Book services marketing, lovelock

PART ONE • UNDERSTANDING SERVICES

SERVICES IN THE MODERN ECONOMY
As consumers, we use services every day. Turning on a light, watching TV, talking on
the telephone, riding a bus, visiting the dentist, mailing a letter, getting a haircut,
refueling a car, writing a check, or sending clothes to the cleaners are all examples of
service consumption at the individual level. T h e institution at which you are study-
ing is itself a c o m p l e x service organization. In addition to educational services,
today's college facilities usually include libraries and cafeterias, counseling, a book-
store, placement offices, copy services, telecommunications, and even a bank. If you
are enrolled at a residential university, campus services are also likely to include dor-
mitories, health care, indoor and o u t d o o r athletic facilities, a theater, and perhaps a
post office.
Customers are not always happy with the quality and value of the services they
receive. People complain a b o u t late deliveries, r u d e or i n c o m p e t e n t personnel,
i n c o n v e n i e n t service h o u r s , p o o r p e r f o r m a n c e , and needlessly complicated p r o -
cedures. T h e y grumble about the difficulty of finding sales clerks to help t h e m in
retail stores, express frustration about mistakes on their credit card bills or bank state-
ments, shake their heads over the complexity of new self-service equipment, m u t -
ter about p o o r value, and sigh as they are forced to wait in line almost everywhere
they go.
Suppliers of services often seem to have a very different set of concerns than the
consumer. Many suppliers complain about h o w difficult it is to make a profit, how
hard it is to find skilled and motivated employees, or h o w difficult it has b e c o m e to
please customers. Some firms seem to believe that the surest route to financial suc-
cess lies in cutting costs and eliminating "unnecessary" frills. A few even give the
impression that they could run a m u c h m o r e efficient operation if it weren't for
all the stupid customers w h o keep m a k i n g unreasonable d e m a n d s and messing
things up!
Fortunately, in almost every industry there are service suppliers w h o know how to
please their customers while also running a productive, profitable operation staffed by
pleasant and competent employees. By studying organizations such as Charles Schwab,
Intrawest, Aggreko, Southwest Airlines, eBay, and the many others featured in this book,
we can draw important insights about the most effective ways to manage the different
types of services found in today's economy.

What Is a Service?
Because of their diversity, services have traditionally been difficult to define. T h e way in
which services are created and delivered to customers is often hard to grasp since many
inputs and outputs are intangible. Most people have little difficulty defining manufac-
service: an act or turing or agriculture, but defining service can elude them. Here are two approaches
performance that creates that capture the essence of the word.
benefits for customers by *- A service is an act or performance offered by one party to another. Although
bringing about a desired
the process may be tied to a physical product, the performance is essentially
change in—or on behalf
intangible and does not normally result in ownership of any of the factors of
of—the recipient.
production.
benefit: an advantage or >- Services are economic activities that create value and provide benefits for cus-
gain that customers obtain tomers at specific times and places, as a result of bringing about a desired change
from performance of a in—or on behalf of-—the recipient of the service.
service or use of a physical
good. More humorously, service has also been described as "something that may be bought
and sold, but which cannot be dropped on your foot."

CHAPTER ONE • WHY STUDY SERVICES;

Understanding the Service Sector
Services make up the bulk of today's economy, not only in the U n i t e d States and
Canada where they account for 73 percent and 67 percent of the gross domestic prod-
uct (GDP), respectively, but also in other developed industrial nations throughout the
world. 1 Figure 1.1 shows h o w service industries contribute to the economy of the
United States relative to manufacturing, government (itself mostly services), agriculture,
mining, and construction.
The service sector accounts for most of the new j o b growth in developed coun- service sector: the portion
tries. In fact, unless you are already predestined for a career in a family manufacturing or of a nations economy
agricultural business, the probability is high that you will spend your working life represented by services of all
in companies (or public agencies and nonprofit organizations) that create and deliver kinds, including those offered
services. by public and non-profit
organizations.
As a nation's economy develops, the share of employment between agriculture,
industry (including manufacturing and mining), and services changes dramatically.
Figure 1.2 shows how the evolution to a service-dominated employment base is likely
to take place over time as per capita income rises. Service jobs now account for 76 per-
cent of private sector payrolls in the United States, with wages growing at a faster pace
than in manufacturing jobs. 2 In most countries, the service sector of the economy is
very diverse and includes a wide array of different industries, ranging in size from huge
enterprises that operate on a global basis to small entrepreneurial firms that serve a sin-
gle town.
It comes as a surprise to most people to learn that the dominance of the service
sector is not limited to highly developed nations. For instance, World Bank statistics
show that in many Latin American and Caribbean nations the service sector accounts

FIGURE 1.1
Services in the U.S.
Economy: Share of GDP by
Industry, 1999

8 PART ONE • UNDERSTANDING SERVICES

for more than half the gross national product (GNP) and employs more than half the
labor force. 3 These countries often have a large " u n d e r g r o u n d e c o n o m y " that is not
captured in official statistics. In Mexico, for instance, it has b e e n estimated that as
much as 40 percent of trade and commerce is "informal." 4 Significant service output
is created by u n d o c u m e n t e d w o r k in domestic j o b s (e.g., cook, housekeeper, gar-
dener) or in small, cash-based enterprises such as restaurants, laundries, r o o m i n g
houses, and taxis.
Service organizations range in size from huge international corporations like air-
lines, banking, insurance, telecommunications, hotel chains, and freight transportation to
a vast array of locally owned and operated small businesses, including restaurants, laun-
dries, taxis, optometrists, and numerous business-to-business ("B2B") services.
Franchised service outlets—in fields ranging from fast foods to bookkeeping—combine
the marketing characteristics of a large chain that offers a standardized product with local
ownership and operation of a specific facility. Some firms that create a time-sensitive
physical product, such as printing or photographic processing, are n o w describing t h e m -
selves as service businesses because speed, customization, and convenient locations create
much of the value added.
There's a h i d d e n service sector, too, w i t h i n many large corporations that are
classified by government statisticians as being in manufacturing, agricultural, or nat-
internal services: service ural resources industries. So-called internal s e r v i c e s cover a w i d e array of activities
elements within any type of including recruitment, publications, legal and accounting services, payroll adminis-
business that facilitate tration, office cleaning, landscape maintenance, freight transport, and many other
creation of, or add value to, tasks. To a growing extent, organizations are choosing to outsource those internal
its final output.
services that can be performed m o r e efficiently by a specialist subcontractor. As
these tasks are outsourced, they b e c o m e part of the competitive marketplace and are
therefore categorized as c o n t r i b u t i n g to the service c o m p o n e n t of the economy.
Even w h e n such services are not outsourced, managers of the departments that sup-
ply t h e m would do well to think in terms of providing good service to their internal
customers.
Governments and nonprofit organizations are also in the business of providing ser-
vices, although the extent of such involvement may vary widely from one country to
another, reflecting both tradition and political values. In many countries, colleges, hos-
pitals, and museums are publicly owned or operate on a not-for-profit basis, but for-
profit versions of each type of institution also exist.

CHAPTER ONE . WHY STUDY SERVICES?

MARKETING SERVICES VERSUS
PHYSICAL GOODS
The dynamic environment of services today places a premium on effective marketing.
Although it's still very important to run an efficient operation, it no longer guarantees
success.The service product must be tailored to customer needs, priced realistically, dis-
tributed through convenient channels, and actively promoted to customers. N e w mar-
ket entrants are positioning their services to appeal to specific market segments through
their pricing, communication efforts, and service delivery, rather than trying to be all
things to all people. But are the marketing skills that have been developed in manufac-
turing companies directly transferable to service organizations? T h e answer is often no,
because marketing management tasks in the service sector tend to differ from those in
the manufacturing sector in several important respects.

Basic Differences Between Goods and Services
Every product—a term used in this book to describe the core output of any type of product: the core output
industry—delivers benefits to the customers w h o purchase and use them. G o o d s can be (either a service or a
described as physical objects or devices and services are actions or performances. 6 Early manufactured good)
research into services sought to differentiate t h e m from goods, focusing particularly on produced by a firm.
four generic differences, referred to as intangibility, heterogeneity (or variability), per-
ishability of output, and simultaneity of production and consumption. 7 Although these goods: physical objects or
devices that provide benefits
characteristics are still cited, they have been criticized for over-simplifying the real-
for customers through
world environment. More practical insights are provided in Figure 1.3, which lists nine
ownership or use.
basic differences that can help us to distinguish the tasks associated with service market-
ing and management from those involved with physical goods.
It's important to note that in identifying these differences we're still dealing with
generalizations that do not apply equally to all services. In Chapter 2, we classify services
into distinct categories, each of which presents somewhat different challenges for mar-
keters and other managers. We also need to draw a distinction between marketing of ser-
vices and marketing goods through service. In the former, it's the service itself that is being
sold and in the latter, service is added—usually free of charge—to enhance the appeal of
a manufactured product. Now, let's examine each of the nine differences in more detail.

Customers D o N o t O b t a i n O w n e r s h i p Perhaps the key distinction between
goods and services lies in the fact that customers usually derive value from services
without obtaining permanent ownership of any substantial tangible elements. In many
instances, service marketers offer customers the opportunity to rent the use of a physical
object like a car or hotel room, or to hire the labor and skills of people whose expertise
ranges from brain surgery to k n o w i n g h o w to check customers into a hotel. As a

customers do not obtain ownership of services
service products are intangible performances
there is greater involvement of customers in the production process
other people may form part of the product
there is greater variability in operational inputs and outputs
many services are difficult for customers to evaluate
there is typically an absence of inventories
the time factor is relatively more important FIGURE 1.3
delivery systems may involve both electronic and physical channels Basic Differences Between
Goods and Services

10 PART O N E • U N D E R S T A N D I N G S E R V I C E S

Checking in: People are part of
the product in hotel services, so
customer satisfaction depends
on both employee performance
and the behavior of the other
customers.

purchaser of services yourself, you know that "while your main interest is in the final
output, the way in which you are treated during service delivery can also have an
important impact on your satisfaction.

intangible: something that Service Products as Intangible P e r f o r m a n c e s Although services often include
is experienced and cannot be tangible elements—such as sitting in an airline seat, eating a meal, or getting damaged
touched or preserved. equipment repaired—the service performance itself is basically an intangible. T h e
benefits of o w n i n g and using a manufactured product c o m e from its physical
characteristics (although brand image may convey benefits, too). In services, the benefits
come from the nature of the performance. T h e notion of service as a performance that
cannot be wrapped up and taken away leads to the use of a theatrical metaphor for
service management, visualizing service delivery as similar to the staging of a play with
service personnel as the actors and customers as the audience.
Some services, such as rentals, include a physical object like a car or a power tool.
But marketing a car rental performance is very different from attempting to market the
physical object alone. For instance, in car rentals, customers usually reserve a particular
category of vehicle, rather than a specific brand and model. Instead of worrying about
styling, colors, and upholstery, customers focus on price, location and appearance of
pickup and delivery facilities, extent of insurance coverage, cleanliness and maintenance
of vehicles, provision of free shuttle buses at airports, availability of 24-hour reservations
service, hours when rental locations are staffed, and quality of service provided by cus-
tomer-contact personnel. By contrast, the core benefit derived from owning a physical
good normally comes specifically from its tangible elements, even though it may pro-
vide intangible benefits, too. An interesting way to distinguish between goods and ser-
vices is to place them on a scale from tangible dominant to intangible dominant (illus-
trated in Figure 1.4).

C u s t o m e r I n v o l v e m e n t in the P r o d u c t i o n Process Performing a service
involves assembling and delivering the output of a combination of physical facilities
and mental or physical labor. Often, customers are actively involved in helping create

CHAPTER ONE • WHY STUDY SERVICES; 11

FIGURE 1.4
Value Added by Tangible
versus Intangible Elements in
Goods and Services

the service product, either by serving themselves (as in using a laundromat or ATM)
or by cooperating w i t h service personnel in settings such as hair salons, hotels,
colleges, or hospitals. As we "will see in C h a p t e r 2, services can be categorized
according to the extent of contact that the customer has w i t h the service
organization.

People as Part of the P r o d u c t In high-contact services, customers not only come
into contact w i t h service personnel, but they may also rub shoulders w i t h other
customers (literally so, if they ride a bus or subway during the rush hour).The difference
between service businesses often lies in the quality of employees serving the customers.
Similarly, the type of customers w h o patronize a particular service business helps to
define the nature of the service experience. As such, people become part of the product
in many services. Managing these service encounters—especially those between
customers and service employees—is a challenging task.

Greater Variability in O p e r a t i o n a l I n p u t s a n d O u t p u t s T h e presence of
personnel and other customers in the operational system makes it difficult to
standardize and control variability in both service inputs and outputs. Manufactured variability: a lack of
goods can be produced u n d e r controlled conditions, designed to optimize b o t h consistency in inputs and
productivity and quality, and then checked for conformance with quality standards long outputs during the service
before they reach the customer. (Of course, their subsequent use by customers will vary production process.
widely, reflecting customer needs and skills, as well as the nature of the usage occasion.)
However, when services are consumed as they are produced, final "assembly" must take
place under real-time conditions, which may vary from customer to customer and even
from one time of the day to another. As a result, mistakes and shortcomings are both
more likely and harder to conceal. These factors make it difficult for service
organizations to improve productivity, control quality, and offer a consistent product. As

12 PART O N E • UNDERSTANDING SERVICES

a former packaged goods marketer observed some years ago after moving to a new
position at Holiday Inn:
We can't control the quality of our product as well as a Procter and Gamble control engi-
neer on a production line can. . . . Wlien you buy a box of Tide, you can reasonably be
99 and 44/100ths percent sure that this stuff will work to get your clothes clean. When
you buy a Holiday Inn room, you're sure at some lesser percentage that it will work to
give you a good night's sleep without any hassle, or people banging on the walls and all
the bad things that can happen in a hotel.9

N o t all variations in service delivery are necessarily negative. M o d e r n service busi-
nesses are recognizing the value of customizing at least some aspects of the service offer-
ing to the needs and expectations of individual customers. In some fields, like health
care, customization is essential. 10

Harder for C u s t o m e r s to Evaluate Most physical goods tend to be relatively high in
"search attributes ."These are characteristics that a customer can determine prior to
purchasing a product, such as color, style, shape, price, fit, feel, and smell. Other goods and
some services, by contrast, may emphasize "experience attributes" that can only be
discerned after purchase or during consumption (e.g., taste, wearability, ease of handling,
quietness, and personal treatment). Finally, there are "credence attributes"—characteristics
that customers find hard to evaluate even after consumption. Examples include surgery
and auto repairs, where the results of the service delivery may not be readily visible. 11

No Inventories for Services Because a service is a deed or performance, rather
than a tangible item that the customer keeps, it is "perishable" and cannot be
inventoried. Of course, the necessary facilities, equipment, and labor can be held in
readiness to create the service, but these simply represent productive capacity, not the
product itself. Having unused capacity in a service business is rather like running water
into a sink w i t h o u t a stopper. T h e flow is wasted unless customers (or possessions
requiring service) are present to receive it. W h e n demand exceeds capacity, customers
may be sent away disappointed, since no inventory is available for backup. An important
task for service marketers, therefore, is to find ways of smoothing demand levels to
match capacity.

I m p o r t a n c e of the T i m e Factor Many services are delivered in real time.
Customers have to be physically present to receive service from organizations such as
airlines, hospitals, haircutters, and restaurants. There are limits as to how long customers
are willing to be kept waiting and service must be delivered fast e n o u g h so that
customers do not waste time receiving service. Even w h e n service takes place in the
back office, customers have expectations about how long a particular task should take to
complete—whether it is repairing a machine, completing a research report, cleaning a
suit, or preparing a legal document.Today's customers are increasingly time sensitive and
speed is often a key element in good service.

Different Distribution Channels Unlike manufacturers that require physical
distribution channels to move goods from factory to customers, many service businesses
either use electronic channels (as in broadcasting or electronic funds transfer) or
combine the service factory, retail outlet, and point of consumption at a single location.
In the latter instance, service firms are responsible for managing customer-contact
personnel. T h e y may also have to manage the behavior of customers in the service
factory to ensure smoothly running operations and to avoid situations in which one
person's behavior irritates other customers w h o are present at the same time.


AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO SERVICE
MANAGEMENT
This book is not just about service marketing. Throughout the chapters, you'll find con-
tinuing reference to two other important functions: service operations and h u m a n
resource management. Imagine yourself as the manager of a repair garage. Or think big,
if you like, as the C E O of a major airline. In either instance, you need to be (1) con-
cerned on a day-to-day basis that your customers are satisfied, (2) your operational sys-
tems are running smoothly and efficiently, and (3) your employees are not only working
productively but are also doing a good j o b either of serving customers directly or of
helping other employees to deliver good service. Even if you see yourself as a middle
manager with specific responsibilities in marketing, operations, or h u m a n resources,
your success in your j o b will often involve the understanding of these other functions
and periodic meetings with colleagues working in these areas. In short, integration of
activities between functions is the name of the game. Problems in any one of these three
areas may signal financial difficulties ahead.

The Eight Components of Integrated Service Management
When discussing strategies to market manufactured goods, marketers usually address
four basic strategic elements: product, price, place (or distribution), and promotion (or
communication). Collectively, these four categories are often referred to as the "4Ps" of
the marketing mix. 1 2 However, the distinctive nature of service performances, especially
such aspects as customer involvement in production and the importance of the time
factor, requires that other strategic elements be included. To capture the nature of this
challenge, we will be using the " 8 P s " of i n t e g r a t e d service m a n a g e m e n t , which integrated service
describe eight decision variables facing managers of service organizations. management: the
Our visual metaphor for the 8Ps is the racing "eight," a lightweight boat or shell coordinated planning and
powered by eight rowers, made famous by the Oxford and Cambridge boat race that execution of those
has taken place annually on the River Thames near London for almost 150 years. Today, marketing, operations, and
human resources activities
similar races involving many different teams are a staple of rowing competitions around
that are essential to a service
the world, as well as a featured sport in the Summer Olympics. Speed comes not only
firm's success.
from the rowers' physical strength, but also from their harmony and cohesion as part of
a team. To achieve optimal effectiveness, each of the eight rowers must pull on his or her
oar in unison with the others, following the direction of the coxswain, w h o is seated in
the stern. A similar synergy and integration between each of the 8Ps is required for suc-
cess in any competitive service business (Figure 1.5).The c o x — w h o steers the boat, sets

FIGURE 1.5
The Eight Components of
Integrated Service
Management


the pace, motivates the crew, and keeps a close eye on competing boats in the race—is a
metaphor for management.

product elements: all P r o d u c t E l e m e n t s Managers must select the features of both the core product and
components of the service the bundle of supplementary service elements surrounding it, with reference to the
performance that create value benefits desired by customers and h o w well competing products perform.
for customers.
Place, Cyberspace, and T i m e Delivering product elements to customers involves
place, cyberspace, and decisions on both the place and time of delivery and may involve physical or electronic
time: management decisions distribution channels (or both), depending on the nature of the service being provided.
about when, where, and how
Messaging services and the Internet allow information-based services to be delivered in
to deliver services to
cyberspace for retrieval by telephone or computer wherever and whenever it suits the
customers.
customer. Firms may deliver service directly to their customers or through intermediary
organizations like retail outlets o w n e d by other companies, w h i c h receive a fee or
percentage of the selling price to perform certain tasks associated with sales, service, and
customer-contact. C u s t o m e r expectations of speed and convenience are b e c o m i n g
important determinants in service delivery strategy.

process: a particular Process Creating and delivering product elements to customers requires the design
method of operations or and implementation of effective processes. A process describes the method and sequence
series of actions, typically in which service operating systems work. Badly designed processes are likely to annoy
involving steps that need to customers because of slow, bureaucratic, and ineffective service delivery. Similarly, poor
occur in a defined sequence. processes make it difficult for front-line staff to do their jobs well, result in low
productivity, and increase the likelihood of service failures.

productivity: how Productivity and Quality These elements, often treated separately, should be seen as
efficiently service inputs are two sides of the same coin. No service firm can afford to address either element in
transformed into outputs isolation. Improved productivity is essential to keep costs under control but managers
that add value for customers. must beware of making inappropriate cuts in service levels that are resented by customers
(and perhaps by employees, too). Service quality, as defined by customers, is essential for
quality: the degree to which product differentiation and for building customer loyalty. However, investing in quality
a service satisfies customers
improvement w i t h o u t understanding the trade-off b e t w e e n incremental costs and
by meeting their needs,
incremental revenues may place the profitability of the firm at risk.
wants, and expectations.

people: customers and P e o p l e Many services depend on direct, personal interaction between customers and
employees who are involved a firm's employees (like getting a haircut or eating at a restaurant). T h e nature of these
in service production. interactions strongly influences the customer's perceptions of service quality. 14
Customers often judge the quality of the service they receive largely on their assessment
of the people providing the service. Successful service firms devote significant effort to
recruiting, training, and motivating their personnel, especially—but not exclusively—
those w h o are in direct contact with customers.

promotion and P r o m o t i o n and Education N o marketing program can succeed w i t h o u t a n
education: all effective communication program. This c o m p o n e n t plays three vital roles: providing
communication activities and needed information and advice, persuading target customers of the merits of a specific
incentives designed to build product, and encouraging them to take action at specific times. In service marketing,
customer preference for a m u c h c o m m u n i c a t i o n is educational in nature, especially for n e w customers.
specific service or service
Companies may need to teach these customers about the benefits of the service, where
provider.
and w h e n to obtain it, and h o w to participate effectively in service processes.
Communications can be delivered by individuals, such as salespeople and trainers, or
through such media as TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, brochures, and Web
sites.

CHAPTER ONE • WHY STUDY SERVICES? 15

Physical E v i d e n c e T h e appearance of buildings, landscaping, vehicles, interior physical evidence: visual
furnishing, equipment, staff members, signs, printed materials, and other visible cues all or other tangible clues that
provide tangible evidence of a firm's service style and quality. Service firms need to provide evidence of service
manage physical evidence carefully because it can have a profound impact on quality,
customers' impressions. In services with few tangible elements, such as insurance,
advertising is often employed to create meaningful symbols. For instance, an umbrella
may symbolize protection, and a fortress, security.

Price and Other U s e r Outlays This c o m p o n e n t addresses management of the price and other user
outlays incurred by customers in obtaining benefits from the service product. outlays: expenditures of
Responsibilities are not limited to the traditional pricing tasks of establishing the selling money, time, and effort that
price to customers, which typically include setting trade margins and establishing credit customers incur in
terms. Service managers also recognize and, where practical, seek to minimize other purchasing and consuming
costs and burdens that customers may bear in purchasing and using a service, including services.
additional financial expenditures, time, mental and physical effort, and negative sensory
experiences.

Unking Service Marketing, Operations, and Human Resources
As shown by the c o m p o n e n t elements of the 8Ps model, marketing cannot operate
in isolation from o t h e r functional areas in a successful service organization.
Operations specialists, w h o usually have responsibility for productivity improvements
and quality control, manage the processes required to create and deliver the service
product. Similarly, employees are recruited and trained by h u m a n resource managers.
Even those w h o have customer-contact responsibilities often report to operations
managers.
In future chapters, we will be raising the question of how marketers should relate to
and involve their colleagues from other functional areas—especially operations and
human resources—in planning and implementing marketing strategies. Firms whose
managers succeed in developing integrated strategies will have a better chance of sur-
viving and prospering. Those that fail to grasp these implications, by contrast, are likely
to be outmaneuvered by competitors that are more adept at responding to the dramatic
changes affecting the service economy.
You can expect to see the 8Ps framework used throughout this book. Although
any given chapter is likely to emphasize just one (or a few) of the eight components,
you should always keep in m i n d the i m p o r t a n c e of integrating the component(s)
under discussion with each of the others w h e n formulating an overall strategy. For a
quick clue about the principal focus of each chapter, find the boat diagram on the
opening page of the chapter. You'll see that each oar represents one of the 8Ps. N o t e
which of the eight oars are highlighted for the chapter you are studying. Oars high-
lighted in dark blue indicate those components that will be covered extensively in a
particular chapter, while a m e d i u m blue highlight identifies one that receives rela-
tively brief coverage. If an oar remains white, it signals that this c o m p o n e n t is not fea-
tured in the chapter.

THE EVOLVING ENVIRONMENT OF SERVICES
We've already noted that the service sector is in an almost constant state of change.
What are the forces that drive its growth, shape its composition, and determine the basis
for competition? As shown in Figure 1.6, numerous factors are at work. They can be
divided into five broad groups: government policies, social changes, business trends,
advances in information technology, and internationalization and globalization.


FIGURE 1.6
Factors Stimulating the
Transformation of the Government Policies
Service Economy
Actions by governmental agencies at regional, national, and international levels con-
tinue to shape the structure of the service economy and the terms under which c o m -
petition takes place. Traditionally, many service industries were highly regulated.
Government agencies mandated price levels, placed geographic constraints on distribu-
tion strategies, and, in some instances, even defined the product attributes. Since the late
1970s, there has been a trend in the United States and Europe toward complete or par-
tial deregulation in several major service industries. In Latin America, democratization
and new political initiatives are creating economies that are much less regulated than in
the past. R e d u c e d government regulation has already eliminated or minimized many
constraints on competitive activity in such industries as airfreight, airlines, railroads,
trucking, banking, securities, insurance, and telecommunications. Barriers that had pre-


vented new firms from entering the industry have been dropped in many instances:
Geographic restrictions on service delivery have been reduced, there is more freedom
to compete on price, and existing firms have been able to expand into new markets or
new lines of business.
However, reduced regulation is a mixed blessing. Fears have been expressed that if
successful firms become too large, through a combination of internal growth and acqui-
sitions, there may eventually be a decline in the level of competition. Conversely, lifting
restrictions on pricing benefits customers in the short run as competition lowers prices
but leaves insufficient profits for needed future investments. For instance, fierce price
competition among American domestic airlines led to huge financial losses within the
industry during the early 1990s, bankrupting several airlines. This made it difficult for
unprofitable carriers to invest in new aircraft and raised troublesome questions about
service quality and safety. 15 Profitable foreign airlines, such as British Airways and
Singapore Airlines, gained market share by offering better service on international
routes instead of engaging in damaging price wars.
Another important action taken by many national governments has been privatiza-
tion of what were once g o v e r n m e n t - o w n e d services. T h e t e r m "privatization," first
widely used in the United Kingdom, describes the policy of transforming government
organizations into investor-owned companies. Privatization has been moving ahead
rapidly in many European countries, as well as in Canada, Australia, N e w Zealand, and
more recently in some Asian and Latin American nations. T h e transformation of opera-
tions like national airlines, telecommunication services, and utilities into private enter-
prise services has led to restructuring, cost cutting, and a more market-focused posture.
When privatization is combined with a relaxing of regulatory barriers to allow
entry of new competitors, the marketing implications can be dramatic, with foreign
competitors moving into markets that were previously closed to outside investment.
Thus, French companies specializing in water treatment have purchased and m o d e r n -
ized many of the privatized water utilities in Britain, while American companies have
invested in a n u m b e r of British regional electrical utilities. In t u r n , British
Telecommunications has responded vigorously to new competition at h o m e and made
numerous investments around the world, including a strategic alliance with A T & T for
delivery of global services to international companies.
Privatization can also apply to regional or local government departments. At the
local level, for instance, services such as trash removal and recycling have been shifted
from the public sector to private firms. N o t everyone is convinced that such changes are
beneficial to all segments of the population. W h e n services are provided by public agen-
cies, there are often cross subsidies, designed to achieve broader social goals. W i t h priva-
tization, there are fears that the search for efficiency and profits will lead to cuts in ser-
vice and price increases. T h e result may be to deny less affluent segments the services
they need at prices they can afford. Such fears fuel the arguments for continued regula-
tion of prices and terms of service in key industries such as health care, telecommunica-
tions, water, electricity, and passenger rail transportation.
Not all regulatory changes represent a relaxation of government rules. In many
countries, steps continue to be taken to strengthen consumer protection laws, safeguard
employees, improve health and safety, and protect the environment. These new rules
often require service firms to change their marketing strategies, their operational proce-
dures, and their human resource policies.
Finally, national governments control trade in b o t h goods and services.
Negotiations at the World Trade Organization have led to a loosening of restrictions on
trade in some services, but not all. Some countries are choosing to enter into free-trade
agreements with their neighbors. Examples include the N o r t h American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) concluded between Canada, Mexico, and the U n i t e d States;


Mercosur and Pacto Andino in South America; and, of course, the European U n i o n ,
whose membership may soon be expanded beyond the current 15 countries.

