Service is any act, performance or experience that one party can offer to another and that is essentially intangible, and does not result in ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tie to a physical product (lovelock,Patterson & Wirtz, 2011). Services are processes that provide time, place, form, problem solving or experiential value to receiver (lovelock,Patterson et. Al, 2011). No matter how good a service is, it will always vary not only in terms of variability but also in terms of consumer’s expectation. The better the quality of a firm and its product, the more expectation will be there for its service.
As a part of this application, the service example I can closely look myself providing is Retail customer service. In this service, one needs to develop customer friendly policies and learn how to personalize the shop’s customer service as to alter it according to customer’s expectations. Being able to provide customer with a solution to what product will suit them according to their needs, providing them after sales services is the main essence in this particular service.
Tangibility is the degree to which a product or a service can provide a clear and a concrete Image (McDougall, G. H. G., & Snetsinger, D. W., 1990). As services are actions, performance or experiences rather than objects, they cannot be seen, felt, tasted or touched the way we can see tan goods which makes them intangible in nature.
As a consumer, it would be more difficult for me to gasp the idea that is physically intangible, such as a service, than a product that has a physical presence. Because of its intangibility, There would be more uncertainty in my mind of what is been offered which can create anxiety in a customer’s mind (Charlen...
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... marketing: An Asia Pacific and Australian perspective. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W: Pearson Australia.
McDougall, G. H. G., & Snetsinger, D. W. (1990). The intangibility of services: Measurement and competitive perspectives. The Journal of Services Marketing, 4(4), 27. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.waikato.ac.nz/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/212682084?accountid=17287
Charlene Pleger Bebko. (2000). Service intangibility and its impact on consumer expectations of service quality. Journal of Services Marketing, 14(1), 9-26.
Jeremy J. Sierra, & Shaun McQuitty. (2005). Service providers and customers: Social exchange theory and service loyalty. Journal of Services Marketing, 19(6), 392-400
Inseparability - Services versus Products. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/marketing/services-marketing/services-versus-products/inseparability/
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It has been argued that there is no universally recognised definition for services. However, Philip Kotler (1997) has defined services as ‘any activity that does not result in the ownership of anything’. There are generally two types of distinguished services, tangible and intangible. Tangible services are services that customers can touch and feel whereas intangible services cannot be perceived by senses. The service sector across the globe has had a revolutionary change and businesses such as Virgin Atlantic have been using the latest technology; mainly the internet; as a base for expansion but also to offer a larger customer base its services. Certain services such as those provided by Virgin Atlantic are an example of service consumption at business-to-consumer level (B2C).
The reason why the products analogy of a supply chain is not appropriate for services
The characteristics of a service are intangible, inseparable, perishable, heterogeneous and lack ownership. The marketing mix of a service is not perceptible and as the features of a service is distinctive to the features of a product, it has additional elements which are process, people and physical evidence.
Service – round the clock customer service and support offered to customers, educational training, daily communication, and disaster planning (Zuckerman & Reavis, 2014).
Zeithaml, A; Bitner, J; Gremler, D; (2006) (4th edition). Services Marketing- Integrating Customer Focus Across The Firm; McGraw-Hill. No.6, pp.158
Intangibility is a critical feature that differentiates products and services. Kotler et al (2013 p260) states that ‘services cannot be seen, tasted, felt, heard or smelled before purchase’ and therefore can only be evaluated after the service. Intangibility can also differ when it comes to different services such as a hairdresser and a grocery store. However, intangibility can be overcome by tangible elements such as a
Lovelock, C.H. Patterson, P.G. Wirtz, J. (2011). Developing service products: core and supplementary service elements. In: Burgess, P. Stanley, J Services Marketing. 5th ed. Frenches Forrest NSW: Pearson Education. 97 - 126. (Lovelock, Patterson, Wirtz. 2011)
According to Booms and Bitner (1990), “the servicescape is an environment in which the service is assembled and in which the seller and customer interact, combined with tangible commodities that facilitate performance or communication of the service.” A servicescape is considered to encompass design factors (e.g., layout, furnishings and décor), ambient conditions (e.g., lighting, and temperature) and social interaction among and between the customers and employees (Baker, 1987; Bitner, 1992; Sherry,
Firstly, consumers buy the products of which they believe that will offer them the highest value (Kotler & Keller, 2012). However, these consumers cannot know before purchase what a product is exactly going to offer them. Therefore, consumers have to rely on promises of the selling company. These promises are invariably more than the tangible products themselves, focusing on the intangible benefits attached to the product rather than its distinctive features. In other words, the company concentrates its marketing activities on the intangible value of the product. In that way the company is able to get customer appeal for its products, and differentiate from its competitors (Levitt, 1981). Logically, because the intangible value is the main focus point of companies and of consumers in their purchase decisions, value has to be pre...
Services: Service is the production of an essentially intangible benefit, either in its own right or as a significant element of a tangible product (National Archives, n.d.). A service could be looked at where a customer is asking “what can you do for me”. An example of service
The main dissimilarities between Products and services are products are tangible, but services intangible, frequently depends on receiver, and deal direct with customer,
...bination of product and service is active for a company’s success, because it effects how a customer sees the product. Operations managers must for that reason direct consideration to both the product and the services that go with the product. In the manufacture of tangible goods, such as cars, cleanser, or alcoholic drink, customer contact is limited to the retail end, after actual manufacturing has been completed. In the project planning and regulator of the associated manufacturing process, the first choice of consumers are important, but the customer’s actual attendance is not. The main difference between service and manufacturing systems is that services are intangible productions that are consumed in the process of their production. The knowledge and process for supplying the service can differ considerably from one industry in the service sector to another.
Intangibility distinguishes between services and goods. Unlike goods, services have no physical attributes that can be used by the consumers to make judgment. Therefore, the customers cannot imagine what would they get from a particular service. The customers might think of the possible risks that they would encounter if they buy the service. Hence, the service provider must consider enhancing their marketing strategy to convince the customers about their services and reduced the perceived risks.
A service encounter is defined as a moment when a customer interacts with a service or product for the first time. It is the customer’s actual interaction with a service company. It is identified as a key component of the current agenda for service marketers. More than half of the world’s multinational corporations employ in providing services, thus the scrutiny of service encounters is becoming increasingly significant. Research evidence indicates that customers generally compare their expectations with the performance of service industries and they are influenced by the quality of service they receive. The scope of this essay is to discuss about the view that customers don’t buy products they focus on solutions and also about the consumer’s behaviour pattern regarding services provided. Further, it will be noted how businesses are trying to improve the service quality to attract customers leading to an increase in the economic competitiveness.