Download people-based services

BA 9253 – SERVICES MARKETING
• UNIT – I – INTRODUCTION
SERVICES DEFINITION.
• An act or performance offered by one party to
another (performance are intangible, but may
involve use of physical products)
• An economic activity that does not result in
ownership
• A process that creates benefits by facilitating a
desired change in customers themselves,
physical possessions, or intangible assets
• Many have attempted to define service in
such a manner as to bring out all its
characteristics. The common theme of all
definitions has invariably been that while
service is intangible, it goes on to produce
tangible results or output. In other words, it
acts like a facilitator.
• Some definitions are serious, academic, and
long on detail while others are light-hearted.
But they all drive home the unique features
that differentiate service from goods. They
are:
• A service is any activity or benefit that one
party can offer to another which is essentially
intangible and does not result in the
ownership of anything. Its production may or
may not be tied to a physical product.
–
Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders and Wong (1999)
• ……. Services…… anything that cannot be
dropped on your foot.
- The Economist
• Services are economist/economic activities
that create value and provide benefits for
customers at specific times and places as a
result of bringing about a desired change I or an behalf of – the recipient of the service.
- Christopher Lovelock
• Let us define service in a manner appropriate
to our study and in order to explain services
are the scope of this text.
• Services are the production of essentially
intangible benefits and experience, either
alone or as part of a tangible product, through
some form of exchange, with the intention of
satisfying the needs, wants and desires of the
consumers.
Characteristics of service
The characteristics of services-intangibility,
inseparability, heterogeneity and perish
ability –
mean that there are new considerations
facing services marketers. These
differences led to the development of the
expanded marketing mix to focus on issues
perceived by customers to be important in
services marketing.
• CLASSIFICATION OF SEVICES
• As has already been suggested, there are a
number of ways of classifying service activity,
and there is inevitably some degree of overlap
between the methods available. This section
outlines some of the methods of classification
commonly used.
• TYPES OF SERVICES
• Services are divided between and consumer
services, business-to-business services and
industrial services. These fall between the
public and private sectors.
• END-USER
• Services can be classified into the following
categories:
• Consumer : leisure, hairdressing, personal
finance, package holidays.
• Business to Business : advertising agencies,
printing, accountancy, consultancy.
• Industrial : Plant maintenance and repair,
project management.
• SERVICE TANGIBILITY
• The degree of tangibility of a service can be
used to classify services:
• Highly tangible : Car rental, vending machines,
telecommunications.
• Service linked to tangible goods: domestic
appliance repair, car service.
• Highly intangible: Psychotherapy, consultancy,
legal services.
• PEOPLE-BASED SERVICES
• Services can be broken down into labor intensive
(people –based) and equipment-based services. This
can also be represented by the degree of contact:
• People-based-services-high contact: education,
dental care, Restaurants, medical services
• Equipment-based-low contact: automatic car wash,
Launderette, vending machine, cinema.
• EXPERTISE
• The expertise and skills of the service provider
can be broken down into the following
categories:
• Professional : medicine services, legal services,
accountancy, tutoring.
• Non-professional : infant caretaking, casual
labor.
• PROFIT ORIENTATION
• The overall business orientation is a
recognized means of classification:
• Not-for-profit : The scouts association,
charities, public sector leisure facilities.
• Commercial : banks, airlines, tour operators,
hotel and catering services.
Example -services
• Travel services are generally offered to all
sectors of the market, although specific
market segments are evident, such as the
tourism market and business travelers.
• Contract cleaners may service both industrial
premises such as factories and other service
businesses in offices and retail service outlets.
• A motor service garage may repair companyowned and commercial vehicles as well as
providing a service for the private motorist.
• Banks traditionally provide corporate and
consumer financial services.