Services Marketing Exam 2

Customer's perception of a svc performance compared to their expectations of the svc.

1) Technical outcome quality

2) Interaction quality

3) Physical evidence quality

- Result of the svc

- What is delivered

Ex. "I didn't like my doc's beside manner but my operation was a success."

- How the svc is delievered

- The process of svc delivery

Ex. Doc's beside manner, regardless of the success or failure of the operation.

- Surroundings, people during svc delivery.

Ex. Hospital room

1) Reliability

2) Responsiveness

3) Assurance

4) Empathy

5) Tangibles

- How reliable is the svc provider?

- Most important part of svc qual to customers.

- Was the delivered svc performed as promised?

The speed of the svc and the willingness and sense of urgency to help customers.

Does the svc create a feeling that the provider has the ability, expertise, knowledge to make customers believe that they know what they are doing.

Good for med or legal.

Caring

- Anything physical in the svc setting.

- Represents that svc physically.

- Cleanliness, website, bills.

1) Remote service encounters

2) Phone encounters

3) Face-face encounters

- No human interaction

- Delivery of svc via technology (atm, online svcs)

- Responsiveness

- Speaking clearly

- Politeness

- Tone of voice

- Personalization

- Friendliness

Directly with the svc provider. In person.

1) Svc quality

2) Product quality

3) Price of service

4) Expectations

5) Emotions

Build and maintain a collection of committed, loyal customers who are profitable for the organization.

Understanding customer's needs and helping a company build better relationships and increase sales.

1) Svc quality

2) Product quality

3) Price of service

4) Expectations

5) Emotions

Value today of the future income stream of an average customer.

% points higher.

Building long term relationships with customers instead of individual transactions.

Understanding customer's needs and presenting a bunch of products/svcs to existing customers.

1) Building a financial bond.

2) Form a social bond w/ customer

3) Customer bond

4) Structural bond

- Offering discounts

- Loyalty programs

-Preferred customer

→ Easy for competition to copy

- B-day cards

- Include financial bonds as well.

Tailoring a svc for you so you can't get it from someone else.

Customization + technology.

4 tier system that segments customers on the basis of profitability.

1) Platinum

2) Gold

3) Iron

4) Lead

1) Not profitable in the long term

2) Difficult customer

3) Client is wrong segment (you can't satisfy their needs)

All the actions taken by an organization in response to a service failure.

1) Passives

2) Voicers

3) Irates

4) Activists

- Won't take action of any kind.

- Think complaining won't do any good.

- Actively voice their complaints directly to svc provider.

- Little to no WOM

- Stay with provider

→Ideal customer

- Most likely to do negative WOM

- Most likely to switch providers

- Some complaining to svc provider

→ Worst customer

- Above average WOM

- Complaining to 3rd party

- Complain to svc provider

→ Considered "consumer terrorists"

- Don't think it will help

- Don't want to be seen as rude or negative

- Make customers jump through hoops to file a complaint

- Too much time and effort

Customers want fairness and satisfaction.

1) Outcome fairness

2) Procedural fairness

3) Interaction fairness

Outcome or resolution of complaint should match the dissatisfaction of the customer.

Complaint policies, handling procedures, process.

How you are treated during the entire process.

1) Acknowledge the problem

2) Apologize!

3) Provide an explanation

4) Promise it won't happen again

5) Provide customization (upgrade)

6) Help quickly

7) Do 1-6 with, fairness courtesy and friendliness.

Svc performance that falls below a customer's expectations so much that the customer is dissatisfied.

Actions taken by an organization in response to a service failure.

When customers are initially dissatified with a svc experience and then experience a high level of great svc recovery.

This leads to increased satisfaction and higher chances of repurchase than before the issue.

Depends highly on the content and the situation.

1) Pricing

2) Inconvenience

3) Core service failure

4) Service encounter failure

5) Response to svc failure

6) Competition

7) Ethical problems

8) Involuntary switching

1) Make svc fail-safe (do it right the first time)

2) Encourage and track complaints

3) Act quickly

4) Provide adequate explanations

5) Treat customers fairly

6) Make relationships with customers

7) Learn from recovery experiences

8) Learn from lost customers

An assurance that the svc offered will be performed as promised, and if not then some form of compensation will be given.

1) Unconditional

2) Meaningful

3) Easy to understand

4) Easy to invoke

There should be no strings attached.

- Guaranteeing what is obvious or expected is not meaningful to customers.

- Example: Offer a guarantee to deliver milk on the day promised or a free jug ← NOT MEANINGFUL

Bad teacher teaching a course. Reimbursement for the cost of a 3-credit course ← MEANINGFUL

- Easy to communicate to customers and employees.

- No difficult wording

Should not be time consuming to customers. And it should not be a hassle to obtain.

1) Unconditional satisfaction guarantee

2) Service attribute guarantee

If the customer is not happy, they don't pay anything.

Guarantee an attribute of the service. Ex. Airline says their seats are comfy for the whole ride.

1) Makes company focus on customers.

2) Sets standards for comp.

3) Generates quick and relevant customer feedback.

4) Instant opportunity for recovery.

5) Information can help comp. continually improve.

6) Reduced sense of risk and higher confidence in provider (customer).

1) Svc quality is poor

2) Doesn't fit company's image

3) Svc quality is uncontrollable

4) Customers could abuse the guarantee

5) Cost outweighs the benefits

6) Customers perceive little risk in the service

7) Customers perceive little variability in svc quality among competition.