Social Changes
T h e demand for consumer services—and the ways in which people use them—have
been strongly influenced by a host of social changes. More people are living alone than
before and there are more households containing two w o r k i n g adults (including
telecommuters w h o work from in-home offices); as a result, more people find t h e m -
selves short on time. They may be obliged to hire firms or individuals to perform tasks
like childcare, housecleaning, laundry, and food preparation that were traditionally per-
formed by a household member. Per capita income has risen significantly in real terms
for many segments of the population (although not all have benefited from this trend).
Increasing affluence gives people more disposable i n c o m e and there has been an
observed trend from purchasing new physical possessions to buying services and expe-
riences. In fact, some pundits have begun speaking of the "experience economy." 1 6
A combination of changing lifestyles, higher incomes, and declining prices for
many high-technology products has meant that more and more people are buying c o m -
puters, thus enabling them to use the Internet to send and receive e-mail and access
Web sites from around the world. In the meantime, the rapid growth in the use of
mobile phones and other wireless equipment means that customers are more " c o n -
nected" than ever before and no longer out of touch once they leave their homes or
offices.
Another important social trend has been increased immigration into countries such
as the United States, Canada, and Australia. These countries are becoming m u c h more
multicultural, posing opportunities—and even requirements—for service features
designed to meet the needs of non-traditional segments now living within the domes-
tic market. For instance, many immigrants, even if they have learned to speak the lan-
guage of their new country, prefer to do business in their native tongues and appreciate
those service organizations that accommodate this preference by offering communica-
tions in multiple languages.

Business Trends
Over the past 25 years, significant changes have taken place in h o w business firms oper-
ate. For instance, service profit centers within manufacturing firms are transforming
many well-known companies in fields such as computers, motor vehicles, and electrical
and mechanical equipment. Supplementary services once designed to help sell equip-
ment—including consultation, credit, transportation and delivery, installation, training,
and maintenance—are n o w offered as profit-seeking services in their own right, even to
customers w h o have chosen to purchase competing equipment. Several large manufac-
turers (including General Electric, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler) have become important
players in the global financial services industry as a result of developing credit financing
and leasing divisions. Similarly, many manufacturers now base much of their competi-
tive appeal on the capabilities of their worldwide consultation, maintenance, repair, and
problem-solving services. In fact, service profit centers contribute a substantial propor-
tion of the revenues earned by such well-known "manufacturers" as IBM, Hewlett-
Packard, and Xerox.
T h e financial pressures confronting public and nonprofit organizations have forced
them to develop more efficient operations and to pay more attention to customer needs
and competitive activities. In their search for new sources of income, many "non-busi-
ness" organizations are developing a stronger marketing orientation that often involves
rethinking their product lines; adding profit-seeking services such as shops, retail cata-

CHAPTER ONE • WHY STUDY SERVICES? 19

logs, restaurants, and consultancy; becoming more selective about the market segments
they target; and adopting more realistic pricing policies. 17
Government or legal pressures have forced many professional associations to
remove or relax long-standing bans on advertising and promotional activities. A m o n g
the types of professionals affected by such rulings are accountants, architects, doctors,
lawyers, and optometrists, whose practices now engage in much more vigorous c o m -
petitive activity. T h e freedom to engage in advertising, promotion, and overt selling
activities is essential in bringing innovative services, price cuts, and new delivery systems
to the attention of prospective customers. However, some critics worry that advertising
by lawyers, especially in the United States, simply encourages people to file more and
more lawsuits, many of them frivolous.
With increasing competition, often price-based, has come greater pressure for firms
to improve productivity. Demands by investors for better returns on their investments
have also fueled the search for new ways to increase profits by reducing the costs of ser-
vice delivery. Historically, the service sector has lagged behind the manufacturing sector
in productivity improvement, but there are encouraging signs that some services are
beginning to catch up. Using technology to replace labor (or to permit customer self-
service) is one cost-cutting route that has been followed in many service industries.
Reengineering of processes often results in speeding up operations by cutting out
unnecessary steps. However, managers need to be aware that cost-cutting measures, dri-
ven by finance and operations personnel without regard for customer needs, may lead to
a perceived deterioration in quality and convenience.
Recognizing that improving quality was good for business and necessary for effec-
tive competition has led to a radical change in thinking. Traditional definitions of qual-
ity (based on conformance to standards defined by operations managers) were replaced
by the new imperative of letting quality be customer driven. This had enormous impli-
cations for the importance of service marketing and the role of customer research in
both the service and manufacturing sectors. 18 Numerous firms have invested in research
to determine what their customers want in every dimension of service, in quality
improvement programs designed to deliver what customers want, and in ongoing mea-
surement of how satisfied their customers are with the quality of service received.
However, maintaining quality levels over time is difficult and customer dissatisfaction
has risen in recent years.
Franchising has become widespread in many service industries, not only for con-
sumer services but also for business-to-business services. It involves the licensing of
independent entrepreneurs to produce and sell a branded service according to tightly
specified procedures. Because these entrepreneurs must invest their own capital, fran-
chising has become a popular way to finance the expansion of multi-site service chains
that deliver a consistent service concept. Large franchise chains are replacing (or absorb-
ing) a wide array of small, independent service businesses in fields as diverse as b o o k -
keeping, car hire, dry-cleaning, haircutting, photocopying, plumbing, quick service
restaurants, and real estate brokerage services. A m o n g the requirements for success are
creation of mass media advertising campaigns to promote brand names nationwide (and
even worldwide), standardization of service operations, formalized training programs, an
ongoing search for new products, continued emphasis on improving efficiency, and dual
marketing programs directed at both customers and franchisees.
Finally, changes have occurred in service firms' hiring practices. Traditionally, many
service industries were very inbred. Managers tended to spend their entire careers
working within a single industry, even within a single organization. Each industry was
seen as unique and outsiders were suspect. Relatively few managers possessed graduate
degrees in business although they might have held an industry-specific diploma in a
field such as hotel management or health care administration. In recent years, however,


competition and enlightened self-interest have led companies to recruit more highly
educated managers w h o are willing to question traditional ways of doing business and
able to bring new ideas from previous work experience in another industry. Some of
the best service companies are k n o w n for being very selective in hiring employees,
seeking individuals w h o will share the firm's strong service quality culture and be able
to relate to customers well. W i t h i n many firms, intensive-training programs are n o w
exposing employees, at all levels, to new tools and concepts.

Advances in Information Technology
N e w and improved technologies are radically altering the ways in w h i c h many ser-
vice organizations do business with their customers, as well as altering what goes on
behind the scenes. Many types of technology have important implications for service,
including biotechnology, power and energy technology, methods technology (how
people work and h o w processes are organized), materials technology, physical design
technology, and information technology. In some cases, technology enables service
firms to substitute automation for service personnel. But in other instances, as sug-
gested in recent advertising for Singapore Airlines (Figure 1.7), traditional personal
service and new technology may go hand in hand to create an enhanced experience
for customers.
Perhaps the most powerful force for change in service businesses comes from infor-
mation technology, reflecting the integration of computers and telecommunications.
Digitization allows text, graphics, video, and audio to be manipulated, stored, and trans-
mitted in the digital language of computers. Faster and more powerful software enables
firms to create relational databases that combine information about customers with
details of all their transactions and then to " m i n e " these databases for insights into new
trends, new approaches to segmentation, and n e w marketing opportunities. Greater
bandwidth, made possible by innovations such as fiber-optic cables, allows fast transmis-
sion of vast amounts of information so that customer-contact personnel can interact
almost instantly with a central database, no matter where they are located. T h e creation
of wireless networks and the miniaturization of electronic e q u i p m e n t — f r o m cell

FIGURE 1.7
Singapore Airlines Promotes
Both Its People and Its High-
Tech Entertainment
Technology

CHAPTER ONE . WHY STUDY SERVICES' 21

phones to laptops and scanners—allow sales and customer service personnel to keep in
touch while on the move. Companies operating information-based services, such as
financial service firms, have seen the nature and scope of their businesses totally trans-
formed by the advent of global electronic delivery systems.
In recent years, the development of the Internet and its best-known component,
the World Wide Web, have provided not only an important new medium of c o m m u n i -
cation between service organizations and their customers, but also the potential for cre-
ating radically new business models for delivery of services. Properly designed and con-
figured, such Internet-based services offer unprecedented speed and reach. For instance,
by taking advantage of the Internet, Amazon.com became a global operation in just a
few short years, marketing its huge array of books, music, and other items through its
Web site and using modern business logistics to ship purchases quickly to customers all
over the world.
However, for many " d o t . c o m " companies, including Amazon, profitability has
proved elusive and numerous start-up firms have failed. In some cases, the problem lies
1 1 development of inappropriate e-commerce business models that failed to generate
1
sufficient revenues to cover expenses. 20 Greater competition than anticipated, failure to
understand customer needs and expectations, poor execution, technology failures, insuf-
ficient working capital, and higher operating costs than predicted have all contributed
to such failures. Underlying such failures is often a lack of understanding of some of the
key principles of service marketing and management.
Technological change affects many other types of services, too, from airfreight to
hotels to retail stores. Express package firms such as T N T , D H L , FedEx, and U P S recog-
nize that the ability to provide real-time information about customers' packages has
become as important to success as the physical m o v e m e n t of those packages.
Technology does more than enable creation of new or improved services. It may also
facilitate reengineering of such activities as delivery of information, order-taking and
payment; enhance a firm's ability to maintain more consistent service standards; permit
creation of centralized customer service departments; allow replacement of personnel
by machines for repetitive tasks; and lead to greater involvement of customers in opera-
tions through self-service technology. All in all, technology is an important theme r u n -
ning through this book. It's covered in detail in Chapter 16.

Internationalization and Globalization
The internationalization of service companies is readily apparent to any tourist or
business executive traveling abroad. M o r e and m o r e services are b e i n g delivered
through national or global chains. Brand names such as Air Canada, Burger King,
Body Shop, Hertz, Kinko's, and Mandarin Hotels have spread far from their original
national roots. In some instances, such chains are entirely company owned. In other
instances, the creator of the original concept has entered into partnership with o u t -
side investors. Airlines and airfreight companies that were formerly just domestic in
scope n o w have extensive foreign route networks. N u m e r o u s financial service firms,
advertising agencies, hotel chains, fast-food restaurants, car rental agencies, and
accounting firms n o w operate on several continents. Some of this growth has been
internally generated, but m u c h has also c o m e about through acquisitions of other
companies.
A strategy of international expansion may be driven by a search for new markets or
by the need to respond to existing customers w h o are traveling abroad in increasing
numbers. A similar situation prevails in business-to-business services. W h e n companies
set up operations in other countries, they often prefer to deal with a few international
suppliers rather than numerous local firms.


T h e net effect of such developments is to increase competition and to encourage
the transfer of innovation in both products and processes from country to country.
Developing a strategy for competing effectively across different countries is becoming a
major marketing priority for many service firms. Franchising offers a way to enable a
service concept developed in one nation to be delivered around the world through dis-
tribution systems o w n e d by local investors. For example, FedEx and U P S have
expanded into numerous countries by purchasing local courier firms.
Many w e l l - k n o w n service companies around the world are A m e r i c a n - o w n e d ;
examples include Citicorp, McDonald's, and Accenture (Andersen Consulting). T h e
upscale Four Seasons hotel chain is Canadian. N o r t h Americans are often surprised to
learn that D u n k i n ' Donuts and Holiday Inn are both owned by British companies,
while France's Groupe Accor owns Motel 6 and R e d R o o f Inns and the Hoyts chain
of movie theaters is Australian o w n e d . An alternative to mergers and takeovers is
strategic alliances, where several firms working in the same or complementary indus-
tries in different countries join forces to expand their geographic reach and product
scope. T h e airline and telecommunication industries are good examples.

Managing in a Continually Changing Environment
It has been said that the only person in the world w h o really appreciates a change is a
wet baby. However, the willingness and ability of managers in service firms to respond
to the dramatic changes affecting the service economy will determine whether their
own organizations survive and prosper or are defeated by more agile and adaptive c o m -
petitors. On the positive side, these changes are likely to increase the demand for many
services, and the opening of the service economy means that there will be greater c o m -
petition for that demand. In turn, more competition will stimulate innovation, notably
through the application of new and improved technologies. Both singly and in combi-
nation, these developments will require managers of service organizations to focus more
sharply on marketing strategy.

A STRUCTURE FOR MAKING SERVICE
MANAGEMENT DECISIONS
As mentioned previously, this text has a strategic focus. T h e 8Ps of integrated service
strategy are tools that service managers can use to develop effective strategies for mar-
keting and managing many different types of services. T h e service decision framework
reproduced in Figure 1.8 (and described in more depth in the introduction to Part I)
outlines some of the key questions managers need to ask. Figure 1.8 also indicates
which of the 8Ps are particularly relevant in each instance. Your challenge is to learn to
ask the right questions and to learn to use the resulting answers to develop a viable strat-
egy, employing different elements of the 8Ps as appropriate.
T h e framework begins with a question that lies at the heart of marketing and busi-
ness strategy in general: What business are we in? Determining the nature of the busi-
ness goes beyond just specifying the industry with which a specific service is usually
associated. Astute managers recognize that competition may come from outside that
industry as well as within it. Hence they ask: With what other goods and services do we
compete?"The answers may show that there are several different ways for customers to
satisfy their needs.The need for forward thinking in decision making requires that m a n -
agers also ask themselves, " W h a t forces for change do we face?" But perhaps the most
valuable insights come from determining what solutions a service offers to customers.
Only w h e n service marketers understand what problems customers are trying to solve
through use of their products can we truly say that they know what business they are in.

CHAPTER ONE • WHV STUDY SERVICES; 23

FIGURE 1.8
Relating the 8Ps to the
Service Management
Decision Framework

The question, Who are our customers and how should we relate to them? is also cen-
tral to the study and practice of marketing. Recognizing that most readers of this book
already have some familiarity with marketing, we try to build on this prior understand-
ing rather than repeating the basics of introductory marketing theory and practice.
Hence we leave detailed discussion of customers to Part II of the book and focus there
on what is distinctive about service consumption.
O n e of the keys to strategy formulation in services, not normally addressed in goods
marketing, is the question: What service processes can be used in our operation? As we show
in this text, the importance of this question goes beyond operational issues. Marketers must
understand how the processes used to create and deliver service affect their customers,


influence the nature of the service product, and shape the options for delivering this ser-
vice. Human resource managers must understand how the choice of processes influences
skill requirements and j o b descriptions for employees, including the nature of their interac-
tions with customers. We examine the issue of service processes in depth in Chapter 2.

Conclusion
W h y study services? M o d e r n economies are driven by service businesses, both large and
small. Services are responsible for the creation of a substantial majority of new jobs, both
skilled and unskilled, around the world. T h e service sector includes a tremendous vari-
ety of different industries, including many activities provided by public and nonprofit
organizations. It accounts for over half the economy in most developing countries and
for over 70 percent in many highly developed economies.
As we've shown in this chapter, services differ from manufacturing organizations in
many important respects and require a distinctive approach to marketing and other
management functions. As a result, managers w h o want their enterprises to succeed
cannot continue to rely solely on tools and concepts developed in the manufacturing
sector. In the remainder of this book, we'll discuss in more detail the unique challenges
and opportunities faced by service businesses. It's our hope that you'll use the material
from this text to enhance your future experiences not only as a service employee or
manager, but also as a customer of many different types of service businesses!

Study Questions and Exercises
1. Business schools have traditionally placed more emphasis on manufacturing
industries than on service industries in their courses. W h y do you think this is so?
Does it matter?
2. W h y is time so important in services?
3. W h a t are the implications of increased competition in service industries that have
been deregulated?
4. Give examples of h o w computer and telecommunications technologies have
changed services that you use in your professional or personal life.
5. Choose a service company you are familiar with and show how each of the eight
elements (8Ps) of integrated service management applies to the company.
6. Is the risk of unethical business practices greater or lesser in service businesses
than in manufacturing firms? Explain your answer.
7. W h y do marketing, operations, and human resources have to be more closely
linked in services than in manufacturing? Give examples.
8. Answer the four questions associated with " W h a t business are we in?" from
Figure 1.8 for Southwest Airlines, Charles Schwab, Aggreko, Intrawest, and eBay.

Endnotes
1. The gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national product (GNP) are both widely
used measures of a nation's economic activity. They differ in their treatment of
international transactions. For the United States, there is little difference between the two
measures, since only a tiny percentage of Americans work abroad and the foreign earnings

CHAPTER ONE

of U.S. firms are broadly equal to the U.S. earnings of foreign firms. However, differences
between G D P and G N P are substantial for countries where many nationals work abroad
(e.g., Pakistan) or where foreign investment in the country greatly exceeds investment
abroad by domestic firms (e.g., Canada).
2. James C. C o o p e r and Kathleen Madigan, "Fragile Markets Are Tying the Fed's Hands,"
Business Week, 4 N o v e m b e r 1997', 33.
3. World Bank, El Mundo delTrabajo en una Economia lntegrada (Washington D.C., 1995).
4. Javier Reynoso, "Progress and Prospects of Services Management in Latin America,"
International Journal of Service Industry Management, 10, no. 5 (1999), 4 0 1 - 4 0 8 .
5. See, for example, the discussion of outsourcing information-based services in James Brian
Quinn, Intelligent Enterprise (NewYork: T h e Free Press, 1992), chap. 3, 71—97.
6. Leonard L. Berry,"Services Marketing Is Different," Business, May-June 1980.
7. W. Earl Sasser, R. Paul Olsen, and D. Daryl Wyckoff, Management of Service Operations:Text,
Cases, and Readings (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1978).
8. G. Lynn Shostack, "Breaking Free from Product Marketing,"Journal of Marketing 4 1 , no. 2
(April 1977).
9. Gary Knisely, "Greater Marketing Emphasis by Holiday Inns Breaks Mold," Advertising
Age, 15 January 1979.
10. Curtis P. McLaughlin, " W h y Variation R e d u c t i o n Is N o t Everything: A N e w Paradigm
for Service Operations," International Journal of Service Industry Management 7, no. 3 (1996),
17-31.
11. This section is based onValarie A. Zeithaml, " H o w C o n s u m e r Evaluation Processes Differ
Between Goods and Services," in J. A. Donnelly and W. R. George, Marketing of Services
(Chicago: American Marketing Association, 1981), 186-190.
12. T h e 4Ps classification of marketing decision variables was created by E . J e r o m e McCarthy,
Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach ( H o m e w o o d , IL: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1960).
13. Since the late 1970s, many theorists have tried to go beyond the 4Ps to capture the
complexity of service marketing in memorable fashion, emphasizing singly or in
combination, such factors as processes, personnel, and peripheral clues. O u r 8Ps model of
service management has been derived and expanded from a framework that encompassed
seven elements: the original 4Ps, plus Participants, Physical evidence and Process; it was
proposed by Bernard H. Booms and Mary J. Bitner, "Marketing Strategies and
Organization Structures for Service Firms," in J. H. Donnelly and W. R. George, Marketing
of Services (Chicago: American Marketing Association, 1981), 4 7 - 5 1 . Subsequently, Booms
created a cartoon diagram showing seven little "pea people," two of t h e m carrying oars,
lifting a peapod-shaped boat. This gave us the idea for the metaphor of a racing "eight,"
comprising eight rowers (the eighth being labeled "productivity and quality") plus a
coxswain to control the boat's speed and direction.
14. For a review of the literature on this topic, see Michael D. Hartline and O C. Ferrell,
" T h e Management of Customer Contact Service Employees," Journal of Marketing 60, no.
4 (October 1996): 5 2 - 7 0 .
15. Timothy K. Smith, " W h y Air Travel Doesn't Work," Fortune, 3 April 1995, 4 2 - 5 6 ; and Bill
Saporito, " G o i n g N o w h e r e Fast," Fortune, 3 April 1995, 58—59.
16. B.Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, The Experience Economy (Boston: Harvard
Business School Press, 1999).
17. See Christopher H. Lovelock and Charles B.Weinberg, Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 2 / e
( R e d w o o d City, C A : T h e Scientific Press/Boyd and Davis, 1989); and Philip Kotler and
Alan Andreasen, Strategic Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations, 5 / e (Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1996).
18. SeeValarie A. Zeithaml, A. Parasuraman, and Leonard L. Berry, Delivering Quality Service
(New York: T h e Free Press, 1990); and Sandra Vandermerwe, " T h e Market Power Is in the
Services Because the Value Is in the Results," European Management Journal 8, no. 4 (1990).
19. Diane Brady,"Why Service Stinks," Business Week, 23 O c t o b e r 2000, 118-128.
20. See MarciaVickers, "Models from Mars," Business Week, 4 September 2 0 0 0 , 1 0 6 - 1 0 7 ; and
Jerry Useem and Eryn Brown, " D o t - C o m s : W h a t Have We Learned?" Fortune, 30
October 2000, 8 2 - 1 0 4 .

chapter-twO

Understanding Service Processes

Susan Munro, Service Consumer
Susan Munro, a final-year business student, had breakfast and then had wanted a sandwich, the line of waiting customers at the sandwich
clicked onto the Internet to check the local weather forecast. It pre- shop was rather long, so Susan joined her friends at Burger King and
dicted rain, so she grabbed an umbrella before leaving the apartment then splurged on a caffe latte from the adjacent Hav-a-Java coffee
and walking to the bus stop for her daily ride to the university. On the stand. The food court was unusually crowded today, perhaps because of
way, she dropped a letter in a mailbox. The bus arrived on schedule. It the rain now pouring down outside. When they finally found a table, they
was the usual driver, who recognized her and gave a cheerful greeting had to clear off the dirty trays. "Lazy slobs!" commented her friend Mark,
as she showed her commuter pass. The bus was quite full, carrying a referring to the previous customers.
mix of students and office workers, so she had to stand. After lunch, Susan stopped at the cash machine, inserted her
Arriving at her destination, Susan left the bus and walked to the bank card, and withdrew some money. Remembering that she had a
College of Business. Joining a throng of other students, she took a seat job interview at the end of the week, she telephoned her hairdresser
in the large classroom where her finance class was held. The professor and counted herself lucky to be able to make an appointment for later
lectured in a near monotone for 75 minutes, occasionally projecting in the day because of a cancellation by another client. Leaving the
charts on a large screen to illustrate certain calculations. Susan Student Union, she ran across the rain-soaked plaza to the Language
reflected that it would be just as effective—and far more convenient— Department. In preparation for her next class, Business Spanish, she
if the course were transmitted over the Web or recorded on videotapes spent an hour in the language lab, watching an engaging videotape of
that students could watch at their leisure. She much preferred the mar- customers making purchases at different types of stores, then repeat-
keting course that followed because this professor was a very dynamic ing key phrases and listening to her own recorded voice. "My accent's
individual who believed in having an active dialog with the students. definitely getting better!" she said to herself.
Susan made several contributions to the discussion and felt that she With Spanish phrases filling her head, Susan headed off to visit
learned a lot from listening to others' analyses and opinions. the hairdresser. She liked the store, which had a bright, trendy decor
She and three friends ate lunch at the recently modernized Student and well-groomed, friendly staff. Unfortunately, the cutter was running
Union. The old cafeteria, a gloomy place that served boring food at high late and Susan had to wait 20 minutes, which she used to review a
prices, had been replaced by a well-lit and colorfully decorated new food chapter for tomorrow's human resources course. Some of the other
court, featuring a variety of small kiosks. These included both local sup- waiting customers were reading magazines provided by the store.
pliers and brand-name fast-food chains, which offered choices of sand- Eventually, it was time for a shampoo, after which the cutter proposed
wiches, as well as health foods and a variety of desserts. Although she a slightly different cut. Susan agreed, although she drew the line at the

suggestion to lighten her hair color. She sat very still, watching the
process in the mirror and turning her head when requested. She was
Learning Objectives
pleased with the result and complimented the cutter on her work. After reading this chapter, you should
Including the shampoo, the process had lasted about 40 minutes. She be able to
tipped the cutter and paid at the reception desk. appreciate the value of classification
The rain had stopped and the sun was shining as Susan left the in services marketing
store, so she walked home, stopping on the way to pick up clothes from
understand useful ways of classifying
the cleaners. This store was rather gloomy, smelled of cleaning sol-
differences between various types of
vents, and badly needed repainting. She was annoyed to find that
services
although her silk blouse was ready as promised, the suit she would
need for her interview was not. The assistant, who had dirty fingernails, define a service process
mumbled an apology in an insincere tone without making eye contact.
describe four different types of
Although the store was convenient and the quality of work quite good,
service processes and their strategic
Susan considered the employees unfriendly and not very helpful.
implications
Back at her apartment building, she opened the mailbox in the
lobby. Her mail included a bill from her insurance company, which recognize that the nature of a
required no action since payment was deducted automatically from customers contact with a service
her bank account. There was also a postcard from her optometrist, varies according to the underlying
reminding her to schedule a new eye exam. Susan made a mental process
note to call for an appointment, anticipating that she might need a
revised prescription for her contact lenses. She was about to discard
the junk mail when she noticed a flyer promoting a new dry-cleaning
store and including a coupon for a discount. She decided to try the
new firm and pocketed the coupon.
Since it was her turn to cook dinner, she looked in the kitchen to
see what food was available. Susan sighed—there wasn't much. Maybe
she would make a salad and call for delivery of a large pizza.
27


HOW DO SERVICES DIFFER FROM
ONE ANOTHER?
T h e service sector is amazingly varied, and the variety of transactions made by Susan
M u n r o represents only a small sample of all the services directed at individual con-
sumers. As a review of the listings in the Yellow Pages will show, there are also many
business services directed at corporate purchasers. It's surprising h o w many managers in
service businesses consider their industries to be unique—or at least distinctively differ-
ent. Certainly, there are distinctions to be drawn, but it would be a mistake to assume
that any one service used by Susan has nothing in c o m m o n with any of the others she
might use.
In Chapter 1, we looked at some of the ways in which services might differ from
goods. In this chapter, our focus is on developing useful ways of grouping services into
categories that share managerially relevant characteristics, especially as they relate to
marketing strategy. In particular, we examine the nature of the processes—a key element
among the 8Ps—by which services are created and delivered. We find that important
insights can be gained by looking for similarities between "different" service industries.
T h e more service managers can identify meaningful parallels to their own firms' situa-
tions, the better their chances of beating the competition by borrowing good ideas from
other businesses. O n e hallmark of innovative service firms is that their managers have
been willing to look outside their own industries for useful ideas that they can try in
their own organizations. We start our search for useful categorization schemes by exam-
ining how goods have traditionally been classified.

