, fast food outlets. Designing lean environments is relatively straight forward

Elaborate servicescapes – environments that include multiple spaces, are rich in physical elements and symbolism, involve high contact services with many interactions between customers and employees. Examples include hotels, concierge, bars, restaurants, swimming pools, gymnasiums and other supplementary services where guests interact with multiple people during their stay. Designing elaborate environments requires skilled design teams who are fully trained in the desired behavioral outcomes and the corporate vision.

According to the model developer, the servicescape acts like a “product ‘s package” – by communicating a total image to customers and providing information on how to use the service. It can also serve as a point of difference by signaling which segments of the market are served, positioning the organization and conveying competitive distinctiveness. ^[68]

Service process

When customers enter a firm service they participate in a process. During that process, customers become quasi-employed; that they are partial producers and they have the opportunity to see the organization of the employee’s perspective. Analogous goods are considered to be ‘unfinished goods’ – which are faulty and defective goods, with obvious implications for customer satisfaction and satisfaction. In addition, customers become part of the total service experience. Both customers and staff must be educated to effectively use the process. Controlling the service delivery process is more than a simple management issue. The customer ‘

Blueprinting for design and diagnosis

Blueprinting is a technique designed to document the visible customer experience. ^[69]In its simplest form, the service blueprint is an applied process chart which shows the service delivery process from the customer’s perspective. The original service is a highly visual, graphical map that delineates the key contact points in the service process and the nature of the contact – whether with physical evidence, personnel or procedures. It represents the horizontal axis representing the horizontal axis and the vertical axis represents the basic steps in the process. A line of visibility is included to separate actions visible to the customer from actions out of sight. Employee latitude, which refers to the amount of discretion given to employees, is shown in the figure.

It was originally intended as a tool for assisting design and structural positioning. ^[70] However, since its inception it has been used extensively as a diagnostic tool, used to detect operational inefficiencies and potential disorder spots including fail points and bottlenecks . ^{[71] [72] [73]} In the event that any deficiencies are identified by the blueprinting process, management can develop operational standards for critical steps in the process. ^[74] [75]

When interpreting service blueprints, there are two basic considerations, complexity and divergence. Complexity refers to the number and intricacy of the steps required to perform the service. Divergence refers to the degree of latitude, freedom, judgment, discretion, variability or situational adaptation permitted within any step of the process.

Manipulations of the blueprint diagram may be increased by increasing the number of steps, or increasing divergence by allowing greater latitude. In general, service processes that include high levels of employee discretion to vary steps to meet the needs of individual customers. On the other hand, reducing divergence, by standardizing each step, often adds to complexity, but can result in a production-line approach to service process design. By manipulating complexity and divergence, it is possible to consider four different positioning strategies: ^[76]

Reduced Complexity: Specialization strategy

Reduced Divergence: Volume-operations

Increase Complexity: Product development

Increased Divergence: Niche market strategy

Subway sandwich bars provide an excellent example of a business can integrate both design and servicescape into the customer’s in-store experience. Like many fast food restaurants, Subway used to raceto corral customers and move them in one way direction. Prominently displayed ‘In’ and ‘Out’ signage reinforces the direction of the desired traffic flow. Customers can peruse an overhead menu while they are waiting for it. Subway process, select filling, select sauce, pay and exit. The arrangement of the food of the sandwiches, the choice of sandwiches, the choice of the sandwiches, the choice of sandwiches, the choice of sandwiches, In Australia, the distinctive moves used by Subway customers as they shuffle along the race,^[77] [78] Each aspect of Subway’s design and layout of the core objectives of customization, volume-operations (ie rapid turnover) and operational efficiency.

People

The people dimension refers to the human actors who are participants in the service encounter, namely employees and customers. ^[79] For many service marketers, the human interaction is the heart of the service experience. ^[80] Personal service is important because they are the face of the company and represent the company’s values ​​to customers. Customers are important because they are the reason for being in business and are the source of revenue. Service firms must manage interactions between customers and interactions between employees and customers. ^[81] Scholars have developed the concept of service-profit-chain to understand how customers and firms interact with each other in service settings.^[82] Strategically, personal service is a source of differentiation. ^[83]

Staff members are said to have a boundary-spanning role because they link with the organization and their environment as a whole. ^[84] [85] As boundary spanners, front line staff are likely to encounter the various stresses associated with that role. Studies have shown that emotional labor can lead to stress, burnout, job dissatisfaction and withdrawal. If left untreated, these types of stressors can be very damaging to morality.

Managing the behavior of customers and employees is difficult. Consist behavior can not be prescribed. It can, however, be nurtured in subtle and indirect ways. ^[86] Recruitment and training can help to ensure that the firm employs the right people.

A dramaturgical perspective

For some marketing theorists, services are analogous to theater. This analogy is also known as a dramatic perspective. In such an analogy, personal service are the actors , customers are the audience ; uniforms are costumes ; the work setting is the stage (front-stage for areas where interaction occurs and back-stage for areas off limits to customers); discrete steps in the process are Service scenes and finally the words and action Occur That Represent the performance . ^[87] [88]

A dramatic perspective may be appropriate in specific service contexts:

• high contact services ^[89]
• services with large audiences eg sporting stadia, educational institutions ^[90]

Managerial insights generated by a dramaturgical perspective include: ^[91]

• differentiates services de fabrication de services de fabrication et de la fabrication pour la performance de performance
• service work as a skilled worker – recognizing that service is an artistic and creative endeavor
• Providing service workers with a mechanism for understanding and coping with role-related stressors (by understanding that they are ‘in character’
• focus managerial attention on recruitment and training
• forces managers to think about the craft of internships – scripting, staging, scenes, costumes and roles

When asked to perform emotional labor, employees can adopt one of two approaches: ^[92]

Deep acting : the service worker appeals the service environment and regulates their inner feelings, by actually changing their emotions from the outset

Surface acting: the service worker pretends to express displays of emotion

Some evidence suggests that they are highly flexible in their role and engage in stressful activities. In addition, deep acting is often seen as more authentic, while surface acting can be seen as inauthentic. ^[93] Service work, by its very nature, is stressful for employees. Managers need to develop techniques to assist employees manage role related stress.

