Services Marketing Notes
Subject Overview
Services Marketing is the third Marketing elective — applying marketing concepts specifically to services rather than physical products, where the customer experience is the product. You'll cover the growth of the service sector and service quality (the SERVQUAL model), service development and design (including service blueprinting), the role of employees and customers in service delivery, and close with services marketing communications and pricing. This is a 6-credit elective paper across 4 units, complementary to Consumer Behaviour and Advertising and Sales Management.
Subject at a glance
4
Units
18
Topics
6
Credits
4
Infographics
Unit-wise Syllabus
4 units — open any unit for detailed topic-wise notes, diagrams and important exam questions
- Reasons for growth of the service sector
- its contribution to the Indian economy
- service characteristics and classification
- the extended service marketing mix
- SERVQUAL and the integrated gaps model of service quality
Intangibility
Cannot be seen or touched before purchase
Heterogeneity
Quality varies each time
Inseparability
Produced and consumed together
Perishability
Cannot be stored
Study guide
This unit explains why services are different: the growth of the service sector, its role in the Indian economy, service characteristics and classification, the extended service marketing mix and service quality models such as SERVQUAL and the gaps model. Remember the four characteristics: intangibility, inseparability, variability and perishability.
- Challenges of service design
- types of new services
- core and supplementary elements
- the new service development process
- service blueprinting
- physical evidence and the servicescape
- 1Physical evidence
What the customer sees
- 2Customer actions
Steps the customer takes
- 3Onstage contact
Visible employee actions
- 4Backstage contact
Invisible employee actions
- 5Support processes
Systems behind the scenes
Study guide
You study service design: challenges, types of new services, core and supplementary elements, the new service development process, service blueprinting, physical evidence and the servicescape. Draw a blueprint for a restaurant or a bank visit.
- Service culture and the employee's role in service delivery
- strategies to deliver quality services
- customer participation in service delivery
- role of intermediaries and electronic channels
Reliability
Doing it right, as promised
Responsiveness
Willing and quick help
Assurance
Knowledge and courtesy that build trust
Empathy
Caring, individual attention
Tangibles
Facilities, equipment, appearance
Study guide
You study the role of employees and customers: service culture, delivering quality, customer participation and the role of intermediaries and electronic channels. Think how employees affect your experience at a service you use.
- The services marketing triangle
- pricing approaches for services
- emerging trends in services marketing
External marketing
Company to customer: make promises
Internal marketing
Company to employees: enable promises
Interactive marketing
Employees to customers: keep promises
Study guide
You study the services marketing triangle, pricing approaches for services and emerging trends. Learn the three sides of the triangle: company, employees and customers.
Why Services Marketing Matters
India is a service-led economy, so services marketing skills apply to banking, hospitality, healthcare, education and IT, and they are key to customer experience careers.
How to Prepare for Services Marketing
- Apply SERVQUAL to a service you use and list the gaps.
- Learn the 7Ps with an example for each.
- Draw a service blueprint for practice.
Services Marketing: Frequently Asked Questions
How is services marketing different from product marketing?
Services are intangible, inseparable from their provider, variable and perishable, so marketing them needs extra focus on people, process and physical evidence.
What is SERVQUAL?
SERVQUAL is a model that measures service quality by the gap between customer expectations and perceptions across several dimensions.