The Value of Classification Schemes
Classification schemes are the primary means used by researchers to organize items into
different classes or groups for the purpose of systematic investigation and theory devel-
opment. They are as useful in management research as in pure science. Marketing prac-
titioners have long recognized the value of developing distinctive strategies for different
types of goods. O n e of the most famous classification schemes divides goods into con-
venience, shopping, and specialty categories, according to h o w frequently consumers
buy them and h o w much effort they are prepared to put into comparing alternatives
and locating the right product to match their needs. 2 This scheme helps managers
obtain a better understanding of consumer expectations and behavior and provides
insights into the management of retail distribution systems. This same classification can
also be applied to retail service institutions, from financial service providers to hair
salons.
Another major classification is between durable and nondurable goods. Durability
is closely associated with purchase frequency, which has important implications for the
development of both distribution and communications strategies. Although service per-
formances are intangible, the durability of benefits is relevant to repurchase frequency.
For example, you probably purchase a haircut less often than you buy a caffe latte (at
least if you are a typical student or a coffee connoisseur).
Yet another classification is consumer goods (those purchased for personal or
household use) versus industrial goods (those purchased by companies and other orga-
nizations). This classification relates not only to the types of goods purchased—although
there is some overlap—but also to methods for evaluating competing alternatives, pur-
chasing procedures, size of purchase orders, and actual usage. O n c e again, this classifica-
tion is transferable to services. For example, you may be the only one involved in a deci-
sion about whether to purchase America Online (AOL) or another Internet provider
for your own computer, but a corporate decision about what online services to select

CHAPTER TWO • UNDERSTANDING SERVICE PROCESSES 29

for employees may involve managers and technical specialists from several departments.
Business-to-business services, as the name suggests, include a large group of services tar-
geted at corporate customers and may range from executive recruiting to security and
from payroll management to sandblasting.
Although these goods-based classification schemes are helpful, they don't go far
enough in highlighting the key strategic issues. We need to classify services into market-
ing-relevant groups, looking for points of similarity among different service industries.
We can use the insights from these classifications to focus on marketing strategies that
are relevant to specific service situations.

Core Products versus Supplementary Services
Many service products consist of a "bundle" that includes a variety of service elements
and even some physical goods. It's important to distinguish between the core product that
the customer buys and the set of supplementary services that often accompany that prod-
uct. For instance, the core product of the lodging industry is a bed for the night,
whether that bed is located in a youth hostel d o r m or in a luxury room at a five-star
hotel. Youth hostels don't offer many additional services beyond reservations, basic
meals, and simple washing facilities. By contrast, as shown in Figure 2.1, a luxury hotel
will offer many additional services to enhance its guests' visits. Some of these services
will be offered free and others will carry a charge, but they are all secondary to the core
service of overnight sleeping accommodation that defines the lodging industry.
When we speak of services in this chapter, we are referring to the core service that
the customer is buying—such as taking an airline flight, attending a concert, hiring an
accounting firm to prepare an audit of a company's accounts, or purchasing a h o m e -
owner's insurance policy. A cluster of supplementary services that are intended to add
value to the core also accompanies most services. Examples include meals and baggage

FIGURE 2.1
Core Product and
Supplementary Services for a
Luxury Hotel


service on an airline flight, refreshments at a concert, professional advice from an expe-
rienced auditor, or a helpful booklet from an insurance company with suggestions on
h o w to protect your home.

How Might Services Be Classified?
T h e traditional way of grouping services is by industry. Service managers may say,
"We're in the transportation business" (or hospitality, banking, telecommunications, or
repair and maintenance).These groupings help us define the core products offered by
the firm and understand both customer needs and competition. However, they may not
capture the true nature of each business because service delivery can differ widely even
within a single category (i.e., food can be provided to customers in settings that range
from airport Taco Bells to four-star restaurants).
Various proposals have been made for classifying services. 3 A m o n g the meaningful
ways in which services can be grouped or classified are those listed in Table 2 . 1 .

D e g r e e of Tangibility or Intangibility of Service Processes Does the service
tangible: capable of being do something physical and t a n g i b l e (like food services or dry cleaning), or do its
touched, held, or preserved processes involve a greater amount of intangibility (like teaching or telephoning)?
in physical form over time. Different levels of intangibility in service processes shape the nature of the service
delivery system and also affect the role of employees and the experience of customers.
intangibility: a distinctive Susan's burger was a very tangible outcome of Burger King's service process. But the
characteristic of services that effects of Susan's experiences in her finance and marketing classes are highly intangible
makes it impossible to touch
and thus much more difficult to evaluate.
or hold on to them in the
same manner as physical
Direct R e c i p i e n t of the Service Process Some services, like haircutting or public
goods.
transportation, are directed at customers themselves. Customers also seek services (like
dry cleaning) to restore or improve objects that belong to t h e m , but they remain
uninvolved in the process of service delivery and do not consume the benefits until
later. T h e nature of the service encounter between service suppliers and their customers
varies widely according to the extent to which customers themselves are integrally
involved in the service process. Contrast Susan's extended interactions with the
haircutter and her brief encounter with the mailbox on her way to school.

Place and T i m e of Service D e l i v e r y W h e n designing delivery systems, service
marketers must ask themselves whether customers need to visit the service organization
at its own sites (as Susan did with the university, the hair salon, and the cleaners) or
whether service should come to the customer (like the Internet weather information
service and the pizza delivery to her apartment). Or perhaps the interaction can occur
through physical channels like mail (as with her insurance) or electronic channels (as
with her A T M banking transaction).These managerial decisions involve consideration
of the nature of the service itself, w h e r e customers are located (both h o m e and
workplace may be relevant), their preferences relating to time of purchase and use, the
relative costs of different alternatives, and—in some instances—seasonal factors.

TABLE 2.1 degree of tangibility or intangibility of service processes
Selected Ways of Classifying direct recipient of the service process
Services place and time of service delivery
customization versus standardization
nature of the relationship with customers
extent to which demand and supply are in balance
extent to which facilities, equipment, and people are part of the service experience


Customization versus Standardization Services can be classified according to the
degree of c u s t o m i z a t i o n or s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n involved in service delivery. An customization: tailoring
important marketing decision is whether all customers should receive the same service service characteristics to
or whether service features (and the underlying processes) should be adapted to meet meet each customer's specific
needs and preferences.
individual requirements. Susan's insurance policy is probably one of several standard
options.The bus service is standardized, with a fixed route and schedule (unlike a taxi),
standardization: reducing
but passengers can choose w h e n to ride and where to get on and off. By encouraging
variation in service opera-
student discussion and debate, Susan's marketing professor is offering a more customized
tions and delivery.
course than her finance professor. H e r haircut is customized (although other women
may wear the same style), and although her future eye exam will follow standardized
procedures, the optometrist's analysis of the results will result in a customized
prescription for new contact lenses to correct her vision.

Nature of the R e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h C u s t o m e r s Some services involve a formal
relationship, in which each customer is k n o w n to the organization and all transactions
are individually recorded and attributed (like Susan's bank or optometrist). But in
other services, unidentified customers u n d e r t a k e fleeting transactions and then
disappear from the organization's sight (for instance, the phone company has no record
of her call from the pay p h o n e ) . Some services lend themselves naturally to a
"membership" relationship, in which customers must apply to join the "club" and their
subsequent performance is m o n i t o r e d over time (as in insurance or college
enrollment). Other services, like buses, hair salons, dry cleaners, and restaurants, need to
undertake proactive efforts to create an o n g o i n g relationship. A l t h o u g h the bus
company does not record Susan's rides, it could keep records of all m o n t h l y pass
holders so that it can mail out passes every month, plus a newsletter describing service
improvements or route and schedule changes. Sometimes companies create special
club memberships or frequent user programs to reward loyal customers. For instance,
both the hair salon and the dry cleaner could record customers' names and addresses
and periodically make t h e m special offers. Similarly, Internet sites can be designed to
record visits from a specific user address.

To enjoy the services of a
Whitewater rafting company,
you have to go to a suitable
river at the right time of the
year.


E x t e n t to w h i c h D e m a n d and Supply Are in B a l a n c e Some service industries
face steady d e m a n d for their services, whereas others e n c o u n t e r significant
fluctuations. W h e n the demand for service fluctuates widely over time, capacity must
be adjusted to a c c o m m o d a t e the level of d e m a n d or marketing strategies must be
i m p l e m e n t e d to predict, manage, and s m o o t h d e m a n d levels to b r i n g t h e m into
balance with capacity. Some demand fluctuations are tied to events that marketers can't
control. For example, m o r e students eat lunch in the Student U n i o n at Susan's
university on a rainy day, resulting in a long line at the sandwich shop and a shortage
of empty tables.

E x t e n t t o w h i c h Facilities, E q u i p m e n t , and P e o p l e Are Part o f the S e r v i c e
Experience Customers' service experiences are shaped, in part, by the extent to
which they are exposed to tangible elements in the service delivery system. T h e bus
that Susan rides is very tangible; so are her classrooms, the table and chairs in the
food court, and the V C R in the language lab. In contrast, the physical evidence of
her insurance company may be limited to occasional letters, and she may see little
more of her bank than monthly statements and the A T M that she uses at the Student
Union.
T h e cheerful bus driver humanizes Susan's bus ride. She appears to think better of
her dynamic marketing professor than of her dull finance professor. She likes her trendy
hair salon and the friendly cutter but not the smelly dry-cleaning store and its
unfriendly employees, even though the quality of cleaning is good. W h e n the cleaner
fails to deliver her suit on time and, coincidentally, she receives a discount coupon in the
mail from a competitor, she's ready to switch.
T h e service classification strategies we've just discussed can help managers address
the following questions: W h a t does our service operation actually do? W h a t sorts of
processes are involved in creating the core product that we offer to customers? And
speaking of customers, where do they fit into our operation? T h e answers will differ,
depending on the nature of the underlying service process required to create and
deliver a particular service. So n o w we turn to the most fundamental of the 8Ps of
integrated service management—the processes by 'which service products are created
and delivered.

SERVICE AS A PROCESS
Marketers don't usually need to know the specifics of how physical goods are manufac-
tured—that responsibility belongs to the people w h o run the factory. However, the sit-
uation is different in services. Because their customers are often involved in service pro-
duction and may have preferences for certain methods of service delivery, marketers do
need to understand the nature of the processes through which services are created and
delivered. Furthermore, they should be involved in any decisions to change the nature
of a given process if that change will affect customers.
A process is a particular method of operation or a series of actions, typically involv-
ing multiple steps that often need to take place in a defined sequence. Think about the
steps that Susan went through at the hair salon: phoning in advance to make an appoint-
ment, arriving at the store, waiting, having a shampoo, discussing options with the cut-
ter, having her hair cut and styled, tipping, paying, and finally leaving the store. Service
processes range from relatively simple procedures involving only a few steps—such as
filling a car's tank with fuel—to highly complex activities like transporting passengers
on an international flight.
T h e characteristics of the processes that might be used in a particular service oper-
ation necessarily reflect the nature of the business. Within certain constraints, the choice


FIGURE 2.2
Service Decision Framework
as It Relates to Processes

of processes may also be shaped by customer expectations and preferences. Looking at
the processes currently used is only part of the story, since alternative processes may be
available for exploration. As indicated by our service decision framework (Figure 2.2),
it's important for marketers to understand: (1) whether the service is directed at cus-
tomers themselves or at their possessions, (2) whether service entails delivery of tangible
or intangible actions, (3) the sequence in which different elements of service delivery
need to be organized, and (4) the role played by information.
T h e answers to be gained from such analysis can help managers to identify the ser-
vice benefits offered by the service product, consider options for improving productiv-
ity and quality, clarify how customer involvement relates to design of service facilities,
evaluate alternative channels for service delivery, and determine if there will be prob-
lems in balancing demand for the service against our organization's productive capacity.
Finally, understanding these service processes helps managers to evaluate the strategic
roles that might be played by people and technology.

34 PART O N E • U N D E R S T A N D I N G SERVICES

Categorizing Service Processes
A process involves transforming input into output. But what is each service organiza-
tion actually processing and how does it perform this task? Two broad categories are
processed in services: people and objects. In many cases, ranging from passenger trans-
portation to education, customers themselves are the principal input to the service
process. In other instances, the key input is an object like a malfunctioning computer or
a piece of financial data. In some services, as in all manufacturing, the process is physical
and something tangible takes place. But in information-based services, the process can
be almost entirely intangible.
By looking at services from a purely operational perspective, we see that they can
be categorized into four broad groups.Table 2.2 shows a four-way classification scheme
based on tangible actions either to people's bodies or to customers' physical possessions
and intangible actions to people's minds or to their intangible assets. 4
Each of these four categories involves fundamentally different forms of processes,
with vital implications for marketing, operations, and h u m a n resource managers. We
refer to the categories as people processing, possession processing, mental stimulus pro-
cessing, and information processing. Although the industries within each category may
appear at first sight to be very different, analysis will show that they do, in fact, share
important process-related characteristics. As a result, managers in one industry may be
able to obtain useful insights by studying another one and then creating valuable i n n o -
vations for their o w n organization.
people processing: services 1. P e o p l e p r o c e s s i n g involves tangible actions to people's bodies. Examples of
that involve tangible actions people-processing services include passenger transportation, haircutting, and
to people's bodies. dental work. Customers need to be physically present throughout service deliv-
ery to receive its desired benefits.

TABLE 2.2 Who or What Is the Direct Recipient of the Service?
Understanding the Nature of What Is the Nature
the Service Act of the Service Act? People Possessions

Tangible Actions (People Processing) (Possession Processing)
Services directed at people's bodies: Services directed at physical possessions:
Passenger transportation Freight transportation
Health care Repair and maintenance
Lodging Warehousing/storage
Beauty salons Janitorial services
Physical therapy Retail distribution
Fitness centers Laundry and dry cleaning
Restaurants/bars Refueling
Haircutting Landscaping/lawn care
Funeral services Disposal/recycling
Intangible Actions (Mental Stimulus Processing) (Information Processing)
Services directed at people's minds: Services directed at intangible assets:
Advertising/PR Accounting
Arts and entertainment Banking
Broadcasting/cable Data processing
Management consulting Data transmission
Education Insurance
Information services Legal services
Music concerts Programming
Psychotherapy Research
Religion Securities investment
Voice telephone Software consulting

CHAPTER TWO • U N D E R S T A N D I N G SERVICE PROCESSES 35

2. Possession processing includes tangible actions to goods and other physical possession processing:
possessions belonging to the customer. Examples of possession processing tangible actions to goods and
include airfreight, lawn mowing, and cleaning services. In these instances, the other physical possessions
object requiring processing must be present, but the customer need not be. belonging to customers.
3. Mental stimulus processing refers to intangible actions directed at people's mental stimulus process-
minds. Services in this category include entertainment, spectator sports, theater ing: intangible actions
performances, and education. In such instances, customers must be present m e n - directed at peoples minds.
tally but can be located either in a specific service facility or in a remote location
connected by broadcast signals or telecommunication linkages.
4. I n f o r m a t i o n processing describes intangible actions directed at a customer's information processing:
assets. Examples of information-processing services include insurance, banking, intangible actions directed at
and consulting. In this category, little direct involvement with the customer may customers' assets.
be needed once the request for service has been initiated.
Let's examine why these four different types of processes often have distinctive implica-
tions for marketing, operations, and human resource strategies.

People Processing
From ancient times, people have sought out services directed at themselves (e.g., being
transported, fed, lodged, restored to health, or made more beautiful). To receive these
types of services, customers must physically enter the service system. Because they are
an integral part of the process, they cannot obtain the benefits they desire by dealing at
arm's length with service suppliers. They must enter the service factory, which is a service factory: the physi-
physical location where people or machines (or both) create and deliver service benefits cal site where service opera-
to customers. Sometimes, of course, service providers are willing to come to customers, tions take place.
bringing the necessary tools of their trade to create the desired benefits in the cus-
tomers' choice of locations.
If customers want the benefits that a people-processing service has to offer, they
must be prepared to cooperate actively with the service operation. For example, Susan
cooperates with her hair stylist by sitting still and turning her head as requested. She will
also have to be part of the process w h e n she visits the optometrist for her next eye
exam. The level of involvement required of customers may entail anything from board-
ing a city bus for a five-minute ride to undergoing a lengthy course of unpleasant treat-
ments at a hospital. In between these extremes are such activities as ordering and eating
a meal; having one's hair washed, cut, and styled; and spending some nights in a hotel
room. The output from these services (after a period of time that can vary from minutes
to months) is a customer w h o has reached her destination or satisfied his hunger or is
now sporting clean and stylishly cut hair or has had a good night's sleep away from
home or is now in physically better health.
It's important for managers to think about process and output in terms of what
happens to the customer (or the physical object being processed) because it helps them
to identify what benefits are being created. Reflecting on the service process itself helps
to identify some of the nonfinancial costs—such as time, mental and physical effort, and
even fear and pain—that customers incur in obtaining these benefits.

Possession Processing
Often, customers ask a service organization to provide treatment for some physical posses-
sion—which could be anything from a house to a hedge, a car to a computer, or a dress to
a dog. Many such activities are quasi-manufacturing operations and do not always involve
simultaneous production and consumption. Examples include cleaning, maintaining, stor-
ing, improving, or repairing physical objects—both live and inanimate—that belong to the


customer in order to extend their usefulness. Additional possession-processing services
include transport and storage of goods; wholesale and retail distribution; and installation,
removal, and disposal of equipment—in short, the entire value-adding chain of activities
that may take place during the lifetime of the object in question.
Customers are less physically involved with this type of service than with people-
processing services. Consider the difference between passenger and parcel transporta-
tion. In the former you have to go along for the ride to obtain the benefit of getting
from one location to another. But with package service, you drop the package off at a
mailbox or post office counter (or request a courier to collect it from your h o m e or
office) and wait for it to be delivered to the recipient. In most possession-processing ser-
vices, the customer's involvement is usually limited to dropping off the item that needs
treatment, requesting the service, explaining the problem, and later returning to pick up
the item and pay the bill (like Susan's visit to the cleaners to pick up her blouse and
suit). If the object to be processed is something that is difficult or impossible to move,
like landscaping, installed software, heavy equipment, or part of a building, the service
factory must c o m e to the customer, with service personnel bringing the tools and
materials necessary to complete the j o b on-site.
T h e service process could involve applying insecticide in a house to get rid of ants,
trimming a hedge at an office park, repairing a car, installing software in a computer,
cleaning a jacket, or giving an injection to the family dog. T h e output in each instance
should be a satisfactory solution to the customer's problem or some tangible enhance-
ment of the item in question. In Susan's case, the cleaners disappointed her because her
suit wasn't ready when promised.

Mental Stimulus Processing
Services that interact with people's minds include education, news and information,
professional advice, psychotherapy, entertainment, and certain religious activities.
Anything t o u c h i n g people's minds has the power to shape attitudes and influence
behavior. So, w h e n customers are in a position of dependency or there is potential for
manipulation, strong ethical standards and careful oversight are required.
Receiving these services requires an investment of time on the customer's part.
However, recipients don't necessarily have to be physically present in a service factory—
just mentally in communication with the information being presented.There's an inter-
esting contrast here with people-processing services. Passengers can sleep through a
flight and still arrive at their desired destination. But if Susan falls asleep in class or
during an educational TV broadcast, she will not be any wiser at the end than at the
beginning!
Services like entertainment and education are often created in one place and trans-
mitted by television, radio, or the Internet to individual customers in distant locations.
However, they can also be delivered to groups of customers at the originating location
in a facility such as a theater or lecture hall. We need to recognize that watching a live
concert on television in one's h o m e is not the same experience as watching it in a con-
cert hall in the company of hundreds or even thousands of other people. Managers of
concert halls face many of the same challenges as their colleagues in people-processing
services. Similarly, the experience of participating in a discussion-based class through
interactive cable television lacks the intimacy of people debating one another in the
same room.
Because the core content of all services in this category is information based
(whether music, voice, or visual images), it can easily be converted to digital bits or ana-
log signals; recorded for posterity; and transformed into a manufactured product, such as
a compact disc, videotape, or audiocassette, which may then be packaged and marketed


much like any other physical good. These services can thus be "inventoried" because
they can be consumed at a later date than w h e n they were produced. For instance,
Susans Spanish videotape can be used over and over again by students visiting the lan-
guage lab.

Information Processing
Information processing, one of the buzzwords of our age, has been revolutionized by
computers. But not all information is processed by machines. Professionals in a wide
variety of fields also use their brains to perform information processing and packaging.
Information is the most intangible form of service output, but it may be transformed
into more enduring, tangible forms as letters, reports, books, tapes, or CDs. A m o n g the
services that are highly dependent on the effective collection and processing of infor-
mation are financial services and professional services like accounting, law, marketing
research, management consulting, and medical diagnosis.
The extent of customer involvement in both information and mental stimulus pro-
cessing is often determined more by tradition and a personal desire to meet the supplier
face to face than by the needs of the operational process. Strictly speaking, personal con-
tact is quite unnecessary in industries like banking or insurance. Why subject your firm to
all the complexities of managing a people-processing service when you could deliver the
same core product at arm's length? As a customer, why go to the service factory when
there's no compelling need to do so? Susan appears comfortable dealing at arm's length
with both her bank and her insurance company, using a self-service A T M for her bank-
ing transactions and receiving mail communications from her insurance company.
Habit and tradition often lie at the root of existing service delivery systems and ser-
vice usage patterns. Professionals and their clients may say they prefer to meet face to
face because they feel that in this way they learn more about each other's needs, capa-
bilities, and personalities. However, experience shows that successful personal relation-
ships, built on trust, can be created and maintained purely through telephone or e-mail
contact.


DIFFERENT PROCESSES POSE DISTINCTIVE
MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES
T h e challenges and tasks facing managers w h o work in each of the four different service
categories just described are likely to vary to some extent. T h e classification of processes
displayed earlier is central in understanding these differences and developing effective
service strategies. N o t only does it offer insights into the nature of service benefits in
each instance, but it also provides an understanding of the behavior that is required of
customers. As suggested in Figure 2.2, there are also implications for designing the ser-
vice delivery system, balancing demand and capacity, applying technology to service
processes, and managing people as part of the service product.

Balancing Productivity and Quality Concerns
Managers need to recognize that operational processes, however important, are basically
just a means to an end. T h e key is to understand the specific benefits that a service pro-
vides for its users. Many firms bundle together lots of different activities as part of their
effort to provide good service. But innovation in service delivery requires constant
attention to the processes underlying delivery of the core product—a bed for the night
in the lodging industry, fast transportation of people in the airline industry, or cleaning
and pressing clothes in the laundry industry.
N e w processes may allow service organizations to deliver the same (or improved)
benefits to customers through distinctly different approaches. But firms need to be clear
about their objectives and the implications for customers. Sometimes, adopting a new
process improves productivity by cutting costs at the expense of service quality. In other
instances, customers are delighted to encounter faster, simpler, and more convenient
procedures. So, operations managers need to beware of imposing new processes, in the
name of efficiency, on customers w h o prefer the existing approach (particularly w h e n
the new approach replaces personal service by employees with automated procedures
that require customers to do much of the work themselves). By collaborating with mar-
keting personnel, operations specialists will improve their chances of designing new
processes that deliver the benefits desired by customers in user-friendly ways. A m o n g
other things, customers may need to be educated about the benefits of new procedures
and how to use them.

How Customer Involvement Affects Design of the Service Factory
Every service has customers (or hopes to find some), but not every service interacts
w i t h t h e m in the same way. C u s t o m e r involvement in the core activity may vary
sharply for each of the four categories of service process. N o t h i n g can alter the fact
that people-processing services require the customer to be physically present in the
service factory. If you're currently in N e w York and want to be in London tomorrow,
you simply can't avoid boarding an international flight and spending time in a jet high
above the Atlantic. If you want your hair cut, you can't delegate this activity to some-
body else's head—you have to sit in the haircutter's chair yourself. If you have the mis-
fortune to break your leg, you will personally have to submit to the unpleasantness of
having the bone X-rayed, reset by an orthopedic surgeon, and then encased in a p r o -
tective cast for several weeks.
W h e n customers visit a service factory, their satisfaction will be influenced by such
factors as:
>- encounters with service personnel,
*- appearance and features of service facilities—both exterior and interior,


>• interactions with self-service equipment, and
>• characteristics and behavior of other customers.
If customers are required to be physically present throughout service delivery, the
process must be designed around them from the m o m e n t they arrive at what we call the
"service factory." T h e longer they remain at that site, the more likely they are to need
other services, including hospitality basics like food, beverages, and toilets. Service deliv-
ery sites that customers visit must be located and designed with their convenience in
mind. Furthermore, the nature of the facilities offers important physical evidence of the
service itself. If the service factory is ugly, noisy, smelly, confusingly laid out, and in an
inconvenient location, customers are likely to have negative impressions. Marketing
managers need to work closely with their counterparts in operations to design facilities
that are both pleasing to customers and efficient to operate. At Susan's college, the
redesigned food court at the Student U n i o n replaced a cafeteria that provided a less
attractive experience (as well as worse food). T h e exterior of a building creates impor-
tant first impressions, whereas the interior can be thought of as the "stage" on which the
service performance is delivered. T h e interior of Susan's hair salon appeals to her but
that of the dry cleaner does not.
Marketers need to work with human resource managers, too. Here the task is to
ensure that those employees w h o are in contact with customers present an acceptable
appearance and have both the personal and technical skills needed to perform well.The
workers at the dry-cleaning store Susan uses appear to lack such skills. If service deliv-
ery requires customers to interact with employees, both parties may need some basic
training or guidance on how to work together cooperatively to achieve the best results.
If customers are expected to do some of the work themselves—as in self-service—facil-
ities and equipment must be user-friendly.

