Services Marketing
Anouk de Groot
Inhoud
Online lecture 1: Introduction................................................................................................................2
Online lecture 2: Service Consumer........................................................................................................8
Online lecture 3: PSQ............................................................................................................................16
Gap 5 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................16
Online lecture 4: Measuring PSQ (ServQual)........................................................................................26
Online lecture 5: Services Marketing Research.....................................................................................33
Online lecture 6: Loyalty and recovery.................................................................................................43
Gap 1 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................43
Online lecture 7: Process and Personnel..............................................................................................53
Gap 2 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................53
Gap 3 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................60
Online lecture 8: Intermediaries and PE...............................................................................................66
Gap 3 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................66
Gap 3 and Gap 4 to Perceived Service Quality..................................................................................70
Offline lecture: exam preparation.........................................................................................................75
Online lecture 9: Managing demand: Yield...........................................................................................84
Gap 3 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................84
Online lecture 10: Managing demand: Wait.........................................................................................91
Gap 3 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................91
Online lecture 11: Price and more........................................................................................................98
Online lecture 12: Communication.....................................................................................................107
Gap 4 to Perceived Service Quality.................................................................................................107
,Online lecture 1: Introduction
Services Marketing: how to approach services is different than goods in marketing
Two things to keep in mind
What market am I in
o Cleaning company vs. lawyer
o Very different market that you can operate in
Who is my customer (segmentation)
You don’t get clear cut answers that holds for every industry, just tools that you can adopt
Five gaps to perceived service quality
Main gap = gap 5
Gap between expectations and perception of
customers
o You create an expectation from a service (e.g.
Hans is always on time)
o Difference between what people expect and
what you perceive
Most of the times, expectations are higher than
perceptions
This gap will always take place; it is difficult to have your expectations are the same as
the perceptions
Positive gap might be useful
Negative gap How can we close this gap? To get expectation and perception closer
together
Key factors leading to gap 5 (the other gaps)
Gap 1: if you know what they expect, it
might be easier in providing the service
Gap 2: you have to design the right process:
designs and standards
Gap 3: might not deliver these standards
Gap 4: communication gap; create and
manage expectations
Key factors leading to Gap 1
Inadequate Marketing Research Orientation
o Insufficient marketing research
o Research not focused on service quality
o Inadequate use of market research
Lack of Upward Communication
o Lack of interaction between management and customers
o Insufficient communication between contact personnel and managers
o Too many layers between contact personnel and top management
Insufficient Relationship Focus
o Lack of market segmentation
, o Focus on transactions rather than relationships
o Focus on new customers rather than relationship with customers
Inadequate Service Recovery
o What to do when customers have complaints?
Key factors leading to Gap 2
Poor Service Design
o Unsystematic new service development process
o Vague, undefined service designs
o Failure to connect service design to service positioning
Absence of Customer-Driven Standards
o Lack of customer-driven service standards
o Absence of process management to focus on customer requirements
o Absence of formal process for setting service quality goals
Inappropriate Physical Evidence and Servicescape
o How do things look alike?
o Because the service is intangible, this physical environment where the service
is given will be more important
o It creates expectations
Key factors leading to Gap 3
Deficiencies in Human Resource Policies
o Ineffective recruitment
o Role ambiguity and role conflict
o Poor employee-technology job fit
o Inappropriate evaluation and compensation systems
o Lack of empowerment, perceived control and teamwork
o If the resources are bad, like wrong employers, your standards will not be
reached
Failure to Match Supply and Demand
o Failure to smooth peaks and valleys of demand
o Inappropriate customer mix
o Over-reliance on price to smooth demand
Customers Not Fulfilling Roles
o Customers lack knowledge of their roles and responsibilities
o Customers negatively impact each other
Problems with Service Intermediaries
o Channel conflict over objectives and performance
o Channel conflict over costs and rewards
o Difficulty controlling quality and consistency
o Tension between empowerment and control
o If you outsource something to a different company, it will still be the face of
your company and your responsibility, from the customer point of view
Key factors leading to Gap 4
Lack of Integrated Services Marketing Communications
, o Tendency to view each external communication as independent
o Not including interactive marketing in communications plan
o Absence of strong internal marketing program
Ineffective Management of Customer Expectations
o Not managing customer expectations through all forms of communication
o Not adequately educating customers
Overpromising
o Overpromising in advertising, personal selling and through physical evidence
cues
o Positive picture of reality
Inadequate Horizontal Communications
o Insufficient communication between sales and operations
o Insufficient communication between advertising and operations
o Differences in policies and procedures across branches or units
o The production team should be able to keep up with the demand that the
marketing team will create
Share of services in GDP (gross domestic product)
Service has the largest share
Customer performance award
Best vs. worst companies
o Are all service companies
Bij producten is er geen gap van expectations and perceptions
o Most of the time you know what you are buying you will not be very
disappointed or very happy
Service: expectations are not clear, you don’t know what to expect gap in negative
way or positive way
o You can do a really good job or a really bad job
Definition of a service
“a change in the condition of a person or of a good belonging to some economic unit
which is brought about as a result of the activity of some other economic unit, with
the prior agreement of the former person or economic unit” (Hill, 1977)
“Deeds, processes and performances” (Book)
Airline: the service is the core service; they also sometimes sell additional things (food on the
flight) or do additional services (customer services like phone calls)
Service process matrix
Anouk de Groot
Inhoud
Online lecture 1: Introduction................................................................................................................2
Online lecture 2: Service Consumer........................................................................................................8
Online lecture 3: PSQ............................................................................................................................16
Gap 5 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................16
Online lecture 4: Measuring PSQ (ServQual)........................................................................................26
Online lecture 5: Services Marketing Research.....................................................................................33
Online lecture 6: Loyalty and recovery.................................................................................................43
Gap 1 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................43
Online lecture 7: Process and Personnel..............................................................................................53
Gap 2 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................53
Gap 3 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................60
Online lecture 8: Intermediaries and PE...............................................................................................66
Gap 3 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................66
Gap 3 and Gap 4 to Perceived Service Quality..................................................................................70
Offline lecture: exam preparation.........................................................................................................75
Online lecture 9: Managing demand: Yield...........................................................................................84
Gap 3 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................84
Online lecture 10: Managing demand: Wait.........................................................................................91
Gap 3 to Perceived Service Quality...................................................................................................91
Online lecture 11: Price and more........................................................................................................98
Online lecture 12: Communication.....................................................................................................107
Gap 4 to Perceived Service Quality.................................................................................................107
,Online lecture 1: Introduction
Services Marketing: how to approach services is different than goods in marketing
Two things to keep in mind
What market am I in
o Cleaning company vs. lawyer
o Very different market that you can operate in
Who is my customer (segmentation)
You don’t get clear cut answers that holds for every industry, just tools that you can adopt
Five gaps to perceived service quality
Main gap = gap 5
Gap between expectations and perception of
customers
o You create an expectation from a service (e.g.