Performance: Managing service quality

There is widespread consensus among researchers and practitioners that is an elusive and abstract concept that is difficult to define and measure. ^[94] It is believed to be a multi-dimensional construct, but there is little consensus as to what consists of the specific dimensions. Indeed, some researchers argue that the dimensions of service can not vary. ^[95]

The Nordic School, the Gaps Model (also known as the American Model and the Performance Only Approach.

The Nordic school

The Nordic school is one of the earliest attempts to define and measure service quality. In this school of thought, service quality is conceptualized as consisting of two broad dimensions, namely: ^[96]

Technical quality : (What was delivered)

Functional quality : (How it was delivered)

The technical dimension can usually be measured – but the functional dimension is difficult to measure to subjective interpretations which vary from customer to customer. ^[97]

The Gaps model

The model of quality or services the gaps model as it is popularly Known, Was developed by team of Researchers, Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry, in the mid to late 1980s. ^[98] and the diagnosis of probable causes. ^[99] This approach conceptualizes service quality as a gap between consumer expectations and a forthcoming encounter and their actual perceptions of that encounter. ^[100] Accordingly, service quality can be represented by the equation: ^[101]

SQ = P- E

Where;

SQ is service quality

P is the individual’s perceptions

E is the individual’s expectations of a given service delivery

The model that provides the overall conceptual framework helps analysts to identify the service quality gap (Gap 5 in the model) and to understand the probable causes of service quality related problems (Gaps 1-4 in the model). The diagnostic value of the model accounts at least, in part, for the instrument’s continuing currency in service quality research. ^{[102] [103] [104]}

The model is also devised a research instrument, called SERVQUAL, to measure the size and direction of service quality problems (ie gap 5). ^[105]The questionnaire is multi-dimensional instrument, designed to capture five dimensions of service quality; trustworthiness, insurance, tangible, empathy and responsiveness, which are believed to represent the consumer’s understanding of service quality. The questionnaire consists of matched pairs of items; 22 expectation items and 22 perceptions items, organized in the five dimensions which align with the consumer mental map of service quality dimensions. Both the expectations and the perceptions of the questionnaire consist of a total of 22 items, comprising 4 items to capture tangible, 5 items to capture reliability, 4 items for responsiveness, 5 items for assurance and 5 items to capture empathy. ^[106]The questionnaire, which is designed to be used in the face-to-face interview and requires a large measure of accuracy, is longer and more timely. SERVQUAL, en français, et une questionnaires de la recherche et des points de la question (SERVICI). (Intention to revisit / repurchase, loyalty intentions and propensity to give word-of-mouth referrals). Thus, the final questionnaire may have up to 60 items, which contributes to substantial time and cost of administration, coding and data analysis.

Summary of SERVQUAL questionnaire dimensions and items ^[107]

Dimension	Definition	No. of items in questionnaire	Sample questionnaire items
Reliability	Ability to perform the service dependably and accurately	5	Expectations Item: When a certain time, they do so. Perceptions Item: XYZ company provides services at the promised time.
Insurance	The knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence	5	Expectations Item: The behavior of employees in excellent banks will instill confidence in customers. Perceptions Item: The behavior of employees in the XYZ bank instils confidence in you.
Tangibles	Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel and communication materials	4	Expectations Item: The physical facilities will be visually pleasing. Perceptions Item: XYZ’s physical facilities are visually pleasing.
Empathy	Provision of caring, individualized attention to customer	5	Expectations Item: Employees in excellent banks will understand the specific needs of their customers. Perceptions Item: XYZ employees understand my needs.
responsiveness	Willingness to help customers	4	Expectations Item: Employees in excellent banks will tell you exactly where services will be performed. Perceptions Item: Employees in the XYZ bank always tell me when they plan to deliver a service.

Performance-only model

Cronin and Taylor developed a scale based on perceived performance only (ie excluded expectations) as a simpler alternative to SERVQUAL. ^[108] SERVQUAL is a SERVPERF and is easier than cheaper to administer. SERVPERF correlates well with SERVQUAL. ^[109] This approach uses a different conceptualization of service quality, which can be represented by the equation:

SQ = P

Where;

SQ is service quality

P is the individual’s perceptions

Although SERVPERF has a number of advantages in terms of administration, it has attracted criticism. The performance only instrument lacks the diagnostic value of the SERVQUAL since it includes only one variable (P) compared to SERVQUAL’s data with two variables (P and E). ^[110] [111] To illustrate, consider a source of quality related problems which occurs when customers have unrealistically high expectations. SERVQUAL has no problem detecting such problems, however, it can not detect this problem because it does not capture expectations. When choosing an appropriate instrument for service providers, service marketers must weigh the expenses of SERVPERF against the diagnostic power of SERVQUAL.

See also: Service-dominant logic