Evaluating Alternative Channels for Service Delivery
Unlike the situation in people-processing services, managers responsible for possession
processing, mental stimulus processing, and information processing need not oblige
their customers to visit a service factory. Instead, they may be able to offer a choice of
several alternative delivery channels: (1) letting customers come to a user-friendly fac-
tory, (2) limiting contact to a small retail office that is separate from the factory, (3) c o m -
ing to the customer's h o m e or office, and (4) conducting business at arm's length.
Let's consider the cleaning and pressing of clothes—a possession-processing ser-
vice—as an example. O n e approach is to do your laundry at home. If you lack the nec-
essary machines, you can pay to use a laundromat, which is essentially a self-service
cleaning factory. If you prefer to leave the task of laundry and dry cleaning to profes-
sionals, as Susan chose to do with her best clothes, you can go to a retail store that serves
as a drop-off location for dirty clothes and a pickup point for newly cleaned items.
Sometimes, cleaning is conducted in a space behind the store; at other times, the cloth-
ing is transported to an industrial operation some distance away. H o m e pickup and
delivery is available in some cities, but this service tends to be expensive because of the
extra costs involved. Innovation in service delivery sometimes takes the form of chang-
ing the delivery location to offer customers greater convenience (see the box,
"Entrepreneur Sells Mobile Oil Changes").
Both physical and electronic channels allow customers and suppliers to conduct
service transactions at arm's length. For instance, instead of shopping at the mall, you can
study a printed catalog and order by telephone for mail delivery; or you can shop on the
Internet, entering your orders electronically after reviewing your choices at a Web site.
Information-based items, like software, research reports, or real estate listings can be
downloaded immediately to your own computer.


Entrepreneur Sells Mobile
Oil Changes
He had been working as a cook and a carpet cleaner when a
His market is busy delivery fleets friend suggested he start an auto maintenance business.
and people on the go "I've always worked on my own cars," Todoroff said. "He got
By MIKE KARATH me thinking about it, and soon after that, I read about a guy in
Staff Writer Entrepreneur magazine who manufactures equipment to do oil
HYANNIS—Andrew Todoroff discovered oil on Cape Cod. changes on location."
For people who don't have time to take their car in for an oil Todoroff sold his car to buy used equipment he saw in a trade
change, Todoroff brings the auto shop to them. magazine classified ad.
About two years ago he opened Lube On Location, which ser- The business has about 600 clients, Todoroff said, but he
vices commercial fleets and personal autos across the Cape. It pro- would not disclose his yearly sales. He plans to hire his first
vides oil changes for $26.95; tire rotation for $21.15; wiper blades employee in May as sales continue to climb.
starting at $15 and air filter changes starting at $12, tax included. Despite Todoroff's success, skeptics like John Paul, a
In the next several months he will add a vacuum system to his spokesman for the American Automobile Association in Rockland,
van and offer complete interior cleanings for about $30. don't see on-location businesses as a hot new trend.
Todoroff popped up from beneath a red Mazda recently after "I don't know if you're going to see it take off," Paul said.
finishing an oil change in the parking lot of a Main Street Hyannis "The idea never really caught on in this part of the country
business. A drop of motor oil ran down his face as he wiped his because it is contingent on good weather. I'd also say that if it
hands. wasn't for places like Jiffy Lube, it would be a service whose time
"The woman who owns the car, her husband called and said had come."
she wasn't really taking care of it," Todoroff said. "I had been doing But Todoroff may have the edge over those businesses. Jiffy
work on his truck, so he asked if I could do his wife's car while she Lube in Hyannis charges $28 including tax for an individual oil
was at work." He added, "People at the bank saw me doing her car, change. That is $1.39 more than what Lube On Location
and I got more business from it." charges.
Lube On Location specializes in fleets like courier companies. "My target customer during the day is someone who doesn't
Todoroff services them early in the morning while the trucks are want to waste a Saturday to get an oil change done," Todoroff said.
being loaded and in the late afternoon while they are being "They have such busy work weeks that when the weekend comes,
unloaded. they'd rather go for a ride or spend their time doing something fun
"He saves me a ton of money," said Edward Matz, fleet man- or interesting."
ager of Cape Allied Transit in West Yarmouth, a courier service.
"Just in manpower alone he saves me a lot because I don't have to Service on the go
pay a guy to take the truck to a station, sit and wait for an oil Lube On Location oil change includes:
change."
Change oil and oil filter, lube ail fittings; check and fill
Matz said Todoroff is so "efficient and clean" with the com- antifreeze, automatic transmission fluid, power steering
pany's 70 trucks that he hired him for the company's New fluid, brake fluid, windshield washer fluid; check battery,
Hampshire and Rhode Island terminals as well. wipers, belts, radiator hoses, air pressure in tires, and head-
Todoroff is registered with the state Environmental Protection lights.
Agency to carry waste oil, which is burned at a Hyannis car dealer- Price: $26.95 (including tax)
ship's waste oil furnace. He also has a general insurance policy that Jiffy Lube in Hyannis:
covers accidents or spills.
Change oil and oil filter, lube the chassis, check and top off
Todoroff, 27, a Poughkeepsie, N.Y., native is married and is the all fluids except antifreeze, vacuum interior, check tires, and
father of a one-year-old son and another on the way. In 1989 he clean front and rear outside windows.
moved to the Cape to be near his brother. Price: $28.34 (including tax)

Source: Reprinted with permission from the Cape Cod Times, 28 March 1998, C-9.


Today's managers need to be creative, because information technology and modern
package transportation services offer many opportunities to rethink the place and time
of service delivery. Some manufacturers of small pieces of equipment allow customers
to bypass retail dealers when a product needs repair. Instead, a courier will pick up the
defective item, ship it to a repair site, and return it a few days later w h e n it has been
fixed. Electronic distribution channels offer even more convenience because transporta-
tion time can be eliminated. For instance, using telecommunication links, engineers in a
central facility (which could even be on the other side of the world) may be able to
diagnose problems in defective computers and software at distant customer locations
and send signals to correct the defects. As we noted in Chapter 1, advances in telecom-
munications and in the design of user-friendly terminals have played an important role
in creating new services and new delivery channels for existing services.
Rethinking service delivery procedures for all but people processing may allow a
firm to get customers out of the factory and transform a high-contact service into a
low-contact one. W h e n the nature of the process makes it possible to deliver service at
arm's length, the design and location of the factory can focus on purely operational pri-
orities. For example, some industry observers predict that the traditional bank branch
will eventually cease to exist and we will conduct most of our banking and credit union
transactions through ATMs, telephones, or personal computers (PCs) and modems.The
chances of success in such an endeavor will be enhanced when the new procedures are
user-friendly and offer customers greater convenience.

Balancing Demand and Capacity
In general, services that process people and physical objects are more likely to face
capacity limitations than those that are information based. Radio and television trans-
missions, for instance, can reach any number of homes within their receiving area or
cable distribution network. In recent years, capacity in such industries has been vastly
increased by greater computer power, digital switching, and the replacement of coaxial
cables with broadband fiber-optic ones. Yet technology has not found similar ways to
increase the capacity of those service operations that process people and their physical
possessions without big jumps in cost. As a result, managing demand effectively is essen-
tial to improve productivity in services that involve tangible actions. Either customers
must be given incentives to use the service outside peak periods or capacity must be
allocated in advance through reservations. For example, a golf course may employ both
of these strategies by discounting greens fees during off-peak hours and requiring reser-
vations for the busier tee times.
Sharp fluctuations in demand pose a problem for many organizations, although
manufacturing firms can inventory supplies of their product as a hedge against fluctua-
tions in demand. This strategy enables manufacturers to enjoy the economies derived
from operating factories at steady production levels. Few service businesses can easily do
the same. For example, the potential income from an empty seat on an airliner is lost
forever once that flight takes off. Hotel rooms are equally perishable, and the productive
capacity of an auto repair shop is "wasted if no cars come in for servicing on a day w h e n
the shop is open. Conversely, when demand for service exceeds supply, the excess busi-
ness may be lost. If someone cannot get a seat on one flight, another carrier gets the
business or the trip is canceled. In other situations, customers may be forced to wait in
line until sufficient productive capacity is available to serve them.
Unfortunately, in people-processing services there are limits to h o w long customers
will wait in line. They have other things to do and become bored, resentful, tired, and
hungry. Susan was not willing to wait for a sandwich at the food court, so she chose a
burger instead. O n e strategy for reducing or eliminating the need for waiting is to insti-

NG SERVICES

tute a reservations system, but the times offered should be realistic. (Note that Susan's
hair salon offered appointments but was not running on schedule the day that she vis-
ited it.) In contrast, physical possessions rarely suffer if they have to wait (unless they are
highly perishable). In this case, customers are most concerned with the cost and incon-
venience associated with delays. For example, Susan worries about what she'll do if her
only suit is not returned from the dry cleaner in time for her j o b interview!

Applying Technology to Service Processes
In Chapter 1, we mentioned six types of technologies that have important implications
for services: biotechnology, power and energy technology, methods technology (how
people work and how processes are organized), materials technology, physical design
technology, and information technology. T h e extent to which any of these technologies
can be applied to the core product of a specific service business depends on the process
underlying the creation and delivery of that product.

P e o p l e - P r o c e s s i n g Services Because customers interact directly with the physical
organization, this category of service is particularly concerned with the physical design
of front-stage facilities and supporting equipment, as well as w i t h the materials
employed to construct t h e m and the power sources used to drive them. Customer
satisfaction with these facilities may be as important as internal operational concerns.
For instance, the new food court at Susan's university, featuring a variety of different
food vendors, represents innovation in physical design and in food preparation and
delivery methods for institutional food services. It not only looks more appealing but
also offers more choice. As such, the food court probably attracts more customers than
the old cafeteria. But improved physical features alone may not suffice for an
organization to achieve its productivity and quality goals. T h e right choice of methods
technologies plays a key role in determining how employees, customers, and physical
elements interact on-site to create the desired service.
Many technologies have been refined to serve the needs of specific industries. All
transportation industries are shaped by new developments in power technologies, since
these affect speed, fuel consumption, and both noise and air pollution. Hospitals are the
beneficiaries of advances in the physical design of new equipment needed to diagnose
and treat patients, as well as biotechnology. Methods of treatment in health care are con-
stantly evolving, too, requiring both human and technical skills that are often practiced
in a team setting. Restaurants have improved their productivity by investing in new
food-related technologies (such as preprocessed meals and improved strains of vegeta-
bles derived from biotechnology research) as well as in devices to simplify food prepara-
tion and cooking.

Possession-Processing Services These services also emphasize power, design,
materials, and methods technologies, since the core products tend to involve physical
activities ranging from transport to storage, from installation to cleaning, and from
fueling to repair. But there's a key difference between people and "things." Unlike
human beings, whose size and shape are more or less a given, physical possessions can be
redesigned to make t h e m easier to service. In fact, the first and best service that
manufacturers and architects can give their customers is to design serviceability into
physical goods and facilities. Unfortunately, this goal is often ignored. There are many
examples of equipment that is difficult to package and transport; machines that have to
be totally disassembled by an expert to replace a simple part; electronic controls that
only an 11-year-old video-game specialist understands h o w to operate; and buildings
that are hard to clean and maintain.

CHAPTER TWO • U N D E R S T A N D I N G SERVICE PROCESSES 43

Mental Stimulus-Processing Services Strategic developments in this category are
driven primarily by information technology (IT). Advances in telecommunications,
from cellular phones to satellite links and addressable cable TV, have opened up
significant new possibilities for the information, news, entertainment, and education
industries. However, making the most of advances in IT often requires development of
innovative equipment that is, in turn, dependent on advances in physical design and
materials technologies. For instance, miniaturization of power sources (such as tiny
batteries) facilitates creation of smaller and lighter devices like flat screens, lightweight
modems, portable faxes, cellular telephones, and pocket-size hard disks. C o m b i n i n g
portability with wireless networks frees users from the constraints of fixed-site
installations and dramatically extends the usefulness of the Internet and World Wide
Web. In turn, making use of new applications requires changes in methods technology
for both employees and customers.

I n f o r m a t i o n - P r o c e s s i n g S e r v i c e s As w i t h services in the previous category,
advances in information-processing services depend heavily on IT. For instance, IT-
based telemedicine allows health care providers to transmit real-time patient
information—including scans, X rays, and data from m o n i t o r i n g e q u i p m e n t — t o a
distant expert w h o can provide immediate consultation and advise local providers on
what treatments to offer. O n c e again, these IT advances are closely allied to physical
design, materials, and methods technologies.

Making the M o s t of I n f o r m a t i o n T e c h n o l o g y It's clear that i n f o r m a t i o n - b a s e d information-based ser-
services (a t e r m that covers b o t h mental stimulus processing and information vices; all services in which
processing) have the most to gain from advances in information technology, because the principal value comes
they allow the operation to be physically separate from customers. M o d e r n from the transmission of
data to customers (includes
telecommunications and computer technologies enable customers to connect through a
both mental stimulus pro-
computer (or other input-output devices, such as an ATM) with the service provider's
cessing and information pro-
system in another location. For example, customers of a brokerage firm, such as cessing).
Charles Schwab or E-trade, can connect to the company through the Internet and then
manage their own portfolios, keying in orders for buying and selling stocks on their
own computers.
The Internet offers new ways to deliver service for a broad array of industries.
Many Web sites, however, offer an example of marketing goods through service rather
than marketing a core service product. Consider Figure 2.3. In the case ofFlooz.com,
the core product—financial services—can be delivered directly via e-mail. In the case of
Lands' End, by contrast, the site offers only supplementary services, including informa-
tion about the goods sold by the company and the opportunity to order and pay for
them online. Actual delivery of the clothing sold by Lands' End requires the use of phys-
ical channels.
Several of the services used by Susan M u n r o employ IT applications designed not
only to link customers in one location with providers in another, but also to enable cus-
tomers to perform self-service. For instance, she accessed an Internet site to get a
weather forecast, and w i t h d r e w m o n e y from an A T M . In the case of her Business
Spanish course, technology allowed Susan to learn from viewing videotapes that were
probably recorded elsewhere several years earlier. T h e ability to offer customers self-
service through automated e q u i p m e n t (such as ATMs), intelligent telephones, and
the Internet is of growing importance for service marketing strategy. 7
Radio and television provide many examples of how technology has transformed
the nature of the core product and its delivery system. From studio symphony perfor-
mances to electronic churches and call-in gardening advice programs, broadcasting—
and now interactive cable—has created new ways to bring advice, entertainment, cul-


FIGURE 2.3
Web sites can deliver
Flooz.corn's electronic gift
certificates directly but . . .

ture, and spiritual enlightenment to widely scattered audiences. In many countries, edu-
cation is offered through electronic channels as an alternative to the traditional mode of
face-to-face presentations in a physical classroom.
Entire virtual universities are springing up, such as the University of Phoenix in
the U n i t e d States. O n e of the oldest and most extensive efforts of this nature is the
O p e n University ( O U ) in Great Britain. T h e OU has been offering degree programs
to students nationwide through the electronic campus of the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) for over 30 years. Anyone can watch or hear the broadcast p r o -
grams, of course, b u t students also receive p r i n t e d course material and videotapes
through the mail and communicate with tutors by mail, e-mail, or telephone. In a
number of courses, real-time class discussions between instructors and students take
place by telephone and a few even use videoconferencing. Yet these techniques still
cannot provide all the features and benefits of education on a physical campus, where
m u c h of the learning takes place outside the classroom. So, to provide some of the
advantages of traditional education, the OU encourages advanced students to partici-
pate in short residential programs, often held on a real college campus during vacation
periods.
Thanks to advances in technology, distance education has b e c o m e international
in scope. It offers particular potential in Africa, where only 3 percent of 18 to 25 year
olds enroll in college and few have any business experience. In 1997, the World Bank
launched the African Virtual University, w h i c h enables students in 16 African c o u n -
tries to take courses and seminars taught by professors from universities around the
world. Instructors deliver lectures in front of cameras in their own classrooms and
the video is r o u t e d via fiber optics, I S D N lines, or satellite to an u p l i n k in
Washington, D.C. F r o m there it is transmitted by satellite to various locations in
Africa, where a student in Ghana can talk with the instructor in real time via stan-
dard telephone lines while students in Kenya, Tanzania, and Z i m b a b w e listen to the
dialog.


.. . Lands' End's clothing
products require a physical
channel to reach the
customer.

Managing People as Part of the Service Product
The more involved customers become in the service delivery process, the more visible
service personnel and other customers become (this is the people element of the 8Ps). In
many people-processing services, customers meet lots of employees and often interact
with them for extended periods of time. They are also more likely to run into other cus-
tomers. After all, many service facilities achieve their operating economies by serving large
numbers of customers simultaneously. W h e n other people become a part of the service
experience, they can enhance it or detract from it. Direct involvement in service produc-
tion means that customers evaluate the quality of employees' appearance and social skills,
as well as their technical skills—concerns that are important for human resource managers
and front-line supervisors. And because people also make judgments about their fellow
customers, managers find themselves trying to shape customer behavior, too.
Service businesses of this type tend to be harder to manage because of the human
element. Susan enjoyed the comments made by other students in her marketing class.
But at the food court, lazy customers had failed to clear their table. Even though they
had already left, their behavior still detracted in a small way from the experience of
Susan and her friends. T h e poor attitude and appearance of the employee at the dry
cleaner compounded the problem of delays in cleaning Susan's suit and may lead to the
loss of her business in the future. As a manager, how would you get customers to clear
their tables after eating at the food court? H o w would you make the staff at the dry
cleaner more friendly?

Conclusion
We've seen in this chapter that although not all services are the same, many do have
important characteristics in c o m m o n . R a t h e r than focusing on broad distinctions
between goods and services, it's more useful to identify different categories of services
and to study the marketing, operations, and human resource challenges that they raise.


T h e four-way classification scheme in this chapter focuses on different types of
service processes. Some services require direct physical contact with customers (hair-
cutting and passenger transport); others center on contact with people's minds (educa-
tion and entertainment). Some involve processing of physical objects (cleaning and
freight transport); others process information (accounting and insurance). As you can
n o w appreciate, the processes that underlie the creation and delivery of any service
have a major impact on marketing and h u m a n resources. Process design (or redesign) is
not just a task for the operations department. Both managers and employees must
understand underlying processes (particularly those in w h i c h customers are actively
involved) in order to run a service business that is both efficient and user-friendly. In a
growing number of situations, those processes are being reshaped by advances in infor-
mation technology.

1. Identify each of the services used by Susan Munro.
a. W h a t needs is she attempting to satisfy in each instance?
b. W h a t alternative product or self-service could solve her need in each instance?
c. W h a t similarities and differences are there between the dry-cleaning store and
the hair salon? W h a t could each learn from the other?
2. Review Susan's day and identify which of the 8Ps are evident in her dealings
with different services.
3. Make a list of all the services that you have used during the past week and
categorize t h e m by type of process.
4. List the different types of service factories that you visit in the course of a typical
m o n t h and how many times you visit each one.
5. R e v i e w each of the different ways in which services can be classified. H o w
would you explain the usefulness of these systems to the manager of a health and
fitness center?
6. Identify the strategies used by your long-distance phone company or favorite
restaurant to manage demand.
7. W h a t do you see as the major ethical issues for those responsible for creating and
delivering mental-stimulus-processing services?
8. H o w have other customers affected your service experiences either positively or
negatively?

Endnotes
1. Shelby D. Hunt, Marketing Theory: Conceptual Foundation of Research in Marketing
(Columbus, OH: Grid, Inc., 1976) ,117-118.
2. MelvinT. Copeland,"The Relation of Consumers'Buying Habits to Marketing
Methods," Harvard Business Review, 1 (April 1923): 282-289.
3. See, for example, Christopher H. Lovelock, "Classifying Services to Gain Strategic
Marketing Insights,"Journal of Marketing 47 (Summer 1983): 9—20; Christian Gronroos,
Service Management and Marketing (Lexington MA: Lexington Books, 1990), 31—34;John
Bowen, "Development of a Taxonomy of Services to Gain Strategic Marketing Insights,"
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 18 (Winter 1990): 43—49; Rhian Silvestro, Lyn
Fitzgerald, Robert Johnston, and Christopher Voss, "Towards a Classification of Service
Processes," International Journal of Service Industry Management 3, no. 3 (1992): 62—75; and


Hans Kasper,Wouter DeVries, and PietVan Helsdingen, Services Marketing Management:An
International Perspective (Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, 1999), chap. 2,43-70.
4. These classifications are derived from Lovelock (1983) and represent an extension and
adaptation of a framework inT.R Hill, "On Goods and Services," Review of Income and
Wealth 23 (December 1977), 315-338.
5. For more detailed illustrations of the impact of information technology on services, see
Frances Cairncross, The Death of Distance (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1997);
and Philip Evans and Thomas S.Wurster, Blown to Bits (Boston: Harvard Business School
Press, 2000).
6. Leyland Pitt, Pierre Berthoin, and Jean-Paul Berthon, "Changing Channels:The Impact of
the Internet on Distribution Strategy," Business Horizons (March-April 1999): 19—28.
7. Pratibha A. Dabholkar, "Technology in Service Delivery: Implications for Self-Service and
Service Support," in T. A. Schwartz and D. Iacobuci, Handbook of Services Marketing and
Management (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2000), 103-110.
8. David A. Light, "Pioneering Distance Education in Africa," Harvard Business Review
(September-October 1999), 26.

The Service Customer

All successful service firms are customer oriented. To the greatest whether to offer self-service options. We discuss these issues in
possible extent, these companies try to build their operations Chapter 3.
around the customer rather than forcing customers to conform to a Many marketing decisions—including those involving product
predefined operating model. They also recognize that not all cus- elements, pricing, promotion and education, and service delivery—
tomers have similar needs, that their firm's services will appeal are related to the question: How do customers evaluate, purchase,
more to certain types of customers than others, and that customers and use our services? And how satisfied are they? We need to
differ in terms of their potential value to the firm. The four chapters learn what alternatives customers consider, how they evaluate ser-
in Part II are built around increasing your understanding of the services, what criteria they use in making their decisions, where and
vice customer. Figure 11.1 emphasizes those elements of the service when they make purchases, whether there are differences among
management decision framework that relate to the question: Who customers in how they use a specific service, and what factors lead
are our customers and how should we relate to them? to satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The purchase decision process for
Understanding the nature of the processes used to create services is one of the key topics addressed in Chapter 4, which also
and deliver services is the key to designing service encounters addresses how customer expectations are formed and introduces
and creating appealing experiences for customers. Marketers the technique of mapping the service experience from the cus-
need to work with their colleagues in operations to answer the tomer's perspective.
question: Where should customers fit in our service operation? In Managers must understand their customers' behavior in order
people-processing services, customers themselves are an integral to design services that best fulfill identified needs. But they should
part of the process and must physically remain in the company's also realize that not all customers are equally desirable to a firm.
facilities (e.g., a hotel, an airliner, or a hospital) for the duration of Some current customers are likely to offer greater value than oth-
service delivery. Other types of services may have the opportunity ers. And not all prospects are attractive either. Thus marketers
to select processes that will substantially reduce contact with should ask: What are the key characteristics of the market seg-
customers. Before a firm chooses a particular process, marketers ments that we target? The more a firm knows about its existing
should address the question: Do customers and prospects customers, the better it will be able to answer the question: Which
prefer high or low levels of contact with service personnel and customer relationships are worth developing and preserving?
facilities? The answer to this question may help guide decisions on Chapter 5 reviews the concept of market segmentation, introduces

FIGURE II.1
Service Management
Decisions Involving
Customers

the concept of relationship marketing, and covers strategies for develop an effective service recovery strategy—the topic of
building customer loyalty. Chapter 6—they should be able to respond with specifics to the
Finally, managers need to recognize that service delivery does question: What should we do when customers' expectations are
not always go perfectly from the customer's perspective. To not met?

49

Managing Service Encounters
Banking Moves from High Touch
to High Tech
Developments in technology often offer radically new ways for a busi- only physical banking encounters these customers experience are
ness to create and deliver its services, particularly those core and sup- with ATMs (automated teller machines), which can be found in numer-
plementary services that are information-based.1 But it's not always ous convenient locations and do not necessarily belong to the bank
easy to insert a new, technology-based model of service delivery into a with which the user has an account. If there is a problem, a customer's
traditional operation with an established culture and customers who first option is to send an e-mail or to telephone a 24-hour customer
are used to doing things in a certain way. Sometimes it may be easier service center.
to create an entirely new operation that is largely independent of the Customers' impressions of First Direct, therefore, reflect how fast
parent company. In an effort to attract new business and take advan- the phone is answered (standards require 75 percent of all calls to be
tage of cost-saving advances in Internet technology, First USA Bank answered in 20 seconds or less), the courtesy and professionalism of
created a separate Internet subsidiary with an unusual sounding the employee's voice, and the speed with which desired transactions
name. WingspanBank.com was launched in mid-1999 with the slogan can be completed. By contrast, customers' impressions of Wingspan
"If your bank could start over, this is what it would be." A similar strat- are likely to be determined by the appearance and ease of use of the
egy was used ten years earlier by Britain's Midland Bank (now HSBC bank's Web site. To obtain assistance, Wingspan customers can send
Bank) when it launched First Direct, the world's first all-telephone e-mails, use 24/7 free telephone service to reach Customer Care
bank. First Direct attracted worldwide attention within the financial Advisors, or send a letter by regular mail. Industry experts have given
service industry as the first bank to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a Wingspan high marks. The company's site received a "Best of the
week.2 Web" ranking from Forbes and a "Five-Star Rating for the Best
Customers who undertake home banking by computer or by Financial Supermarket" from Kiplinger's Personal Finance. And
phone have a different type of relationship with their bank than those according to Money magazine, "WingspanBank.com is the best bank-
who continue to visit a traditional retail bank branch. The former bene- ing embodiment yet of the 'clicks and mortar' strategy."3 G6mez.com,
fit from place and time convenience, dealing with bank personnel at an Internet quality measurement firm that evaluates a wide array of
arm's length, using a computer or telephone (supplied by the cus- online services against a variety of criteria, gave WingspanBank.com
tomers or their employers), rather than entering a service factory. The high ratings among virtual banks.4

© Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should
be able to
=£> explain the different levels of
customer contact and their impact
on service design and delivery
=^> discuss critical incidents and their
implications for customer
satisfaction

=£> understand the elements of the total
service system
=£> describe why service delivery can be
viewed as a form of theater
=^> recognize the potential role of
customers as coproducers of services

=4=> appreciate how new technologies
may offer alternative ways of creating
and delivering services

51

52 PART T W O • T H E SERVICE C U S T O M E R

WHERE DOES THE CUSTOMER FIT
IN THE SERVICE OPERATION?
As we described in the o p e n i n g vignette, different forms of b a n k i n g operations
involve customers in different ways. C o m p a r e d to W e b - or telephone-based service
delivery, visiting a branch requires more personal and more t i m e - c o n s u m i n g c o n -
tacts. Customers can only visit a branch during certain hours and may have to travel
some distance to get there. T h e y are exposed to the exterior and interior of the
building, may spend time waiting in a line with other customers, and deal face-to-
face with an employee (who, in many banks, will be b e h i n d a security grill or glass
screen).
Many people enjoy the social interaction of visiting a bank branch, especially if they
don't trust machines and know the staff members w h o serve them. According to the U.S.
banking industry, a third of all banking customers use only "high-contact" banking in a
staffed branch, a third combine branch banking with remote banking by telephone and
computer, and a third use predominantly the "low-contact" remote banking options. 5
T h e proportion of customers w h o prefer to bank electronically can be expected to grow
as younger, more technology-oriented customers enter the market and at least some of
the technophobes evolve, with education and experience, toward greater acceptance of
new banking channels.