Hans is always on time)
o Difference between what people expect and
what you perceive
Most of the times, expectations are higher than
perceptions
This gap will always take place; it is difficult to have your expectations are the same as
the perceptions
Positive gap might be useful
Negative gap How can we close this gap? To get expectation and perception closer
together
Key factors leading to gap 5 (the other gaps)
Gap 1: if you know what they expect, it
might be easier in providing the service
Gap 2: you have to design the right process:
designs and standards
Gap 3: might not deliver these standards
Gap 4: communication gap; create and
manage expectations
Key factors leading to Gap 1
Inadequate Marketing Research Orientation
o Insufficient marketing research
o Research not focused on service quality
o Inadequate use of market research
Lack of Upward Communication
o Lack of interaction between management and customers
o Insufficient communication between contact personnel and managers
o Too many layers between contact personnel and top management
Insufficient Relationship Focus
o Lack of market segmentation
, o Focus on transactions rather than relationships
o Focus on new customers rather than relationship with customers
Inadequate Service Recovery
o What to do when customers have complaints?
Key factors leading to Gap 2
Poor Service Design
o Unsystematic new service development process
o Vague, undefined service designs
o Failure to connect service design to service positioning
Absence of Customer-Driven Standards
o Lack of customer-driven service standards
o Absence of process management to focus on customer requirements
o Absence of formal process for setting service quality goals
Inappropriate Physical Evidence and Servicescape
o How do things look alike?
o Because the service is intangible, this physical environment where the service
is given will be more important
o It creates expectations
Key factors leading to Gap 3
Deficiencies in Human Resource Policies
o Ineffective recruitment
o Role ambiguity and role conflict
o Poor employee-technology job fit
o Inappropriate evaluation and compensation systems
o Lack of empowerment, perceived control and teamwork
o If the resources are bad, like wrong employers, your standards will not be
reached
Failure to Match Supply and Demand
o Failure to smooth peaks and valleys of demand
o Inappropriate customer mix
o Over-reliance on price to smooth demand
Customers Not Fulfilling Roles
o Customers lack knowledge of their roles and responsibilities
o Customers negatively impact each other
Problems with Service Intermediaries
o Channel conflict over objectives and performance
o Channel conflict over costs and rewards
o Difficulty controlling quality and consistency
o Tension between empowerment and control
o If you outsource something to a different company, it will still be the face of
your company and your responsibility, from the customer point of view
Key factors leading to Gap 4
Lack of Integrated Services Marketing Communications
, o Tendency to view each external communication as independent
o Not including interactive marketing in communications plan
o Absence of strong internal marketing program
Ineffective Management of Customer Expectations
o Not managing customer expectations through all forms of communication
o Not adequately educating customers
Overpromising
o Overpromising in advertising, personal selling and through physical evidence
cues
o Positive picture of reality
Inadequate Horizontal Communications
o Insufficient communication between sales and operations
o Insufficient communication between advertising and operations
o Differences in policies and procedures across branches or units
o The production team should be able to keep up with the demand that the
marketing team will create
Share of services in GDP (gross domestic product)
Service has the largest share
Customer performance award
Best vs. worst companies
o Are all service companies
Bij producten is er geen gap van expectations and perceptions
o Most of the time you know what you are buying you will not be very
disappointed or very happy
Service: expectations are not clear, you don’t know what to expect gap in negative
way or positive way
o You can do a really good job or a really bad job
Definition of a service
“a change in the condition of a person or of a good belonging to some economic unit
which is brought about as a result of the activity of some other economic unit, with
the prior agreement of the former person or economic unit” (Hill, 1977)
“Deeds, processes and performances” (Book)
Airline: the service is the core service; they also sometimes sell additional things (food on the
flight) or do additional services (customer services like phone calls)
Service process matrix