Contact with the Service Organization
An important theme in this chapter is that "high-contact" encounters between cus-
tomers and service organizations differ sharply from " l o w - c o n t a c t " ones. T h e four
process-based service categories described in Chapter 2 prescribe the minimum level of
customer contact needed to obtain service in each instance. However, many service
organizations may provide far higher levels of contact than is necessary to deliver the
customer-contact service in question. Sometimes these high-contact levels reflect customer preferences
personnel: those service for person-to-person service with c u s t o m e r - c o n t a c t personnel. In many instances,
employees who interact though, they result from a management decision to continue relying on traditional
directly with individual approaches, instead of reengineering existing service processes to create innovative,
customers either in person or lower-contact approaches.
through mail and
Variability is a fact of life in situations where customers differ widely and service
telecommunications.
personnel interact w i t h those customers on a o n e - o n - o n e basis. 6 T h e longer and
m o r e actively that customers are involved in the process of service delivery, the
greater the likelihood that each customer's experience will be somewhat different
from that of other customers (and from previous experiences by the same customer).
N o t all variations are bad; in fact, many customers seek a tailored approach that
recognizes them as individuals with distinctive needs. T h e challenge is for employees
to be flexible, treating each person as an individual rather than as a clone. 7
Many service problems revolve around unsatisfactory incidents between customers
and service personnel. In an effort to simplify service delivery, improve productivity, and
reduce some of the threats to service quality, a number of firms are using technology to
minimize or even eliminate contact between customers and employees. Thus, face-to-
face encounters are giving way to telephone and e-mail encounters. Meantime, personal
service is being replaced by self-service, often through computers, kiosks, or easy-to-use
machines. 8 Web sites are beginning to replace voice telephone contacts for some types
of service transactions. 9
This chapter builds on our earlier discussion of processes in Chapter 2 and introduces
the concept of a spectrum of customer contact with the service organization that ranges
from high to low. We'll show how the extent of customer contact affects the nature of the

CHAPTER THREE • MANAGING SERVICE ENCOUNTERS 53

service encounter as well as strategies for achieving productivity and quality improvements.
As you review the contents of the chapter, including its examples, you should ask your-
self how a strategy of reducing (or increasing) the level of customer contact might impact
decisions relating to product elements, place, cyberspace, and time, promotion and education,
people, and physical evidence. You should also recognize how the material in this chapter
relates to the service decision framework (see Figure II.1 on page 49). By gaining a bet-
ter understanding of where customers fit in different types of service operation and their
preferences for high or low levels of contact with personnel and facilities, you'll begin to
answer the broader question: Who are our customers and how should we relate to them?

Service Encounters: Differing Levels of Customer Contact
A service encounter is a period of time during which customers interact directly with a service encounters a
service. 10 In some instances, the entire service experience can be reduced to a single period of time during which
encounter, involving ordering, payment, and execution of service delivery on the spot. In customers interact directly
other cases, the customer's experience includes a sequence of encounters. This can mean with a service.
an extended process that may be spread out over a period of time, involve a variety of
employees, and even take place in different locations (think about flying on a passenger
airline). Although some researchers use the term "encounter" simply to describe personal
interactions between customers and employees, realistically we also need to think about
levels of customer
encounters involving interactions between customers and self-service equipment. contact: the extent to which
As the level of customer contact with the service operation increases, there are likely to customers interact directly
be more and longer service encounters. So in Figure 3.1, we've grouped services into three with elements of the service
levels of customer contact, representing the extent of interaction with service person- organization.

FIGURE 3.1
Levels of Customer Contact
with Service Organizations

54 PART TWO • THE SERVICE CUSTOMER

nel, physical service elements, or both. You'll notice that traditional retail banking, tele-
phone banking, and home banking by Web site are all in different locations on the chart.
high-contact services: H i g h - c o n t a c t services tend to be those in which customers visit the service facil-
services that involve ity in person. Customers are actively involved with the service organization and its per-
significant interaction among sonnel throughout service delivery (e.g., hairdressing or medical services). All people-
customers, service personnel, processing services (other than those delivered at home) are high contact. Services from
and equipment and facilities. the other three process-based categories may also involve high levels of customer contact
when, for reasons of tradition, preference, or lack of other alternatives, customers go to
the service site and remain there until service delivery is completed. Examples of services
that have traditionally been high contact but can be low contact today because of tech-
nology include retail banking, purchase of retail goods, and higher education.
medium-contact services: M e d i u m - c o n t a c t services entail less interaction with service providers. They
services that involve only a involve situations in which customers visit the service provider's facilities (or are visited
limited amount of contact at home or at a third-party location by the firm's employees) but either do not remain
between customers and throughout service delivery or else have only modest contact with service personnel.The
elements of the service purpose of such contacts is often limited to: (1) establishing a relationship and defining a
organization. service need (e.g., management consulting, insurance, or personal financial advising,
where clients make an initial visit to the firm's office but then have relatively limited
interactions with the provider during service production), (2) dropping off and picking
up a physical possession that is being serviced, or (3) trying to resolve a problem.
low-contact services: L o w - c o n t a c t services involve very little, if any, physical contact between cus-
services that require minimal tomers and service providers. Instead, contact takes place at arm's length through the
or no direct contact between medium of electronic or physical distribution channels—a fast-growing trend in today's
customers and the service convenience-oriented society. Both mental stimulus-processing (e.g., radio, television)
organization. and information-processing services (e.g., insurance) fall naturally into this category.
Also included are possession-processing services in which the item requiring service can

FIGURE 3.2
Unconventional Advertising for an
Unconventional Bank


be shipped to the service site or subjected to "remote fixes" delivered electronically to
the customers' premises from a distant location (increasingly c o m m o n for resolving soft-
ware problems). Finally, many high-contact and m e d i u m - c o n t a c t services are being
transformed into low-contact services as customers engage in h o m e shopping, conduct
their insurance and banking transactions by telephone, or research and purchase prod-
ucts through the World Wide Web. 1 3
Advertising for low-contact, Web-based services often promotes speed and conve-
nience. For instance, WingspanBank.com contrasts the old and new approaches: "In the 60
seconds it takes to find a parking spot at your old bank, you can get an answer on your loan
application. . . . leave your car in the garage.Your new bank's in the den" (see Figure 3.2).

MANAGING SERVICE ENCOUNTERS
Many services (especially those classified as high contact) involve numerous encounters
between customers and service employees, either in person or remotely by phone or
e-mail. Service encounters may also take place between customers and physical facilities
or equipment. In low-contact services, customers are having more and more encounters
with automated machines that are designed to replace human personnel.
To highlight the risks and opportunities associated with service encounters,
Richard N o r m a n n , a Paris-based Swedish consultant, borrowed the m e t a p h o r
"moment of truth" from bullfighting. N o r m a n n writes: moment of truth: a point
in service delivery where
We could say that the perceived quality is realized at the moment of truth, when the
customers interact with
service provider and the service customer confront one another in the arena. At that
service employees or self-
moment they are very much on their own. . . . It is the skill, the motivation, and the
service equipment and the
tools employed by the firm's representative and the expectations and behavior of the client
outcome may affect
which together will create the service delivery process.
perceptions of service quality.
In bullfighting, what is at stake is the life of either the bull or the matador (or pos-
sibly both). T h e m o m e n t of truth is the instant at which the matador deftly slays the bull
with his sword—hardly a very comfortable analogy for a service organization s intent on
building long-term relationships with its customers! Normann's point, of course, is that
it's the life of the relationship that is at stake. Contrary to bullfighting, the goal of rela-
tionship marketing—which we will explore in Chapter 5—is to prevent one unfortu-
nate (mis)encounter from destroying what is already, or has the potential to become, a
mutually valued, long-term relationship.
Jan Carlzon, the former chief executive of Scandinavian Airlines System, used the
"moment-of-truth" metaphor as a reference point for transforming SAS from an oper-
ations-driven business into a customer-driven airline. Carlzon made the following c o m -
ments about his airline:
Last year, each of our 10 million customers came into contact with approximately five SAS critical incident: a specific
employees, and this contact lasted an average of 15 seconds each time.Thus, SAS is "created" encounter between customer
50 million times a year, 15 seconds at a time. These 50 million "moments of truth" are the and service provider in which
moments that ultimately determine whether SAS will succeed or fail as a company. They are the outcome has proved
the moments when we must prove to our customers that SAS is their best alternative. especially satisfying or
dissatisfying for one or both
Critical Incidents in Service Encounters parties.

Critical incidents are specific encounters between customers and service businesses
critical incident
that are especially satisfying or dissatisfying for one or both parties.The critical incident
technique (CIT): a
technique (CIT) is a methodology for collecting and categorizing such incidents in methodology for collecting,
service encounters. Conducting such an analysis offers an opportunity to determine categorizing, and analyzing
what incidents during service delivery are likely to be particularly significant in deter- critical incidents that have
mining whether or not customers are satisfied. T h e types of encounters classified as crit- occurred between customers
ical incidents differ depending on whether the service is high or low contact in nature. and service providers.


Critical Incidents in
High-Contact Services
egorized into three groups: (1) employee response to service fail-
In a study of critical incidents in the airline, hotel, and restaurant ures, (2) employee responses to requests for customized service,
businesses, customers were instructed to think of a time when they and (3) unprompted and unsolicited employee actions.
had a particularly satisfying (dissatisfying) interaction with a ser- When employees responded to critical incidents involving a
vice employee. They then answered the following questions: service failure, analysis showed that the outcomes were twice as
> When did the incident happen? likely to be dissatisfactory for customers as satisfactory. The
>• What specific circumstances led up to this situation? reverse was true when customers asked employees to adapt the
service in some way to meet a special need or request. In the third
5* Exactly what did the employee say or do?
grouping, relating to unexpected events and employee behavior,
>• What resulted that made you feel the interaction was sat- satisfactory and unsatisfactory outcomes were equally matched.
isfying (dissatisfyingp Figure 3.4 displays reports on specific incidents, as described in
A total of 699 incidents was recorded, split roughly equally the customers' own words.
between satisfying and unsatisfying incidents. They were then cat-

CHAPTER THREE • MANAGING SERVICE E N C O U N T E R S 57


CIT in H i g h - C o n t a c t Environments Most C I T research has focused on interpersonal
interactions between customers and employees in high-contact service environments. In
these situations, critical incidents tend to center around customer perceptions of employee
attitudes and actions. For example, a lengthy wait for dinner in a restaurant would be
classified as a critical incident because it represents a service delivery failure. But if an
employee attempts to improve the situation by providing information about the cause of the
wait and offering free drinks as compensation, customers may feel that the outcome was
satisfactory even though the service delivery was problematic.
T h e findings reported in the boxed example come from a study of critical incidents
described by customers w h o had particularly satisfying or dissatisfying experiences
w h e n using high-contact airline, hotel, or restaurant services. N o t e the 12 different


types of incidents and examples of the language used by customers to describe both
positive and negative interactions with service employees.
W h i l e customers' reactions are important, managers must also understand the
employee's view of the situation. Thoughtless or poorly behaved customers can often
cause needless problems for service personnel w h o are trying hard to serve them well.
Dissatisfaction with a succession of negative incidents can even drive good employees
to quit their jobs. A C I T study that examined hundreds of critical incidents from an
employee perspective 1 6 showed that more than 20 percent of all incidents that employ-
ees found unsatisfactory could be attributed to problem customers, whose bad behav-
ior included drunkenness, verbal and physical abuse, breaking laws or company poli-
cies, and failing to cooperate with service personnel. As you know if you've ever been


a front-line employee in a service business, it's simply not true that "the customer is
always right."
service operations
system: that part of the
CIT in L o w - C o n t a c t E n v i r o n m e n t s I n l o w - c o n t a c t services, encounters
total service system where
inputs are processed and the b e t w e e n customers and service businesses may n o t directly involve employees.
elements of the service Technology has provided new opportunities for self-service, where delivery takes place
product are created. electronically through interactions with equipment rather than people. Examples of
these self-service technologies (SSTs) include bank A T M s , automated package
service delivery system: tracking, p a y - a t - t h e - p u m p terminals at gas stations, a u t o m a t e d kiosks for airline
that part of the total service tickets, and Internet investment transactions. In these types of encounters, employees
system where final"assembly" are not present to compensate for problems or customize the service experience. A
of the elements takes place study of critical incidents in low-contact service environments highlights the necessity
and the product is delivered
of educating customers about effective use of SSTs and training them to "self-recover"
to the customer; it includes
w h e n a service failure has occurred. T h e boxed example on pages 58—59 describes
the visible elements of the
service operation. service encounters that were identified as especially satisfying/dissatisfying incidents in
low-contact, self-service environments.
service marketing
system: that part of the SERVICE AS A SYSTEM
total service system where
the firm has any form of T h e types of relationships a service business has with its customers (and the kinds of
contact with its customers, misbehaviors that will be encountered during service delivery) depend to a great extent
from advertising to billing; it on the level of contact customers have w i t h the firm. W h e t h e r a service is high,
includes contacts made at the medium, or low contact becomes a major factor in defining the total service system,
point of delivery. which includes the service operations s y s t e m (where inputs are processed and the
elements of the service product are created), the service delivery system (where final
front stage: those aspects of "assembly" of these elements takes place and the product is delivered to the customer),
service operations and and the service m a r k e t i n g s y s t e m (which embraces all points of contact with cus-
delivery that are visible or
tomers, including advertising, billing, and market research) (see Figure 3.5).
otherwise apparent to
customers. Parts of this system are visible (or otherwise apparent) to customers; other parts are
hidden in what is sometimes referred to as the technical core, and the customer may not
backstage (or technical even know of their existence. 1 8 Some writers use the terms "front office" and "back
core): those aspects of office" in referring to the visible and invisible parts of the operation. Others talk about
service operations that are "front stage" and "backstage," using the analogy of theater to dramatize the notion
hidden from customers. that service is a performance. 1 9 We like this analogy—sometimes referred to as "dra-

FIGURE 3.5
The Service Business as a
System

CHAPTER THREE . MANAGING SERVICE E N C O U N T E R S 61

Service Process TABLE 3.1
Category Level of Contact Drama Implications Theatrical Considerations
for Different Types of
People processing High contact Because the actors and audience are in close contact, the setting
Services
and front stage performances affect customers' perceptions of
service quality. Important theater aspects include design and
ambience of the setting, appearance and behavior of the actors,
props, costumes, and scripts. Other audience members (customers)
can influence one another's service experience and the perceived
quality of the service performance.
Mental stimulus High contact If actors and audience are in close physical proximity, then many of
processing the drama implications for people-processing services may apply.
Low contact If the performance is conducted at arm's length, audience members
do not typically interact with each other. The physical appearances of
the actors and setting are less important. Scripts may still be useful in
ensuring that actors and audience members play their parts correctly.
Possession processing Medium contact The performance can either take place at the service firm or at
the audience members' home or business. Contact between actors
and audience may be limited to the start and end of the service. (At
these contact points, the drama elements described for people-
processing services do apply but on a less substantial level.)
Low contact In some circumstances—for instance, lawn mowing and office
janitorial services—the service performance may occur without the
audience present. The outcomes of such services are usually
tangible and may be used as a proxy for judging the quality of the
service performance.
Information Low contact There is minimal contact between actors and audience members.
processing Both the act and the recipient (intangible assets) are intangible, and
the performance usually occurs in the absence of the customer.
Because of these factors, only the outcomes can be assessed, not
the process; however, even the outcome may be difficult for
customers to evaluate.

Source: Adapted from Stephen J. Grove, Raymond P. Fisk, and Joby John, "Services as Theater: Guidelines and Implications," in Teresa A.
Schwartz and Dawn lacobucci. Handbook of Sen/ice Marketing and Management (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2000), p. 31.

maturgy"—and will be using it throughout the book. T h e extent to which theatrical
elements exist depends largely on the nature of the service process. Table 3.1 summa-
rizes the drama implications for the four categories of service processes identified in
Chapter 2.

Service Operations System
Like a play in a theater, the visible components of service operations can be divided into
those relating to the actors (or service personnel) and those relating to the stage set (or
physical facilities, equipment, and other tangibles). What goes on backstage is of little
interest to customers. Like any audience, they evaluate the production on those ele-
ments they actually experience during service delivery and on the perceived service
o u t c o m e . Naturally, if the backstage personnel and systems (e.g., billing, ordering,
account keeping) fail to perform their support tasks properly in ways that affect the
quality of front stage activities, customers will notice. For instance, restaurant patrons
will be disappointed if they order fish from the menu but are told it is unavailable or
find that their food is overcooked. Other examples of backstage failures include receiv-
ing an incorrect hotel bill due to a keying error, not receiving course grades because of
a computer failure in the college registrar's office, or being delayed on a flight because
the aircraft has been taken out of service for engine repairs.

USTOMER

T h e proportion of the overall service operation that is visible to customers varies
according to the level of c u s t o m e r contact. Since h i g h - c o n t a c t services directly
involve the physical person of the customer, customers must enter the service "fac-
t o r y " (although there may still be many backstage activities that they don't see) or ser-
vice workers and their tools must leave the backstage and come to the customers'
chosen location. Examples include roadside car repair by automobile clubs and phys-
ical fitness trainers w h o work with clients at their homes or offices. Medium-contact
services, by contrast, require customers to be less substantially involved in service
delivery. Consequently, the visible c o m p o n e n t of the service operations system is
smaller.
Low-contact services usually strive to minimize customer contact with the service
provider, so most of the service operations system is confined to a remotely located
backstage (sometimes referred to as a technical core); front stage elements are normally
limited to mail and telecommunications contacts. Think for a m o m e n t about the tele-
phone company that you use. Do you have any idea where its exchange is located? If
you have a credit card, it's likely that your transactions are processed far from where you
live.

Service Delivery System
Service delivery is concerned with where, "when, and h o w the service product is d e -
livered to the customer. As shown earlier in Figure 3.5, this subsystem embraces not
only the visible elements of the service operating system—buildings, equipment, and
personnel—but may also involve exposure to other customers.
Service providers traditionally had direct interactions with their customers. But to
achieve goals ranging from cost reduction and productivity improvement to greater
customer convenience, many services that don't need the customers to be physically
present in the factory now seek to reduce direct contact. Midland Bank's creation of
First Direct is a prime example of this trend. As a result, the visible component of the
service operations system is shrinking in many industries as electronic technology or
redesigned physical flows are used to drive service delivery from higher to lower levels
of contact.
Self-service delivery often offers customers greater convenience than face-to-face
contact. Machines such as automated petrol pumps, ATMs, or coin-operated food and
drink dispensers can be installed in numerous locations and made accessible 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week. Electronic food retailing sites like wine.com and tabasco.com pro-
vide extensive product information and a greater selection of specialty items than most
bricks and mortar outlets can offer. 20 Cafeteria service allows customers to see menu
items before making their selection. Self-guided museum tours allow visitors to enjoy
an exhibition at their o w n pace. Online college courses allow students to complete
work at their own pace in an off-campus location.
But there are potential disadvantages to self-service delivery, too. T h e shift from
personal service (sometimes referred to as "high touch") to self-service ("high tech")
sometimes disturbs customers. So a strategy of replacing employees by machines or
other self-service procedures may require an information campaign to educate cus-
tomers and promote the benefits of the new approach. It also helps to design user-
friendly equipment, including free telephone or e-mail access to an employee w h o can
answer questions and solve problems. Of course, not all self-service is installed in remote
locations. Cafeterias and self-guided museum tours are examples of customers taking on
tasks that would otherwise have to be assigned to service personnel. Later in this chap-
ter, we'll discuss the role of the customer as a coproducer of service in collaboration
with the service provider.


Using the theatrical analogy, the distinction between high-contact and low-contact
services can be likened to the differences between live theater on a stage and a drama
created for television. That's because customers of low-contact services normally never
see the "factory" where the work is performed; at most, they will talk with a service
provider (or problem solver) by telephone. W i t h o u t buildings and furnishings or even
the appearance of employees to provide tangible clues, customers must make judgments
about service quality based on ease of telephone access, followed by the voice and
responsiveness of a telephone-based customer service representative.
W h e n service is delivered through impersonal electronic channels, such as self-
service machines, automated telephone calls to a central computer, or via the cus-
tomer's o w n computer, there is very little traditional "theater" left to the performance.
Some firms compensate for this by giving their machines names, playing recorded
music, or installing moving color graphics on video screens, adding sounds, and creat-
ing computer-based interactive capabilities to give the experience a m o r e h u m a n
feeling. Another option is to design a retail Web site to resemble a display in a store
window. Some virtual companies now offer real-time, interactive e-mail communica-
tions b e t w e e n shoppers and customer service p e r s o n n e l . C o n s i d e r F l o o z . c o m , a
provider of electronic gift certificates that can be spent online at more than 60 stores
(see page 44). If a customer logs onto the Flooz.com site and accesses the "Live H e l p "
link at the top of the h o m e page, there is an immediate response similar to the one
quoted below:

A Flooz.com Customer Care Representative will be with you momentarily!
Please feel free to continue browsing below.
JasonMa has arrived to help you!
JasonMa says, "Thank you for accessing Live Chat. My name isfason.
May I please have your e-mail address so I can better assist you?"

Responsibility for designing and managing service delivery systems has tradition-
ally fallen to operations managers. But marketing needs to be involved, too, because

What Options Do You Use for
Delivery of Bank Services?
5. Use the keys on a telephone to interact with the bank in
Not everyone is comfortable with the trend toward low-contact ser- response to voice commands (or a telephone screen display).
vices, which is why some firms give their customers a choice. For
6. Conduct home banking through your own computer, using a
instance, many retail banks now offer an array of service delivery
modem and special software.
options. Consider this spectrum of alternatives. Which options do
you currently use at your bank? Which would you like to use in the 7. Conduct transactions by computer through the World Wide Web.
future? And which are currently available? 8. Complete banking transactions by mobile phone or PDA (per-
1. Visit the bank in person and conduct transactions with a bank sonal digital assistant).
clerk. In each instance, what factors explain your preference? Do they
2. Use postal service to send deposits or request new check- relate to the type of transactions you need to conduct or a situa-
books. tional element like the weather or time of day? Are you influenced
by your feelings of liking (or disliking) human contact in a banking
3. Use an ATM.
context? Or is there some other explanation? What advice would
4. Conduct transactions by telephone with a customer service you give to your bank for how to serve you better?
representative.


understanding customer needs and concerns is important to ensure that the delivery
system works well.

The Dramaturgy of Service Delivery
As we've pointed out earlier, the theater is a good metaphor for services because ser-
vice delivery consists of a series of events that customers experience as a performance.22
It's a particularly useful approach for high-contact service providers (e.g., physicians,
educators, restaurants, and hotels) and for businesses that serve many people simultane-
ously rather than providing individualized service (e.g., professional sports, hospitals,
and entertainment). Figure 3.6 shows the relative importance of theatrical dimensions
for different types of service businesses. As you can see, watch repair services have very
few front stage theatrical components compared to services like airlines and spectator
sports.
Service facilities contain the stage on which the drama unfolds. Sometimes the set-
ting changes from one act to another (e.g., w h e n airline passengers move from the
entrance to the terminal to the check-in stations and then on to the boarding lounge
and finally step inside the aircraft). T h e stage may have minimal "props," as in a typical
post office, or elaborate scenery, as in some modern resort hotels. Many service dramas
are tightly scripted (as in the way that service is delivered in a formal restaurant setting),
while others are improvisational in nature (like teaching a university class).
Some services are more ritualized than others. In highly structured environments
like dental services, "blocking" may define how the actors (in this case, receptionists,
dental hygienists, technicians, and dentists) should move relative to the stage (the den-
tist's office), items of scenery (furniture and equipment), and other actors.
N o t all service providers require customers to attend performances at the c o m -
pany's "theater." In many instances, the customer's own facilities provide the stage where
the service employees perform with their props. For example, outside accountants are
often hired to provide specialized services at a client's site. (While this may be conve-
nient for customers, it isn't always very appealing for the "visiting accountants," w h o

F I G U R E 3.6
Relative Importance of
Theatrical Dimensions
Source: Stephen J. Grove and Raymond P. Fisk, "The Dramaturgy of Service Exchange: An Analytical Framework for Services Marketing,"
in Emerging Perspectives of Services Marketing, L. L. Berry, I. L. Shostack, and G. D. Upah, eds. (Chicago: American Marketing
Association, 1983), 45-49. Reprinted with Permission.


sometimes find themselves housed in rat-infested basements or inventorying frozen
food for hours in a cold storage locker! 23 ) Telecommunication linkages offer an alterna-
tive performance environment, allowing customers to be involved in the drama from a
remote location—a delivery option long awaited by those traveling accountants, w h o
would probably much prefer to work for their clients from the comfort of their own
offices via modems and computers.
Front stage personnel are members of a cast, playing roles as actors in a drama, and sup-
ported by a backstage production team. In some instances, they are expected to wear spe-
cial costumes when on stage (like the protective clothing—traditionally white—worn by
dental professionals, the fanciful uniforms often worn by hotel doormen, or the more
basic brown ones worn by UPS drivers) .When service employees wear distinctive apparel,
they stand out from personnel at other firms. In this respect, uniform designs can be seen
as a form of packaging that provides physical evidence of brand identity. In many service
companies, the choice of uniform design and colors is carefully integrated with other cor-
porate design elements. Many front stage employees must conform to both a dress code
and grooming standards (e.g., Disney's rule that employees can't wear beards).
Depending on the nature of their work, employees may be required to learn and
repeat specific lines ranging from announcements in several languages to a singsong
sales spiel (just think of the last telemarketer w h o called you!) to a parting salutation of
"Have a nice day!"Just like the theater, companies often use scripting to define actors'
behavior as well as their lines. Eye contact, smiles, and handshakes may be required in
addition to a spoken greeting. McDonald's has an extensive handbook that prescribes
employee behavior worldwide—even down to the width of the smile, according to
some who've worked in the shadow of the golden arches. O t h e r rules of conduct may
include bans on smoking, eating and drinking, or gum chewing while on duty.

Role and Script Theories
Role and script theories offer some interesting insights for service providers. If we view
service delivery as a theatrical experience, then both employees and customers act out
their parts in the performance according to predetermined roles.

Roles Grove and Fisk define a role as "a set of behavior patterns learned through role: a combination of social
experience and communication, to be performed by an individual in a certain social cues that guides behavior in a
interaction in order to attain maximum effectiveness in goal accomplishment." 25 Roles specific setting or context.
have also been defined as combinations of social cues, or expectations of society, that guide
behavior in a specific setting or context. 2 6 In service encounters, employees and
customers each have roles to play. T h e satisfaction of both parties depends on role role congruence: the
c o n g r u e n c e , or the extent to which each person acts out his or her prescribed role extent to which both
during a service encounter. Employees must perform their roles to customer expectations customers and employees act
or risk dissatisfying or losing customers all together. And customers, too, must "play by the out their prescribed roles
during a service encounter.
rules," or they risk causing problems for the firm, its employees, and even other customers.
Scripts are sequences of behavior that both employees and customers are expected to
scripts: learned sequences of
learn and follow during service delivery. Scripts are learned through experience, education,
behaviors obtained through
and communication with others. 2 7 M u c h like a movie script, a service script provides
personal experience or
detailed actions that customers and employees are expected to perform. The more experi- communications with others.
ence a customer has with a service company, the more familiar the script becomes. Any
deviations from this known script may frustrate both customers and employees and can
lead to high levels of dissatisfaction. If a company decides to change a service script (e.g., by
using technology to turn a high-contact service into a low-contact one), service personnel
and customers should be educated about the new script and the benefits it provides.
Some scripts are highly structured and allow service employees to move through
their duties quickly and efficiently (e.g., flight attendants' scripts for economy class).This


approach helps to overcome two of the inherent challenges facing service firms—how
to reduce variability and ensure uniform quality. T h e risk is that frequent repetition
may lead to mindless service delivery that ignores customers' needs.
N o t all services involve tightly scripted performances. For providers of highly cus-
tomized services—like doctors, educators, hair stylists, or consultants—the service
script is flexible and may vary by situation and by customer. W h e n customers are new
to a service, they may not k n o w what to expect and may be fearful of behaving incor-
rectly. Organizations should be ready to educate new customers about their roles in ser-
vice delivery, since inappropriate behaviors can disrupt service delivery and make cus-
tomers feel embarrassed and uncomfortable.
FIGURE 3.7 A well-planned script should provide a full description of the service encounter
Script for Teeth Cleaning and and can help identify potential or existing problems in a specific service process. Figure
Simple Dental Exam


3.7 shows a script for teeth cleaning and a simple dental examination, involving three
players—the patient, the receptionist, and the dental hygienist. Each has a specific role to
play. In this instance, the script is driven primarily by the need to execute a technical
task both proficiently and safely (note the mask and gloves). T h e core service of exam-
ining and cleaning teeth can only be accomplished satisfactorily if the patient cooper-
ates in an experience that is at best neutral and at worst uncomfortable or even painful.
Several script elements refer to information flows. Confirming appointments avoids
delays for customers and ensures effective use of dental professionals' time. Obtaining
patient histories and documenting analysis and treatment are vital for maintaining c o m -
plete dental records and also for accurate billing. Payment on receipt of treatment
improves cash flow and avoids the problem of bad debts. Adding greetings, statements of
thanks, and good-byes displays friendly good manners and helps to humanize what most
people see as a slightly unpleasant experience.
By examining existing scripts, service managers may discover ways to modify the
nature of customer and employee roles to improve service delivery, increase productivity,
and enhance the nature of the customer's experience. As service delivery procedures evolve
in response to new technology or other factors, revised scripts may need to be developed.

Service Marketing System
In addition to the service delivery system described above, other elements also contribute
to the customer's overall view of a service business.These include communication efforts
by the advertising and sales departments, telephone calls and letters from service person-
nel, billings from the accounting department, random exposures to service personnel and
facilities, news stories and editorials in the mass media, word-of-mouth comments from
current or former customers, and even participation in market research studies.
Collectively, the components just cited—plus those in the service delivery sys-
tem—add up to what we call the service marketing system. This represents all the dif-
ferent ways the customer may encounter or learn about the organization in question.
Because services are experiential, each of these elements offers clues about the nature
and quality of the service product. Inconsistency b e t w e e n different elements may
weaken the organization's credibility in the customers' eyes. Figure 3.8 depicts the

F I G U R E 3.8
The Service Marketing
System for a High-Contact
Service


FIGURE 3.9
T h e Service Marketing
System for a Low-Contact
Service

service marketing system for a high-contact service like a hotel, dental office, or full-
service restaurant.
As you k n o w from your o w n experience, the scope and structure of the service
m a r k e t i n g system often vary sharply from o n e type of organization to a n o t h e r .
Figure 3.9 shows h o w things change w h e n we are dealing with a low-contact ser-
vice, such as a credit card account. T h e significance of this approach to conceptualiz-
ing service creation and delivery is that it represents the customer's view, looking at
the service business from the outside, as opposed to an internally focused operations
perspective.

Physical Evidence
Many service performances are hard to evaluate. As a result, customers often look for
tangible clues about the nature of the service. For instance, what impression is created
in your mind if you see a damaged vehicle belonging to an express delivery service
broken down by the side of the road? Or observe a poorly g r o o m e d flight attendant
traveling to (or from) the airport wearing a frayed and dirty uniform? Or visit a friend
in a hospital where the grounds and buildings are beautifully maintained, the interior
decor cheerful rather than institutional, and the friendly staff wearing smart, spotlessly
clean uniforms?
Physical evidence provides clues about service quality, and in some cases it will
strongly influence h o w customers (especially inexperienced ones) evaluate the ser-
vice.Thus managers need to think carefully about the nature of the physical evidence
provided to customers by the service marketing system. We'll be addressing this ele-
m e n t of the 8Ps in more depth in Chapters 8 and 10, but Table 3.2 provides an initial
checklist of the main tangible and c o m m u n i c a t i o n elements to w h i c h customers
might be exposed. Of course, the n u m b e r of elements that are visible will vary
depending on w h e t h e r service delivery involves high or low customer contact. In
low-contact services, additional physical evidence may be c o m m u n i c a t e d through
advertising, using video footage on TV or printed illustrations in newspapers, maga-
zines, or brochures.


1. Service personnel. Contacts with customers may be face-to-face, by telecommunications (telephone, fax, telegram, TABLE 3.2
telex, electronic mail), or by mail and express delivery services. Tangible Elements and
These personnel may include Communication
• Sales representatives
Components in the Service
• Customer service staff
• Accounting/billing staff
Marketing System
• Operations staff who do not normally provide direct service to customers (e.g., engineers, janitors)
• Designated intermediaries whom customers perceive as directly representing the service firm
2. Service facilities and equipment
• Building exteriors, parking areas, landscaping
• Building interiors and furnishings
• Vehicles
• Self-service equipment operated by customers
• Other equipment
3. Nonpersonal communications
• Form letters
• Brochures/catalogs/instruction manuals/Web sites
• Advertising
• Signage
• News stories/editorials in the mass media
4. Other people
• Fellow customers encountered during service delivery
• Word-of-mouth comments from friends, acquaintances, or even strangers

THE CUSTOMER AS COPRODUCER
In some service environments, customers play a relatively passive role, waiting to be
served. So long as they can state their needs clearly and pay promptly when billed, they
play a minimal role in the process of service delivery (think about leaving clothes at a
laundry). But sometimes customers are expected to actively participate in the produc-
tion process—one of the distinctive features of service management that we noted in
Chapter 1. Customer participation refers to the actions and resources supplied by cus-
tomers during service production a n d / o r delivery; it includes customers' mental, physi-
cal, and emotional inputs. 2 8 Table 3.3 illustrates the differing levels of participation
required of customers across an array of service businesses.

Service Firms as Teachers
Although service providers attempt to design the ideal level of customer participation
into the service delivery system, in reality it is customers' actions that determine the
actual amount of participation. Underparticipation causes customers to experience a
decrease in service benefits (a student learning less or a dieter losing less weight). If cus-
tomers overparticipate, they may cause the firm to spend more resources customizing a
service than was originally intended (a request for customization of a hamburger at a
fast-food restaurant). Service businesses must teach their customers what roles to play to
optimize participation levels during service production and consumption.
The more work that customers are expected to do, the greater their need for infor-
mation about how to perform for best results. T h e necessary education can be provided
in many different ways. Brochures and posted instructions are two widely used
approaches. Automated machines often contain detailed operating instructions and dia-
grams (unfortunately, these are sometimes only intelligible to the engineers w h o wrote
them).Thoughtful banks place a telephone beside their ATMs so that customers can call
a real person for help and advice at any time if they are confused about the on-screen
instructions. Advertising for new services often contains significant educational content.


TABLE 3.3 Low (Customer Presence Moderate (Customer Inputs High (Customer Coproduces
Levels of Customer Required During Service Delivery) Required for Service Creation) the Service Product)
Participation Across
Products are standardized Client inputs customize a Active client participation
Different Services
standard service guides the customized service
Service is provided Provision of service requires Service cannot be created apart
regardless of any individual customer purchase from the customer's purchase
purchase and active participation
Payment may be the only Customer inputs (information, Customer inputs are mandatory
required customer input materials) are necessary for an and coproduce the outcome
adequate outcome, but the
service firm provides the service
Examples:
Consumer services
Bus travel Hair cut Marriage counseling
Motel stay Annual physical exam Personal training
Movie theater Full-service restaurant Weight-reduction program
Business-to-business
services
Uniform cleaning service Agency-created advertising campaign Management consulting
Pest control Payroll service Executive management seminar
Interior greenery maintenance Independent freight transportation Install wide area network (WAN)

Source: Adapted from Mary Jo Bitner, William T. Faranda, Amy R. Hubbert, and valarie A. Zeithaml, "Customer Contributions and Roles in
Service Delivery," International Journal of Service Industry Management 8, no. 3 (1997}: 193-205.

In many businesses, customers look to employees for advice and assistance and are
frustrated if they can't obtain it. Service providers, ranging from sales assistants and cus-
tomer service representatives to flight attendants and nurses, must be trained to help them
improve their teaching skills. As a last resort, people may turn to other customers for help.
service preview: a Schneider and Bowen suggest giving customers a realistic service preview in advance
demonstration of how a of service delivery to provide them with a clear picture of the role they will play in service
service works to educate coproduction. For example, a company might show a video presentation to help cus-
customers about the roles tomers understand their role in the service encounter.This technique is used by some den-
they are expected to perform tists to help patients understand the surgical processes they are about to experience and
in service delivery. indicate how they should cooperate to help make things go as smoothly as possible.

Customers as Partial Employees
Some researchers argue that firms should view customers as "partial employees," w h o can
influence the productivity and quality of service processes and outputs. 3 0 This perspec-
tive requires a change in management mindset, as Schneider and Bowen make clear:
If you think of customers as partial employees, you begin to think very differently about what
you hope customers will bring to the service encounter. Now they must bring not only expec-
tations and needs but also relevant service production competencies that will enable them to
fill the role of partial employees. The service management challenge deepens accordingly.

Schneider and B o w e n suggest that customers w h o are offered an opportunity to
participate at an active level are more likely to be satisfied—regardless of whether or not
they actually choose the more active role—because they like to be offered a choice.
Managing customers as partial employees requires using the same human resource
strategy as managing a firm's paid employees and should follow these four steps:
1. Conduct a "job analysis" of customers' present roles in the business and compare
it against the roles that the firm would like them to play.
2. Determine if customers are aware of h o w they are expected to perform and have
the skills needed to perform as required.


3. Motivate customers by ensuring that they will be rewarded for performing well
(e.g., satisfaction from better quality and more customized output, enjoyment of
participating in the actual process, a belief that their own productivity speeds the
process and keeps costs down).
4. Regularly appraise customers' performance. If it is unsatisfactory, seek to change
their roles and the procedures in which they are involved. Alternatively, consider
"terminating" these customers (nicely, of course!) and look for new ones.
Effective human resource management starts with recruitment and selection. T h e
same approach should hold true for "partial employees." So if coproduction requires
specific skills, firms should target their marketing efforts to recruit new customers w h o
have the competency to perform the necessary tasks. 32 After all, many colleges do just
this in their student selection process!

Conclusion
Service encounters cover a spectrum from high contact to low contact. Their position
on this spectrum is often determined by the nature of the operational processes used in
service creation and delivery. W i t h the growing trend to deliver information-based ser-
vices through electronic channels, many service encounters are shifting to a lower-
contact mode, with important implications for the nature of the customer experience.
In all types of services, understanding and managing service encounters between cus-
tomers and service personnel are central to creating satisfied customers w h o are willing to
enter into long-term relationships with the service provider. Critical incidents occur
when some aspect of the service encounter is particularly satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
Service businesses can be divided into three overlapping systems. T h e operations
system consists of the personnel, facilities, and equipment required to run the service
operation and create the service product. Only part of this system, called "front stage," is
visible to the customer.The delivery system incorporates the visible operations elements
and the customers, w h o sometimes take an active role in helping to create the service
product as opposed to being passively waited on. T h e higher the level of contact, the
more we can apply theatrical analogies to the process of "staging" service delivery in
which employees and customers play roles, often following well-defined scripts. In
high-contact services, customers are exposed to many more tangible clues and experi-
ences than they are in medium-contact and low-contact situations. Finally, the market-
ing system includes not only the delivery system, which is essentially composed of the
product and distribution elements of the traditional marketing mix, but also additional
components such as billing and payment systems, exposure to advertising and sales p e o -
ple, and word-of-mouth comments from other people.
In some instances, customers act as service coproducers, or "partial employees,"
whose performance will affect the productivity and quality of output. U n d e r these cir-
cumstances, service managers must be sure to educate and train customers so that they
have the skills needed to perform well during all types of service encounters.

1. What actions could a senior bank executive take to encourage more customers to
bank by phone, mail, Internet, or through ATMs rather than visiting a branch?
2. What are the backstage elements of (a) an insurance company, (b) a car repair facility,
(c) a hotel, (d) an airline, (e) a university, (f) a funeral home, (g) a consulting firm, (h)
a television station? Under what circumstances would it be appropriate to allow
customers to see some of these backstage elements and how would you do it?


3. W h a t roles are played by front stage service personnel in low-contact
organizations? Are these roles more or less important to customer satisfaction
than in high-contact services?
4. Use Figures 3.8 and 3.9, plus Table 3.2, to develop a profile of the service
marketing system for a variety of services—hospital, airline, consulting engineer
or legal service, college, hotel, dry cleaner, credit union, automobile service
center, or post office. (You can base your profiles on your own experience or
interview other customers.)
5. W h a t is the difference between a m o m e n t of truth, a service encounter, and a
critical incident?
6. Describe a critical incident that you have experienced with a self-service
technology during service delivery. If your incident was dissatisfying, what could
the service provider have done to improve the situation?
7. R e v i e w Figure 3.3. As a manager, how would you try to prevent future
recurrence of the 12 unsatisfactory incidents? (Hint: Consider the underlying
cause of the problem for each incident and possible reasons for the inappropriate
response that upset the customer.)
8. Develop two different customer scripts, one for a standardized service and one
for a customized service. W h a t are the key differences between the two?
9. Define the term "partial employee" and describe three recent situations in which
you were engaged in such a role.

Endnotes
1. Robert J. Peterson, Sridar Balasubramanian, and Bart J. Bronnenberg, "Exploring the
Implications of the Internet for Consumer Marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Sciences 25, no. 4 (1997): 329-346.
2. Saul Hansell,"500,000 Clients, No Branches," NewYork Times, 3 September 1995, sec. 3 , 1 .
3. WingspanBank.com Web site, www.WingspanBank.com, September 2000.
4. Gomez Web site, www.Gomez.com, January 2001.
5. Alex Frew McMillan, "Banking with a Mouse," CNNfn.com, 13 September 1999.
6. Curtis P. McLaughlin, "Why Variation Reduction Is Not Everything: A New Paradigm for
Service Operations," International Journal of Service Industry Management 7, no. 3 (1996):
17-39.
7. Lance A. Bettencourt and Kevin Gwinner, "Customization of the Service Experience:
The Role of the Frontline Employee," International Journal of Service Industry Management 7,
no. 2 (1996): 2-21.
8. Richard Gibson, "Machine Takes Orders in Test by McDonald's," Wall Street Journal, 11
August 1999, Bl. See also, Ann Merrill, "Rainbow's Version of Fast Food," StarTrihune
(Minneapolis), 12 August 1999, D l ; andYukari Iwatani,"From Bars to Car Washes
Internet Is Everywhere," Yahoo! News, 11 September 2000.
9. Matthew L. Meuter, Amy L. Ostrom, Robert I. Roundtree, and Mary Jo Bitner,
"Understanding Customer Satisfaction with Technology-Based Service Encounters,"
Journal of Marketing 64 (Summer 2000): 50-64.
10. Lynn Shostack, "Planning the Service Encounter," in The Service Encounter, ed.J. A.
Czepiel, M.R. Solomon, and C.F. Surprenant (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1985),
243-254.
11. Carole F. Surprenant and Michael R. Solomon, "Predictability and Personalization in the
Service Encounter/'Jowma/ of Marketing 51 (Winter 1987): 73-80.
12. Matthew L. Meuter and Mary Jo Bitner, "Self-Service Technologies: Extending Service
Frameworks and Identifying Issues for Research," in Marketing Theory and Applications, ed.


D h r u v Grewal and C o n n i e Pechman (Chicago, IL:The American Marketing Association,
1998), 12-19.
13. James G. Barnes, Peter A. D u n n e , and William J. Glynn, "Self-Service and Technology:
Unanticipated and U n i n t e n d e d Effects on Customer Relationships," in Handbook of Service
Marketing and Management, ed. Teresa A. Schwartz and D a w n Iacobucci (Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications, 2000), 8 9 - 1 0 2 .
14. N o r m a n n first used the term " m o m e n t s of t r u t h " in a Swedish study in 1978;
subsequently it appeared in English in Richard N o r m a n n , Service Management: Strategy and
Leadership in Service Businesses, 2d ed. (Chichester, U K : J o h n Wiley & Sons, 1991), 1 6 - 1 7 .
15. Jan Carlzon Moments ofTruth (Cambridge, M A : Ballinger Publishing Co., 1987), 3.
16. Mary Jo Bitner, Bernard Booms, and Lois A. Mohr, "Critical Service Encounters:The
Employee's View," Journal of Marketing 58 (October 1994): 95—106.
17. Eric Langeard, John E. G. Bateson, Christopher H. Lovelock, and Pierre Eiglier, Services
Marketing: New Insights from Consumers and Managers (Cambridge, MA: Marketing Science
Institute, 1981).
18. Richard B. Chase, " W h e r e Does the Customer Fit in a Service Organization?" Harvard
Business Review 56 (November—December 1978), 137—142.
19. Stephen J. Grove, R a y m o n d P. Fisk, and Mary Jo Bitner, "Dramatizing the Service
Experience: A Managerial Approach," in Advances in Services Marketing and Management,
Vol. I, e d . T A. Schwartz, D. E. Bowan, and S. W Brown (Greenwich, C T J A I Press, 1992),
9 1 - 1 2 2 . See also, B.Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, Tlie Experience Economy
(Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1999).
20. Gregory R. H e i m and Kingshu K. Sinha, "Design and Delivery of Electronic Services:
Implications for Customer Value in Electronic Food Retailing," in New Service
Development: Creating Memorable Experiences, ed. James A. Fitzsimmons and M o n a
Fitzsimmons (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2000), 152-182.
21. Flooz.com Web site, www.Flooz.com, January 2001.
22. Stephen J. Grove, R a y m o n d P. Fisk, and Joby John, "Services as Theater: Guidelines and
Implications," in Handbook of Service Marketing and Management, ed.Teresa A. Schwartz and
Dawn Iacobucci (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2000), 2 1 - 3 6 .
23. Elizabeth M a c D o n a l d , " O h , the Horrors of Being a Visiting Accountant," Wall Street
Journal, 10 March 1 9 9 7 , B l .
24. Michael R. Solomon, "Packaging the Service Provider," Tlie Service Industries Journal, July
1986.
25. Stephen J. Grove and R a y m o n d P. Fisk, " T h e Dramaturgy of Services Exchange: An
Analytical Framework for Services Marketing," in Emerging Perspectives on Services
Marketing, ed. L. L. Berry, G. L. Shostack, and G. D. Upah (Chicago, IL:The American
Marketing Association, 1983), 4 5 - 4 9 .
26. Michael R. Solomon, Carol S u p r e n a n t j o h n A. Czepiel, and Evelyn G. Gutman, "A R o l e
Theory Perspective on Dyadic Interactions: T h e Service Encounter/'Jowma/ of Marketing
49 (Winter 1985): 9 9 - 1 1 1 .
27. See R. P. Abelson, "Script Processing in Attitude Formation and Decision-Making," in
Cognitive and Social Behavior, ed.J. S. Carrol and J . W Payne (Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1976),
3 3 - 4 5 ; and Ronald H. H u m p h r e y and Blake E.Ashforth, "Cognitive Scripts and
Prototypes in Service Encounters," in Advances in Service Marketing and Management
(Greenwich, C T : J A I Press, 1994), 175-199.
28. Amy Risch R o d i e and Susan Schultz Klein, " C u s t o m e r Participation in Services
Production and Delivery," in Handbook of Service Marketing and Management, ed. Teresa A.
Schwartz and D a w n Iacobucci (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2000), 1 1 1 - 1 2 5 .
29. Benjamin Schneider and David E. Bowen, Winning the Service Game (Boston: Harvard
Business School Press, 1995), 92.
30. David E. B o w e n , " M a n a g i n g Customers as H u m a n Resources in Service Organizations,"
Human Resources Management 25, no. 3 (1986): 3 7 1 - 3 8 3 .
31. Benjamin Schneider and David E. Bowen, Winning the Service Came, p. 85.
32. Bonnie Farber Canziani,"Leveraging Customer C o m p e t e n c y in Service Firms,"
International Journal of Service Industry Management 8, no. 1(1997): 5 - 2 5 .

Customer Behavior
in Service Environments
Understanding Technology Users—
From Mouse Potatoes to Media Junkies
Delivering services through the Internet is an appealing strategy for related goods and services. Many big-name service providers, like
many firms. However, not every prospective customer is enthusiastic Sprint, Visa, and Bank of America, are willing to pay handsomely to
about this concept.1 As the consumer market for technology grows, receive the results of these surveys. "Technology is not just changing
companies selling products from cellular phones to Internet services the way consumers spend time," says Technographics client Gil
are struggling to understand who their customers are and what moti- Fuchsberg. "It's also changing the way nearly every company is mak-
vates them to buy. The failure of some highly publicized high-tech ing, selling, and delivering products."
goods and services, such as Kodak's PhotoCD and Web TV, has con- To help companies identify the right target customers, Forrester
vinced many marketers that new approaches are needed to help us has defined 10 "technographical" categories ranging from the tech-
understand what makes technology users tick (or not tick, as the case crazy "Fast Forwards" to the disinterested "Sidelined Citizens."
may be). For instance, traditional consumer research may identify who To get an idea of how this segmentation scheme works, consider
bought a computer, but it won't specify which of four different house- the Williams family. Cindy, age 46, is an administrative secretary in
hold members use it and for what purposes. Tulsa, Oklahoma. She and her husband Gary, 44, have one computer
Delivery of many information-based services depends not only they bought three years ago. They don't use this computer much
upon customers having access to relevant equipment—such as com- themselves and are not connected to the Internet (which makes them
puters, cell phones, and PDAs—but also on customers being willing unable to access online services). Their sons, ages 11 and 12, would
and able to use it to access the services in question. Consequently, like an upgraded PC that is better for the computer-based games they
market researchers have been working to determine whether the pur- love, but their parents have no plans to get one. Because of the
chase process is different for such goods and services and to examine Williams' status and income—two traditional segmentation vari-
how people actually use information technology in their home and ables—many researchers might identify them as promising technol-
work environments. ogy buyers.
Forrester Research Inc., a technology consulting firm based in But Forrester maintains such a conclusion would be misleading
Cambridge, Massachusetts, has created a subscription research ser- because it fails to take into account the family's priorities as revealed
vice called Technographics that processes continuous survey data through their behavior. The firm believes that any high-tech firm
from more than 375,000 online and off-line households in the United attempting to market sophisticated products to a family such as the
States, Canada, and Europe. Forrester asks consumers about their Williams would be wasting its money. Technographics classifies the
motivations, buying habits, and financial ability to buy technology- Williams as "Traditionalists"—family-oriented buyers who could afford

new technology-based products but are not convinced that they're
worth buying. Why would the Williams be Traditionalists? The age of
Learning Objectives
their computer (three years old is ancient by tech standards) and the After reading this chapter, you should
lack of an Internet connection are two big clues. On the basis of this be able to
information, marketers of high-tech goods and services might decide ==£> recall the principles of segmentation,
to bypass the Williams in spite of their promising demographic profile. particularly as they relate to
customer behavior

=£> describe the three different types of
attributes that consumers use to
evaluate products and how they
relate to service offerings

=^> discuss why service characteristics
like intangibility and quality control
problems affect consumer evaluation
processes

^> describe the relationship between
customer expectations and customer
satisfaction
=£> explain the purchase process for
services

=£> construct a simple flowchart
showing a service process from the
customers perspective

75


market segmentation: the FOCUSING ON THE RIGHT CUSTOMERS
process of dividing a market
into different groups within In this chapter, we continue to address the question, Who are our customers and how
which all customers share should we relate to them? We start by building on our opening vignette with a further
relevant characteristics that discussion of m a r k e t s e g m e n t a t i o n (see Figure 4.1 for a depiction of Forrester
distinguish them from Research's Technographics approach) and then look at h o w people evaluate, purchase,
customers in other segments.
and use services.
More and more, firms are trying to decide which types of customers they can serve
segment: a group of current
well and make loyal, rather than trying to be all things to all people. However, relatively
or prospective customers
few service businesses can survive by serving just a single s e g m e n t , especially if, like
who share common
characteristics, needs, hotels, airlines, and restaurants, they have a lot of capacity to fill, hour after hour and day
purchasing behavior, or after day during different seasons of the year. Managers facing this problem need to be
consumption patterns. creative and try to attract new segments that will fit well with the firm's capabilities.

FIGURE 4.1
Segmenting Customers
Relative to Technology Use

CHAPTER FOUR • CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR IN SERVICE ENVIRONMENTS 77

We hear the t e r m "mass marketing" less and less these days. Instead the talk is of
"focus" or " t a r g e t i n g " or " m a s s c u s t o m i z a t i o n . " U n d e r l y i n g such terms is the mass customization:
notion of market segmentation, which calls for dividing any given market into dis- offering a service with some
tinctive groups or segments. Segmentation is a key concept in marketing, so if you individualized product
have not previously taken a marketing course, please review the key aspects of seg- elements to a large number of
mentation in the box on pages 78—79. customers at a relatively low
As service providers explore innovative alternatives to creating and delivering ser- price.
vices, especially those relating to the Internet and automated machines, they are discov-

Attracting Older Passengers
at Southwest Airlines
Like most airlines, Southwest Airlines can divide its passengers
into two broad groups: business travelers and leisure travelers.
SOUTHWEST
Although business travelers fly far more frequently than most
leisure travelers, the latter help fill the aircraft outside commuting
AIRLINES
hours and enable Southwest to offer more frequent service at lower
prices. A significant target segment within the broad leisure group TRAVEL TIPS
is older customers, who are growing in numbers as the population FOR SENIORS
ages and has the time and inclination to travel—and can afford to
do so at Southwest's very low fares.
However, many senior citizens are not experienced flyers. In
fact, some have never flown before in their lives. To encourage
these people to fly, Southwest has created a brochure titled
"Travel Tips for Seniors" (see the reproduced cover), which is edu-
cational in nature rather than promotional. It begins by pointing
out that the airline offers special fares to people aged 65 and
older, then continues with bullet-pointed tips on Packing and
Travel, Making Reservations, Checking In, and Travel Talk
Language. The brochure concludes with a map of the United
States, showing the cities that Southwest serves, plus the head
office address, the airline's toll-free phone number, and its Web
site address.
Through such efforts, the airline seeks to demystify air travel;
help older people prepare for a journey by air; and explain each
step in what is, for an inexperienced traveler, a relatively complex
process. The brochure also explains the terms commonly used in
airline travel, many of which (such as preboardor gate agent) are
not often heard outside an airport. In this way, older travelers will Dreaming of jetting away to explore the
know what to expect and—equally important—what is expected history and fun of these United States?
Southwest Airlines would like to make
of them. Knowledge reduces anxiety, thus eliminating one of the
getting away as easy and fun as
barriers to trying something new. To the extent that readers of the possible for those age 65 or over by
brochure appreciate the advice, try a flight on Southwest, and enjoy offering some travel tips to Seniors who
are keen on life and life's adventures!
it, the airline can expect to create loyal customers and stimulate
positive word of mouth.


ering that not all customers are equally receptive to new technologies.This situation has
led to development of segmentation schemes based on how willing and able customers
are to use the latest technologies, as illustrated by our discussion of the Technographics
framework developed by Forrester Research.
An individual's behavior often reflects personal attitudes and beliefs. Recent
research by Parasuraman shows that certain personal characteristics are associated with
customer readiness to accept new technologies. These attributes include innovativeness,
a positive view of technology, and a belief that technology offers increased control, flex-
ibility, and efficiency in people's lives. Factors that are negatively associated with
the adoption of technology include distrust, a perceived lack of control, feelings of
being overwhelmed by technology, and skepticism about whether the technology
will perform satisfactorily. Service providers must consider these factors before im-
plementing new technologies that may negatively affect customers' evaluations of the
service experience.

UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER NEEDS
AND EXPECTATIONS
needs: subconscious, deeply Customers buy goods and services to meet specific needs, and they evaluate the out-
felt desires that often concern comes of their purchases based on what they expect to receive. Needs, which may rep-
long-term existence and resent a useful basis for segmentation, are often deeply rooted in people's unconscious
identity issues. minds and may concern long-term existence and identity issues. When people feel a
need, they are motivated to take action to fulfill it. In many instances, purchase of a good
or service may be seen as offering the best solution to meeting a particular need.
Subsequently, consumers may compare what they received against what they expected,
especially if it cost them money, time, or effort that could have been devoted to obtain-
ing an alternative solution.

Review of Principles of
Market Segmentation
~~ User characteristics may vary from one person to another,
Market segmentation is central to almost any professionally reflecting demographic characteristics (e.g., age, income, and edu-
planned and executed marketing'program. The concept of seg- cation), geographic location, and psychographics (the attitudes,
mentation recognizes that customers and prospects within a mar- values, lifestyles, and opinions of decision makers and users).
ket vary across a variety of dimensions and that not every seg- Another important variable is the specific benefits that individuals
ment constitutes a desirable target for the firm's marketing and corporate purchasers seek from consuming a particular good
efforts. or service.
Market segments. A segment is composed of a group of Usage behavior relates to how a product is purchased and
current and potential customers who share common characteris- used. Among such variables are when and where purchase and
tics, needs, purchasing behavior, or consumption patterns. consumption take place, the quantities consumed ("heavy users"
Effective segmentation should group buyers into segments in are always of particular interest to marketers), frequency and pur-
ways that result in as much similarity as possible on the relevant pose of use, the occasions under which consumption takes place
characteristics within each segment but dissimilarity on those (sometimes referred to as "occasion segmentation"), and sensitivity
same characteristics between each segment. Two broad cate- to such marketing variables as advertising, pricing, speed and other
gories of variables are useful in describing the differences service features, and availability of alternative delivery systems.
between segments. The first deals with user characteristics, the Target segment. After evaluating different segments in the
second with usage behavior. market, a firm should focus its marketing efforts by targeting one

C H A P T E R FOUR • CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR IN SERVICE E N V I R O N M E N T S 79

Types of Needs
Abraham Maslow identified five categories of human needs—physiological, safety, love,
esteem, and self-actualization—and proposed that basic needs like food and shelter must
be met before others can be fulfilled.3 Although poverty, malnutrition, and lack of hous-
ing remain pressing issues around the world, including N o r t h America, physiological
needs have long ceased to be the sole issue for most residents of advanced industrialized
countries like the United States and Canada.
Greater prosperity means that increasing numbers of individuals are seeking to sat-
isfy social and self-actualization needs. These needs create demand for more sophisti-
cated goods and services. For instance, travel and leisure services have been a major ben-
eficiary of increased disposable income, leading many firms to develop a variety of
enticing vacation packages. However, as customer needs and preferences continue to
evolve, the leisure industry needs to adapt its offerings accordingly.
In N o r t h America, as in other highly developed regions of the world, there is evi-
dence that many consumers are reaching the point where they have most of the phys-
ical goods they want and are n o w turning to services to fill new or still unmet needs.
Increased spending on m o r e elaborate vacations, sports, e n t e r t a i n m e n t , restaurant
meals, and other service experiences is assuming greater priority, even at the expense of
spending slightly less on physical goods. According to Daniel Bethamy of American
Express, consumers want "memorable experiences, not gadgets." 4 This shift in c o n -
sumer behavior and attitudes provides opportunities for those service companies that
understand and meet changing needs, continuing to adapt their offerings over time as
needs evolve. For example, some astute service providers have capitalized on the
increased interest in extreme sports by offering services like guided mountain climbs,
paragliding, white water rafting trips, and mountain biking adventures. And new finan-
cial services (like online investment brokers) have been introduced to cash in on con-
sumers' willingness to risk their financial futures by trading in the stock market. 5 T h e
notion of service experiences also extends to business and industrial situations; con-

or more segments that fit well with the firm's capabilities and >- What do customers in each segment see as our firm's
goals. Target segments are often defined on the basis of several competitive advantages and disadvantages? Are the latter
variables. For instance, a hotel in a particular city might target correctable?
prospective guests who shared such user characteristics as >- In light of this analysis, which specific segment(s) should
(1) traveling on business (demographic segmentation), (2) visiting we target?
clients within a defined area around the hotel (geographic segmen-
>• How should we differentiate our marketing efforts from
tation), and (3) willing to pay a certain daily room rate (user
those of the competition to attract and retain the types of
response).
customers that we want?
Issues for research. When studying the marketplace, service
marketers should be looking for answers to such questions as: *- What is the long-term financial value to us of a loyal cus-
tomer in each of the segments that we currently serve
>• In what useful ways can the market for our firm's service
(and those that we would like to serve)?
be segmented?
>• How should our firm build long-term relationships with
>• What are the needs of the specific segments that we have
customers from the target segments? And what strategies
identified?
are needed to create long-term loyalty?
>- Which of these segments best fits both our institutional
mission and our current operational capabilities?


sider the example of m o d e r n trade shows where exhibitors, including manufacturers,
set out to engage the customer's interest through interactive presentations and even
entertainment. 6

Expectations and How They Are Formed
expectations: internal Customers' expectations about what constitutes good service vary from one business
standards that customers use to another. For example, although accounting and veterinary surgery are both profes-
to judge the quality of a sional services, the experience of meeting an accountant to talk about your tax returns
service experience. tends to be very different from visiting a vet to get treatment for your sick pet.
Expectations are also likely to vary in relation to differently positioned service providers
in the same industry. While travelers expect no-frills service for a short domestic flight

Club Med Responds to
Changing Customer Needs
have fun as "swinging singles," these guests were concerned
When Gilbert Trigano launched "Club Med" in the 1950s, the con- about what to do with their children on vacation. They were also
cept of holiday villages, offering limitless food and innumerable interested in achieving a healthy lifestyle, including nutritious food,
sporting activities in splendid natural surroundings at a single low-impact exercises, and other ways to restore physical and emo-
price, was unique. It also reflected a significant change in social tional well-being. By 1990, the conspicuous consumption of the
behavior. Trigano recognized the emergence of a new, younger 1980s was also giving way to more emphasis on value for money.
segment among French and other European consumers, who were The emergence of low-price, all-inclusive holiday package tours
influenced by growing affluence and American values rather than was eroding Club Med's traditional customer base, yet the Club had
traditional formality. The Club Med concept provided an attractive not lowered its own prices in response.
form of escapism with its informality and friendly customer service After huge losses in 1996, the Trigano family was ousted from
from an enthusiastic staff. The atmosphere attracted a crowd that the daily running of the company, and Philippe Bourguignon—who
was primarily young, affluent, educated, and single. These people had turned Disneyland Paris around—was brought in to revive the
enjoyed sports, travel, and exotic locations. It was a burgeoning Club. In his words, "Club Med has tried to be everything for every-
market. one. But you have to make choices " His plan was to enhance
By the late 1960s, Club Med, with its communal lifestyle— value for money, attract a younger clientele, and extend the vaca-
which included shared huts, group activities, and large dining tion season by providing services such as entertainment, sports,
tables designed to break down social barriers between guests— and cafes throughout the year rather than simply during an annual
had captured the spirit of the times. In the 1970s and 1980s, as holiday. His approach was aimed at meeting the needs of two very
standards of living and status-seeking behavior continued to grow, different kinds of segments—the younger, value-conscious market
leisure became a much more important part of people's lives. Club that Club Med had not yet succeeded in winning over and the
Med opened villages around the world and epitomized the ultimate mature group of customers who had been the backbone of Club
leisure experience: a relatively expensive holiday, either at the Med's past success but whose loyalty was now at risk.
beach or at winter ski villages in the mountains. To meet the needs of younger consumers, Bourguignon
Yet 10 years later, problems began to emerge. The group's immediately closed several unprofitable villages and converted a
financial situation weakened and there was widespread criticism number of others into lower-priced camps branded as "Club
that the "Club concept" had become outdated. Critics claimed that Aquarius."The traditional Club Med concept has been redesigned
younger people were now more individualistic and no longer valued in order to be more responsive to the "creature comfort" require-
the kinds of group activities for which Club Med was renowned. ments of older, existing customers. Many Club Med resorts now
Finding new young customers was becoming harder and harder. cater to families and have special activities to keep children
Meantime, the Club's most loyal customers had grown older and occupied while parents enjoy a much-needed jog on the beach or
had different interests and needs. Rather than seeking ways to a massage in the spa.


on a discount carrier, they would undoubtedly be very dissatisfied with that same level
of service on a full-service airline flying from Los Angeles to Sydney, or from Toronto to
Paris, even in economy class. Consequently, it's very important for marketers to under-
stand customer expectations of their own firm's service offerings—especially as they
relate to specific product elements.
W h e n individual customers or corporate purchasing department employees evalu-
ate the quality of a service, they may be judging it against some internal standard that
existed prior to the service experience. 7 Perceived service quality results from cus-
tomers c o m p a r i n g the service they perceive they have received against what they
expected to receive. People's expectations about services tend to be strongly influenced
by their own prior experience as customers—with a particular service provider, with
competing services in the same industry, or with related services in different industries.
If they have no relevant prior experience, customers may base their prepurchase expec-
tations on factors like word-of-mouth comments, news stories, or the firm's marketing
efforts.
O v e r time, certain n o r m s develop for w h a t to expect from service providers
within a given industry. As we discussed in Chapter 3, roles and scripts help reinforce
these expectations for both customers and service employees. N o r m s are also affected
by customer experiences and supplier-controlled factors like advertising, pricing, and
the physical appearance of the service facility and its employees. For example,
Americans don't expect to be greeted by a doorman and a valet at a Motel 6, but they
certainly do at a R i t z - C a r l t o n hotel, w h e r e service levels are k n o w n to be m u c h
higher.
C u s t o m e r expectations may also vary from one industry to another, reflecting
industry reputations and past experience. In many countries, people have lower expec-
tations of government service providers than they do of private companies.
Expectations may even vary within different demographic groups (e.g., between men
and women, older and younger consumers, or blue- versus white-collar workers).To
make things more complicated, expectations also differ from country to country. For
instance, while it may be acceptable and unsurprising for a train to arrive several hours
late in some countries, rail schedules are so precise in Switzerland that the margin for
error is measured in seconds.

The Components of Customer Expectations
Customer expectations embrace several different elements, including desired service,
adequate service, predicted service, and a zone of tolerance that falls between the desired
and adequate service levels. 8 T h e model shown in Figure 4.2 shows how expectations
for desired service and adequate service are formed.

Desired and A d e q u a t e S e r v i c e Levels T h e type of service customers hope to
receive is termed desired service. It is a "wished for" level—a combination of what desired service: the
customers believe can and should be delivered in the context of their personal needs. "wished for" level of service
However, most customers are realistic and understand that companies can't always quality that a customer
deliver the level of service they would prefer; hence, they also have a threshold level of believes can and should be
delivered.
expectations, t e r m e d a d e q u a t e service, w h i c h is defined as the m i n i m u m level of
service customers will accept without being dissatisfied. A m o n g the factors that set this
adequate service: the
expectation are situational factors affecting service performance and the level of service
minimum level of service that
that might be anticipated from alternative suppliers. T h e levels of b o t h desired and
a customer will accept
adequate service expectations may reflect explicit and implicit promises by the provider, without being dissatisfied.
w o r d - o f - m o u t h c o m m e n t s , and the customer's past experience (if any) w i t h this
organization. 9


FIGURE 4.2
Factors That Influence
Customer Expectations of
Service

Source: Adapted from Valarie A. Zeithaml, Leonard A. Berry, and A. Parasuraman, "The Nature and Determinants of Customer Expectations
of Service," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 21, no. 1 (1993): 1-12.

P r e d i c t e d S e r v i c e Level T h e level of service that customers actually anticipate
predicted service: the level receiving is k n o w n as p r e d i c t e d s e r v i c e , which directly affects h o w they define
of service quality a customer "adequate service" on that occasion. If good service is predicted, the adequate level will
believes a firm will actually be higher than if poorer service is predicted. Customer predictions of service may be
deliver. situation specific. For example, from past experience, customers visiting a museum on a
summer day may expect to see larger crowds if the weather is poor than if the sun is
shining. So a 10-minute "wait to buy tickets on a cool, rainy day in summer might not
fall below their adequate service level.

Z o n e of T o l e r a n c e T h e inherent nature of services makes consistent service
delivery difficult across employees in the same company and even by the same service
employee from one day to another. T h e extent to which customers are willing to accept
zone of tolerance: the this variation is called the z o n e of tolerance (shown in Figure 4.2). A performance
range within which that falls below the adequate service level will cause frustration and dissatisfaction,
customers are willing to whereas o n e that exceeds the desired service level will b o t h please and surprise
accept variations in service customers, creating the "customer delight" that we discussed earlier in this chapter.
delivery. Another way of looking at the zone of tolerance is to think of it as the range of service
within which customers don't pay explicit attention to service performance. When
service falls outside this range, customers will react either positively or negatively.
T h e zone of tolerance can increase or decrease for individual customers depending
on factors like competition, price, or importance of specific service attributes. These
factors most often affect adequate service levels (which may move up or d o w n in
response to situational factors), while desired service levels tend to move up very slowly
in response to accumulated customer experiences. Consider a small-business owner
w h o needs some advice from her accountant. H e r ideal level of professional service may
be a thoughtful response by the next business day. But if she makes the request at the
time of year w h e n all accountants are busy preparing corporate and individual tax
returns, she will probably k n o w from experience not to expect a fast response. Although
her ideal service level probably won't change, her zone of tolerance for response time
may be much broader because she has a lower adequate service threshold.


HOW CUSTOMERS EVALUATE
SERVICE PERFORMANCES
Service performances—especially those that contain few tangible clues—can be diffi-
cult for consumers to evaluate. As a result, there is a greater risk of making a purchase
that proves to be disappointing. If a customer buys a physical good that proves unsatis-
factory, the product can usually be returned or replaced—although this action may
require extra effort on the customer's part. These options are not as readily available
with services, although some services can be repeated. Consider the four process-based
categories of service introduced in Chapter 2. In the case of possession-processing services,
repeating the performance may be an acceptable option. For example, a cleaning service
can reclean an office if a customer complains about the quality of the job. By contrast,
people-processing services that are performed on people's bodies may be hard to reverse. A
bad haircut must be grown out, and the consequences of a faulty surgical operation or a
poorly done tattoo may last a lifetime.
Mental stimulus-processing services like education, live entertainment, or sporting
events can also be difficult to "replace" if quality does not meet customers' expectations.
Theatergoers cannot realistically ask for their money back if actors perform their roles
poorly or the script is bad. Sports fans can't expect refunds if their favorite team plays
badly. (But they do find ways of letting the players know of their dissatisfaction! O n e
university recently prohibited people from booing in the football stadium w h e n the
home team was playing poorly.) Similarly, universities don't usually compensate students
for poor quality classroom experiences. Even if a college let dissatisfied students repeat
classes free of charge with a different instructor, those students would still incur signifi-
cant extra time and psychological costs.
Finally, information-based services present risks for customers w h e n service quality is
unsatisfactory. Banking or accounting errors may not be noticed until later, by which
time damage may have been d o n e to a customer's reputation (e.g., a check was
returned rather than paid, or a faulty tax return was filed). Customers w h o receive a
questionable consulting r e c o m m e n d a t i o n or medical o p i n i o n have the o p t i o n of
seeking a second opinion, but that will involve extra money, time, and even psycho-
logical costs.

A Continuum of Product Attributes
As we've pointed out, one of the basic differences between goods and services is that
services are harder for customers to evaluate. We also briefly mentioned that product product attributes: all
attributes could be divided into search, experience, and credence properties. 1 1 We'll features (both tangible and
expand on the concept of these three categories here, since they provide a useful frame- intangible) of a good or
work for understanding how consumers evaluate different types of market offerings. All service that can be evaluated
products can be placed on a continuum ranging from "easy to evaluate" to "difficult to by customers.
evaluate" depending on whether they are high in search attributes, experience attrib-
utes, or credence attributes. As shown in Figure 4.3, most physical goods are located
toward the left of the spectrum, with services to the middle or right.

Search A t t r i b u t e s Physical goods tend to emphasize those attributes that allow
customers to evaluate a product before purchasing it. Features like style, color, texture,
taste, and sound allow prospective consumers to try out, taste test, or "test drive" the
product prior to purchase. These tangible attributes help customers understand and search attributes: product
evaluate what they will get in exchange for their m o n e y and reduce the sense of characteristics that
uncertainty or risk associated with the purchase occasion. Goods such as clothing, consumers can readily
furniture, cars, electronic equipment, and foods are high in search attributes. evaluate prior to purchase.


FIGURE 4.3
How Product Attributes
Affect Ease of Evaluation

Source: Adapted from Valarie A. Zeithaml, "How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ Between Goods and Services," in J. H. Donnelly
and W. R. George, Marketing of Services (Chicago: American Marketing Association, 1981).

E x p e r i e n c e Attributes W h e n attributes can't be evaluated prior to purchase,
customers must "experience" the service to know what they are getting. Holidays, live
experience attributes: entertainment performances, sporting events, and restaurants fall into the e x p e r i e n c e
product performance attributes category. Although people can examine brochures, scroll through Web sites
features that customers can describing the holiday destination, view travel films, or read reviews by travel experts, they
only evaluate during service can't really evaluate or feel the dramatic beauty associated with hiking in the Canadian
delivery. Rockies or the magic of scuba diving in the Caribbean until they actually experience
these activities. N o r can customers always rely on information from friends, family, or
other personal sources when evaluating these and similar services, because different people
may interpret or respond to the same stimuli in different ways. Think about your own
experiences in following up on recommendations from friends to see a particular film.
Although you probably walked into the theater with high expectations, you may have felt
disappointed after viewing the film if you didn't like it as much as your friends did.

Credence Attributes Product characteristics that customers find impossible to
credence attributes: evaluate confidently even after purchase and consumption are k n o w n as c r e d e n c e
product characteristics that attributes, because the customer is forced to trust that certain benefits have been
customers may not be able to delivered, even though it may be hard to document them. For example, relatively few
evaluate even after purchase people possess e n o u g h knowledge about financial markets to assess w h e t h e r their
and consumption. stockbroker got the best possible returns on their invested funds. Patients can't usually
evaluate how well their dentists have performed complex dental procedures. And most
college students must simply have faith that their professors are providing them with a
worthwhile educational experience!

Strategic Responses to Difficulties in Evaluating Services
Most goods fall to the left of the continuum in Figure 4.3, since they are high in search
properties. Most services, however, tend to be located from the center to the right of the
continuum. T h e reason for this relates to two of the basic differences between goods and
services that we discussed in Chapter 1: intangibility of service performances and vari-

CHAPTER FOUR . CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR IN SERVICE ENVIRONMENTS 85

ability of inputs and outputs (which often leads to quality control problems). These
characteristics present special challenges for service marketers, requiring them to find
ways to reassure customers and reduce the perceived risks associated with buying and
using services whose performance and value can't easily be predicted.

Intangibility of S e r v i c e P e r f o r m a n c e s Marketers whose products are high in
experience characteristics often try to provide m o r e search attributes for their
customers. O n e approach is to offer a free trial. Some providers of online computer
services have adopted this strategy. For example, A O L offers potential users a free
software diskette and the chance to try its services without charge for a certain number
of hours. This reduces customers' concerns about entering into a paid contract without
first being able to test the service. A O L hopes that consumers will be "hooked" on its
Web services by the end of the free trial period.
Advertising is another way to help customers visualize service benefits. For
instance, the only tangible thing credit card customers get directly from the company is
a small plastic card, followed at monthly intervals by an account statement. But that's
hardly the essence of the benefits provided by this low-contact service. Think about the
credit card advertisements you've seen recently. Did they promote the card itself or did
they feature exciting products you could purchase and exotic places to which you could
travel by using your card? Such advertisements stimulate consumer interest by showing
physical evidence of the benefits of credit card use.
Providers of services that are high in credence characteristics have an even greater
challenge. Their benefits may be so intangible that customers can't evaluate the quality
of what they've received even after the service has been purchased and consumed. In
this case, marketers often try to provide tangible cues to customers about their services.
Professionals like doctors, architects, and lawyers often display their degrees and other
certifications for the same reason—they want customers to "see" the credentials that
qualify them to provide expert service. Many professional firms have developed Web
sites to inform prospective clients about their services, highlight their expertise, and
even showpiece successful past engagements.

Variability and Quality Control P r o b l e m s T h e continuum of product attributes
in Figure 4.3 also has implications for another distinguishing service characteristic—the
degree of customer involvement in the production process. Products that are highest in
search attributes are most often physical goods that are manufactured in a factory with no
customer involvement, then purchased and consumed. Quality is much easier to control
in this situation since the elements of production can be more closely monitored and
failures spotted before the product reaches the customer. In fact, some manufacturers like
Motorola claim to be able to guarantee product quality at the so-called six-sigma level—
that is 99.999 percent! However, quality control for services that fall in the experience
and credence ranges is complicated by customer involvement in production.
Evaluations of such services may be affected by customers' interactions with the
physical setting of the business, employees, and even other customers. For example, your
experience of a haircut may c o m b i n e your impression of the hair salon, h o w well
you can describe what you want to the stylist, the stylist's ability to understand and
do what you've requested, and the appearance of the other customers and employees
in the salon. Stylists note that it's difficult for them to do a good j o b if customers are
uncooperative.
Many credence services have few tangible characteristics and rely on the expertise
of a professional service provider to provide a quality offering. In this case, providers
must be able to interact with customers effectively to produce a satisfactory product.
Problems can occur w h e n this interaction doesn't produce an outcome that meets cus-
tomers' expectations, even though the service provider may not be at fault.


Service providers must also work hard to maintain consistent levels of quality. This
is more difficult w h e n production involves direct interaction with service employees,
whose performances are likely to vary from one day to another. But customers don't
want variations in quality, as Michael Flatley, the Irish founder, director, and lead
dancer of Lord of the Dance knows. As he said once in a television interview, " T h e p e o -
ple w h o drive hundreds of miles to see this show . . . they don't want to k n o w I'm
almost 39 . . . they don't want to k n o w my legs are sore . . . they don't want to k n o w I
go h o m e and put my feet in ice.They just want to know that what they're seeing is the
best show ever—tonight, not tomorrow night!" 1 2 Flatley's insistence on providing the
best performance possible every time has produced results—his company achieves
sold-out performances around the world, and audiences often show their appreciation
by giving the dancers a standing ovation. He has recently moved from dancing to pro-
ducing the shows, counting on the younger dancers to provide consistently thrilling
performances.

Progressive Insurance
Delights Its Customers
ors for the second year in a row from G6mez.com (an Internet qual-
Progressive Insurance Corporation is one of the largest writers of ity measurement firm). Progressive was cited for pleasantly sur-
private passenger auto insurance in the United States. The firm prising its customers with consumer-friendly innovations and
prides itself on providing extraordinary customer service—and its extraordinary customer service.
accomplishments in this area are impressive. Its industry-leading William McAllister, the unfortunate auto accident victim in the
innovations have included Immediate Response, the first 24/7 scenario described above, experienced something unusual. He
claims service in the industry, and claims representatives traveling was actually delighted at the service provided by his insurance
in Immediate Response Vehicles (introduced in 1994) that can company! But what is delight? Is it more than just a very high level
come straight to the scene of an accident. Consider the following of satisfaction? One view is that achieving delight requires focus-
scenario. ing on what is currently unknown or unexpected by the customer.
> The crash site in Tampa, Florida, was chaotic and tense. Two In short, it's more than just avoiding problems—the "zero de-
cars were damaged and although the passengers weren't fects" strategy. Managers of companies like Progressive that are
bleeding, they were shaken up and scared. Lance Edgy, a known for their commitment to quality believe that satisfaction
senior claim representative for Progressive, arrived on the is not enough, making comments such as "we must take quality
scene just minutes after the collision, bearing a clipboard, a beyond customer satisfaction to customer delight" and "sheer
camera, and a cassette recorder. He calmed the victims and survival means companies have to deliver more than customer
advised them on medical care, repair shops, police reports, satisfaction."
and legal procedures. Edgy then invited William McAllister, The results of a research project done by Oliver, Rust, and
Progressive's policyholder, into an air-conditioned van Varki13 suggest that delight is a function of three components: (1)
equipped with comfortable chairs, a desk, and two cellular unexpectedly high levels of performance, (2) arousal (e.g., sur-
phones. Even before the tow trucks cleared away the prise, excitement), and (3) positive affect (e.g., pleasure, joy, or
wreckage, Edgy had offered his client a settlement for the happiness). Satisfaction is a function of positively disconfirmed
market value of his totaled 1988 Mercury Topaz. McAllister, expectations (better than expected) and positive affect. These
who did not appear to have been at fault in this accident, researchers ask "If delight is a function of surprisingly unex-
stated in amazement: "This is great—someone coming pected pleasure, is it possible for delight to be manifest in truly
right out here and taking charge. I didn't expect it at all." mundane services and products, such as newspaper delivery or
Progressive Insurance continues to find new ways to delight trash collecting?"
its customers. Its Web site, progressive.com, recently won top hon-

Source: Ronald Henkoff, "Service is Everybody's Business," Fortune, June 27, 1994; Progressive insurance Corporation Web site, www.progressive.com, January 2001.


How Perceived Quality Relates to Satisfaction
The terms "quality" and "satisfaction" are sometimes used interchangeably. But some
researchers believe that perceived service quality is just one component of c u s t o m e r service quality: customers'
satisfaction, which also reflects price/quality trade-offs, and personal and situational long-term, cognitive
factors. 14 evaluations of a firm's service
Satisfaction can be defined as an attitude-like j u d g m e n t following a purchase act delivery.
or a series of consumer product i n t e r a c t i o n s . 5 Most studies are based on the theory
customer satisfaction: a
that the confirmation/disconfirmation of preconsumption product standards is the
short-term emotional
essential determinant of satisfaction. 16 This means that customers have certain ser-
reaction to a specific service
vice standards in mind prior to c o n s u m p t i o n (their expectations), observe service
performance.
performance and compare it to their standards, and then form satisfaction judgments
based upon this comparison. T h e resulting j u d g m e n t is labeled negative disconftrmation
if the service is worse than expected, positive disconftrmation if better than expected,
and simple confirmation if as expected. W h e n there is substantial positive disconfir-
mation, plus pleasure and an element of surprise, then customers are likely to be
delighted. Having read the vignette about Progressive Insurance (see box), think
about your own insurance provider—if you have o n e — a n d the kind of service you
receive. Are you delighted with the service—or even satisfied? However, once cus-
tomers have been delighted, their expectations are raised. T h e y will be dissatisfied if
service levels return to previous levels, and it will take more effort to "delight" t h e m
in the future.
W h y is satisfaction important to service managers? There's evidence of strategic
links between the level of customer satisfaction and a firm's overall performance.
Researchers from the University of Michigan found that on average, every 1 percent
increase in customer satisfaction is associated with a 2.37 percent increase in a firm's
Return on Investment (ROI). 1 9 Fournier and Mick state:
Customer satisfaction is central to the marketing concept. . . . [I]t is now common to find
mission statements designed around the satisfaction notion, marketing plans and incen-
tive programs that target satisfaction as a goal, and consumer communications that trum-
pet awards for satisfaction achievements in the marketplace.
Some marketers claim that the phrase "your satisfaction is guaranteed or your
money back" has become a standard promise for many businesses. However, customer
satisfaction is not an end in itself. Instead, it's the means to achieving key business
goals. First, satisfaction is inextricably linked to customer loyalty and relationship
commitment. Second, highly satisfied (delighted) customers spread positive word-of-
m o u t h . T h e y b e c o m e walking, talking advertisements for an organization w h o s e
service has pleased them, thus lowering the cost of attracting new customers. First
Direct, the all-telephone bank described in the o p e n i n g story for C h a p t e r 3, has
gained h u g e n u m b e r s of n e w customers from r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s by its existing
account holders. R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s are particularly important for providers of ser-
vices that are high in credence attributes, such as professional service firms.The qual-
ity of legal, accounting, consulting, and engineering services, for example, is hard to
evaluate in advance of purchase, so positive comments by a satisfied client reduce the
risk for a new purchaser.
Third, highly satisfied customers may be m o r e forgiving. S o m e o n e w h o has
enjoyed good service delivery many times in the past is more likely to believe that a ser-
vice failure is a deviation from the norm. It may take more than one unsatisfactory inci-
dent for strongly loyal customers to change their perceptions and consider switching to
an alternative supplier. In this respect, high levels of customer satisfaction act like an
insurance policy against the impact of a single failure. Finally, delighted customers are
less susceptible to competitive offerings than customers w h o are simply satisfied or are
unhappy with their current service provider.


THE PURCHASE PROCESS FOR SERVICES
W h e n customers decide to buy a service to meet an unfilled need, they go through
purchase process: the what is often a complex purchase process. This process has three separate stages: the
stages a customer goes prepurchase stage, the service encounter stage, and the postpurchase stage, each contain-
through in choosing, ing two or more steps (see Figure 4.4).
consuming, and evaluating a
service.
Prepurchase Stage
prepurchase stage: the T h e decision to buy and use a service is made in the prepurchase stage. Individual
first stage in the service needs and expectations are very important here because they influence what alterna-
purchase process, where tives customers will consider. If the purchase is routine and relatively low risk, cus-
customers identify tomers may move quickly to selecting and using a specific service provider. But w h e n
alternatives, weigh benefits more is at stake or a service is about to be used for the first time, they may conduct an
and risks, and make a
purchase decision.

FIGURE 4.4
The Purchase Process:
Customer Activities in
Selecting, Using, and
Evaluating Service


intensive information search (contrast how you approached the process of applying to
college versus buying a pizza or a hamburger!). T h e next step is to identify potential
suppliers and then weigh the benefits and risks of each option before making a final
decision.
This element of perceived risk is especially relevant for services that are high in
experience or credence attributes and thus difficult to evaluate prior to purchase and
consumption. First-time users are especially likely to face greater uncertainty. Risk per-
ceptions reflect customers' judgments of the probability of a negative outcome. T h e
worse the possible outcome and the more likely it is to occur, the higher the perception
of risk. Different types of perceived risks are outlined in Table 4.1.
W h e n customers feel uncomfortable with risks, they can use a variety of methods
to reduce them during the prepurchase stage. In fact, you've probably tried some of
the following risk-reduction strategies yourself before deciding to purchase a service:
>- Seeking information from respected personal sources (family, friends, peers)
>- Relying on a firm with a good reputation
>» Looking for guarantees and warranties
>- Visiting service facilities or trying aspects of the service before purchasing
»- Asking knowledgeable employees about competing services
>- Examining tangible cues or other physical evidence
>• Using the Web to compare service offerings

Type of Risk Examples of Customer Concerns T A B L E 4.1
Perceived Risks in
Functional risk (unsatisfactory • Will this training course give me the skill 1 need to get a better job?
Purchasing and Using
performance outcomes) • Will this credit card be accepted wherever and whenever 1 want to make a
purchase? Services
• Will the dry cleaner be able to remove the stains from this jacket?
Financial risk (monetary loss, • Will 1 lose money if 1 make the investment recommended by my stockbroker?
unexpected costs) • Will 1 incur lots of unanticipated expenses if 1 go on this vacation?
• Will repairing my car cost more than the original estimate?
Temporal risk (wasting time, • Will 1 have to wait in line before entering the exhibition?
consequences of delays) • Will service at this restaurant be so slow that 1 will be late for my afternoon
meeting?
• Will the renovations to our bathroom be completed before our friends come to
stay with us?
Physical risk (personal injury • Will 1 get hurt if 1 go skiing at this resort?
or damage to possessions) • Will the contents of this package get damaged in the mail?
• Will 1 fall sick if 1 travel abroad on vacation?
Psychological risk (personal • How can 1 be sure this aircraft won't crash?
fears and emotions) • Will the consultant make me feel stupid?
• Will the doctor's diagnosis upset me?
Social risk (how others • What will my friends think of me if they learn 1 stayed at this cheap motel?
think and react) • Will my relatives approve of the restaurant 1 have chosen for the family reunion
dinner?
• Will my business colleagues disapprove of my selection of an unknown law
firm?
Sensory risk (unwanted impacts • Will 1 get a view of the parking lot from my room, rather than the beach?
on any of the five senses) • Will the bed be uncomfortable?
• Will 1 be kept awake by noise from the guests in the room next door?
• Will my room smell of stale cigarette smoke?
• Will the coffee at breakfast taste disgusting?


O n e strategy to help reduce the risk perceived by customers is to educate them about
the features of the service, describe the types of users w h o can most benefit from it, and
offer advice on how to obtain the best results.

Service Encounter Stage
After deciding to purchase a specific service, customers experience one or more con-
service encounter stage: tacts with their chosen service provider. T h e service e n c o u n t e r stage often begins
the second stage in the with submitting an application, requesting a reservation, or placing an order. As we saw
service purchase process in Chapter 3, contacts may take the form of personal exchanges between customers and
where the service delivery service employees, or impersonal interactions with machines or computers. In high-
takes place through contact services, such as restaurants, health care, hotels, and public transportation, cus-
interactions between tomers may become actively involved in one or more service processes. Often, they
customers and the service
experience a variety of elements during service delivery, each of which may provide
provider.
clues to service quality.
Service e n v i r o n m e n t s include all of the tangible characteristics to which cus-
tomers are exposed. T h e appearance of building exteriors and interiors; the nature of
furnishings and equipment; the presence or absence of dirt, odor, or noise; and the
appearance and behavior of other customers can all serve to shape expectations and per-
ceptions of service quality.
Service p e r s o n n e l are the most important factor in most high-contact service
encounters, where they have direct, face-to-face interactions with customers. But they
can also affect service delivery in low-contact situations like telephone-based service
delivery. Knowledgeable customers often expect employees to follow specific scripts
during the service encounter; excessive deviations from these scripts can lead to dissat-
isfaction. Handling service encounters effectively on the part of the employee usually
combines learned skills with the right type of personality.
S u p p o r t s e r v i c e s are made up of the materials and e q u i p m e n t plus all of
the backstage processes that allow front stage employees to do their work properly.
This element is critical, because many customer-contact employees can't perform
their jobs well without receiving internal services from support personnel. As an old
service-firm axiom goes: "If you aren't servicing the customer, you are servicing
someone w h o is."" 1

Other Customers W h e n customers use people-processing or mental stimulus-
processing services, they often find themselves in close proximity to other customers.
Waiting rooms at a medical clinic may be filled with other patients; trains, buses, or
aircraft are usually carrying many passengers at once, requiring travelers to sit next to
strangers. Similarly, restaurants serve many patrons simultaneously, and a successful play
or film will attract a large audience (in fact, the absence of an audience is a bad sign!).
Unfortunately, some of these other customers occasionally behave badly, thus detracting
from the service experience. Managers need to anticipate such incidents and have
contingency plans in place for h o w to deal with the different types of problems that
might occur.

postpurchase stage: the Postpurchase Stage
final stage in the service
purchase process where During the postpurchase stage, customers continue a process they began in the service
customers evaluate service encounter stage—evaluating service quality and their satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the
quality and their service experience. T h e outcome of this process will affect their future intentions, such as
satisfaction/dissatisfaction whether or not to remain loyal to the provider that delivered service and whether to pass
with the service outcome. on positive or negative recommendations to family members and other associates.


Customers evaluate service quality by comparing what they expected with what
they perceive they received. If their expectations are met or exceeded, they believe they
have received high-quality service. If the price/quality relationship is acceptable and
other situational and personal factors are positive, then these customers are likely to be
satisfied. As a result, they are more likely to make repeat purchases and become loyal
customers. However, if the service experience does not meet customers' expectations,
they may complain about poor service quality, suffer in silence, or switch providers in
the future. 22

MAPPING THE CUSTOMER'S SERVICE
EXPERIENCE
In order to design a service that meets or exceeds the expectations of its customers, ser-
vice providers not only need to know what customers want but also to understand the
nature of their actual experiences, especially during the service encounter stage. In the
high-contact service environments c o m m o n to most people-processing services, cus-
tomers usually arrive at a service site with certain expectations.Their subsequent behav-
ior, however, may be shaped by the nature of the physical environment, the employees
they encounter, the sequence in which different activities take place, and by the roles
that they are expected to play. R e c e n t research suggests that consumers' expectations are
continuously updated during the course of a service encounter, with final evaluations of
service quality reflecting these updated expectations, rather than the expectations held
before the encounter began. 2 3
Managers and service employees are often unaware of the full extent of cus-
tomers' service experiences. An effective way to gain insights into customer behavior
during service delivery is to create a description, in sequence, of the steps that b o t h
customers and employees go through in a given service environment. These steps can
be shown visually using a tool called a flowchart. By identifying each c o n t a c t flowchart: a visual
between customers and a service provider, flowcharts can highlight problems and representation of the steps
opportunities in the service delivery process as they affect customers during front involved in delivering service
t0
stage activities. T h e y may also suggest a n e e d to e x a m i n e backstage s u p p o r t i n g customers,
processes.

Developing a Flowchart
Flowcharting can be usefully applied to any type of service and the technique is relevant
to both high-contact and low-contact service environments. T h e objectives of the exer-
cise are threefold:
1. Understand each step in the process that constitutes the customer's overall expe-
rience with the service;
2. Identify what encounters customers have with different service personnel, spe-
cific physical facilities, and equipment; and
3. Relate the customers' behavior and experience at each step to the backstage
activities needed to create quality service in timely fashion front stage. 24
Developing a flowchart begins by identifying each interaction that a particular type
of customer has when using a specific service. Managers need to distinguish between the
core product and the supplementary service elements we discussed in Chapter 2; in fact,
flowcharting is a very useful way of figuring out what these supplementary elements
actually are. Interactions should be depicted in the sequence in which they normally
occur. Service delivery is like a river flowing through time: Some activities take place


"upstream," others "downstream." At each step, management needs to ask: What do cus-
tomers really want (perhaps they would like to speed up this step or even avoid it alto-
gether)? What are their expectations? And where is the potential for failure at this step?
Let's illustrate flowcharting with a simplified model of a service to which most
readers can relate fairly easily: a stay at a hotel (Figure 4.5). As with many services, the
customer's first encounter 'with a hotel involves a supplementary service rather than
the core product (which is basically rental of a bedroom for a night's sleep). T h e ini-
tial step, for most business travelers, is to make a reservation.This action may be taken
some time before the visit actually takes place, typically by telephone or through the
Internet.
On arrival, guests traveling by car will need to park the vehicle (perhaps a valet will
do it for them).The next step is to check in at reception, after which an employee may
offer to carry the bags and escort guests to their rooms. Hence, four service encounters
occur before guests even reach their rooms! Before retiring for the night, a guest may
choose to use several more services, such as dinner at one of the hotel restaurants or
watching a pay-TV movie. After rising, guests may request that room service deliver
breakfast. T h e n guests may make p h o n e calls before checking out and asking a valet to
retrieve their cars from the parking garage.
In this flowchart, the customer's experience is depicted, in simplified form, as a
series of boxes in linear sequence. N o t e that the core product—a bed for the night—is
surrounded by a variety of supplementary services. Some hotel guests might use more
supplementary services than those shown in the flowchart, others fewer. A variety of
activities is taking place backstage, too, behind the scenes, but these activities are not
shown here. In fact, each step front stage is supported by a series of backstage activities,
including assignment of staff, maintenance of facilities and equipment, and capture, stor-
age, and transfer of information. As you review this flowchart, ask yourself: At what
points might the p o o r performance by staff members or misbehavior by other cus-
tomers spoil a guest's experience? And as the hotel manager, what strategy would you
plan for anticipating and handling such problems?

The Value of Flowcharting
Marketers find flowcharting particularly useful for defining the point(s) in the process at
which the customer uses the core service and identifying the different supplementary
services that make up the overall service package.
Although some service encounters are very brief and consist of just a few discrete
delivery steps—such as a taxi ride or a simple haircut—others may extend over a longer
time frame and involve multiple steps. A leisurely restaurant meal might stretch over a
couple of hours or more, while a visit to a theme park might last all day. From arrival to
departure, the one-night hotel visit described above probably lasts at least 12 to 14 hours;
and the first step, the reservation, may take place days or even weeks prior to arrival.

F I G U R E 4.5
Flowcharting a Customer's
Visit to a Hotel


As customers interact with representatives of the service firm, impersonal delivery
systems such as Web sites, the physical environment of the service encounter, and—in
high-contact environments—other customers—they are exposed to information that
can influence both their expectations and their evaluations of the service. In Chapter 3,
we used the term "moments of truth" to highlight the importance of the impressions
created by airline passengers' contacts with staff before, during, and after a flight. A key
question for managers is whether customers' expectations change during the course of
service delivery in light of the perceived quality of sequential steps in the process. (You
might want to reflect on whether your own impressions and expectations change dur-
ing the course of an extended service performance.) Ideally, service firms should try to
provide consistently high performance at each step in service delivery. But in reality,
many service performances are inconsistent.
It's difficult to improve service quality and productivity unless you fully understand
the customer's involvement in a given service environment. Speeding up processes and
weeding out unnecessary steps to avoid wasted time and effort are often important ways
to improve the perceived value of a service. W h e n we come to discuss design of new
services in Chapter 8, we introduce a more structured version of the flowchart known
as a service blueprint that includes what takes place backstage, out of the customer's
sight.

Conclusion
Successful service firms are well informed about their customers and are selective about
the prospects that they target. Underlying this focus is the concept of market segmenta-
tion, which groups both individual consumers and corporate buyers according to their
expressed or implied needs, their observed or reported behavior, readiness to use tech-
nology, or other marketing-relevant variables.
Gaining a better understanding of how customers evaluate, select, use, and occa-
sionally abuse services should lie at the heart of strategies for designing and delivering
the service product. It also has implications for choice of service processes, presentation
of physical evidence, and use of marketing communications—not least for educational
purposes. Several of the distinctive characteristics of services (especially intangibility and
quality control problems) result in customer evaluation procedures that differ from
those involved in evaluating physical goods.
Because the consumer evaluation and purchase processes for many services are
complex, service managers need to understand h o w customers view the service offering
and to explore the factors that determine customer expectations and satisfaction. To
understand service usage, it's helpful to employ flowcharting, which provides a visual
picture of the service delivery process from the customer's perspective.


1. R e v i e w Figure 4 . 1 . Which technographical category are you in? What factors
have influenced your consumption of high-tech goods and services?
2. Is it ethical for companies to target specific customer groups (like the elderly and
children)? Explain your response.
3. Describe search, experience, and credence attributes and give examples of each.
4. Explain why services are harder than goods for customers to evaluate.
5. H o w are customers' expectations formed? Explain the difference between desired
service and adequate service with reference to a service experience you've had
recently.
6. W h a t role do needs play in consumer purchase behavior?
7. Define the three stages in the purchase process for services.
8. Choose a service that you are familiar with and create a simple flowchart for it.
Define the "front stage" and "backstage" activities.

Endnotes
1. Based on information in Paul C. Judge, "Are Tech Buyers DifFerent?" Business Week, 26
January 1998, 64-68; Mary Modahl, Now or Never (NewYork: Harper Business, 2000).
2. A. Parasuraman, "Technology Readiness Index [TRI]: A Multiple-Item Scale to Measure
Readiness to Embrace New Technologies," Journal of Service Research, 2 (2000).
3. Abraham H. Maslow, Motivation and Personality (New York, NY: Harper and Brothers,
1954).
4. Stephanie Anderson Forest, Katie Kerwin, and Susan Jackson, "Presents That Won't Fit
Under the Christmas Tree," Business Week, 1 December 1997, 42.
5. KarlT. Greenfield, Life on the Edge, Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in
Marketing (Guilford, CT: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2001), 220-225.
6. B.Joseph Pine and James H. Gilmore, "Welcome to the Experience Economy," Harvard
Business Review 76 (July-August 1998): 97-108.
7. See Benjamin Schneider and David E. Bowen, Winning the Service Game (Boston: Harvard
Business School Press, 1995); and Valarie A. Zeithanil, Leonard L. Berry, and A.
Parasuraman, "The Nature and Determinants of Customer Expectations of Services,"
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 21 (1993).
8. Valarie A. Zeithaml, Leonard L. Berry, and A. Parasuraman, "The Behavioral
Consequences of Service Quality," Journal of Marketing 60 (April 1996): 31—46.
9. Cathy Johnson and Brian P. Mathews, "The Influence of Experience on Service
Expectations," International Journal of Service Industry Management 8, no. 4 (1997): 46-61.
10. Robert Johnston, "The Zone of Tolerance: Exploring the Relationship between Service
Transactions and Satisfaction with the Overall Service," International Journal of Service
Industry Management 6, no. 5 (1995): 46—61.
11. Valarie A. Zeithaml, "How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ Between Goods and
Services," in J. H. Donnelly and W. R. George, Marketing of Services (Chicago: American
Marketing Association, 1981).
12. Quoted from a television interview with Michael Flatley on the news magazine Dateline
NBC, 13 October 1997.
13. Richard L. Oliver, Roland T Rust, and SajeevVarki, "Customer Delight: Foundations,
Findings, and Managerial Insights,"_/owma/ of Retailing 73 (Fall 1997): 311-336.
14. Valarie A. Zeithaml and Mary Jo Bitner, Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across
the Firm, 2d ed (Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin-McGraw-Hill, 2000).
15. YoujaeYi,"A Critical Review of Customer Satisfaction," in Review of Marketing 1990, ed.
V. A. Zeithaml (Chicago, American Marketing Association, 1990).


16. Richard L. Oliver, "Customer Satisfaction with Service," in Teresa A. Schwartz and Dawn
Iacobucci, Handbook of Service Marketing and Management (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, 2000), 247-254.
17. Richard L. Oliver, Satisfaction: A Behavioral Perspective on the Consumer (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1997).
18. Roland T. Rust and Richard L. Oliver, "Should We Delight the Customer?"_/cwtttf/ of the
Academy of Marketing Science 28, no. 1 (2000): 86-94.
19. Eugene W. Anderson andVikas Mittal,"Strengthening the Satisfaction-Profit Chain,"
Journal of Service Research 3, November 2000,107-120.
20. Susan Fournier and David Glen Mick, "Rediscovering Satisfaction," Journal of Marketing
63 (October 1999): 5-23.
21. Bill Fromm and Len Schlesinger, The Real Heroes of Business (New York, NY: Currency
Doubleday, 1993), 241.
22. Jaishankar Ganesh, Mark J. Arnold, and Kristy E. Reynolds, "Understanding the Customer
Base of Service Providers: An Examination of the Differences Between Switchers and
Stayers," Journal of Marketing 64, no. 3 (2000): 65-87.
23. Lawrence O. Hamer, Ben Shaw-Ching Liu, and D. Sudharshan, "The Effects of
Intraencounter Changes in Expectations on Perceived Service Quality Models," Journal of
Service Research 1 (February 1999): 275-289.
24. For more details of this technique see G. Lynn Shostack, "Understanding Services through
Blueprinting," in T. A. Schwartz, D. E. Bowen, and S. W. Brown, Advances in Services
Marketing and Management, Vol. I (Greenwich CT, JAI Press, 1992), 75-90. For alternative
approaches, see Christian Gronroos' description of "The Customer Relationship Life
Cycle," in Service Management and Marketing (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1990),
129-133; and Sandra Vandermerwe, "Jumping into the Customer's Activity Cycle," in
From Tin Soldiers to Russian Dolls (Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann, 1993), ch. 4, 48-71.

Relationship Marketing
and Customer Loyalty
Creating a Formula for Success
in Ski Resorts
Located high in the Coast Mountain range of British Columbia, be good if they are to remain loyal customers. This means that
Whistler and Blackholm ski resorts receive an average of some Intrawest must provide well-maintained trails that will satisfy skiers
30 feet (9 meters) of snow each year and claim to offer the longest from beginners to experts, plus sufficient lift capacity to avoid lengthy
ski season and largest skiable terrain in North America. delays.
Vancouver-based Intrawest Corporation, whose other ski properties Recent investments to improve facilities at Whistler and
include Mammoth in California, Copper Mountain in Colorado, Blackholm have included replacing old chairlifts with new express
Stratton in Vermont, and Mont Tremblant in Quebec, owns the two "quads" to improve reliability, increase lift capacity, and reduce waiting
resorts.1 times. Recognizing the growing popularity of snowboarding, the com-
Whistler and Blackholm, located 75 miles (120 km) northeast of pany also purchased a new Pipe Dragon, a unique machine used to
Vancouver, offer the greatest vertical drop of any ski mountains in shape and groom snowboard half-pipes. Meantime, a wide range of
North America—one vertical mile (1600 m)! Day skiers from new trails was opened at Blackholm. New snow cats were purchased
Vancouver and its suburbs were originally Whistler and Blackholm's for trail grooming, and upgrades were made to snowmaking equip-
only source of business—and the resort still courts their loyalty with ment to ensure good skiing conditions, even on days when Mother
big savings on season passes. But by creating a major destination Nature is not cooperative. To appeal to summer visitors, Intrawest
resort, Intrawest has been able to appeal to vacationers from across expanded the trail system for the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. New
the continent and even overseas. Whistler's appeal is evident from the construction at the base includes improved guest services and a chil-
fact that it has been named the number one ski resort on the North dren's facility with one-stop check-in, a learning center, and a special
American continent by three different ski magazines. This recognition kids' shuttle train to the gondola.
has boosted the ski resort's success, since skiers' vacation destination In addition to enhancing the ski facilities, Intrawest also wanted
preferences tend to be shaped by the best facilities they have experi- to provide an attractive and lively resort community so that people
enced, heard about from their friends, seen on TV, or read about in would choose to stay longer. After all, apres-ski activities are part of
magazines. the appeal of a ski vacation for many people! Satisfied skiers have
Intrawest's management believes that it has created a formula started coming back more often and spending more money. They have
for success. The strategy begins with enhancing the skiing experi- also told their friends about their positive experiences. This has cre-
ence on each mountain. The skiers' experiences on the slopes must ated a larger customer base of new and returning customers, who

have helped finance the construction of more lodging and additional
attractions.
Intrawest is now drawing even more people to the resort by After reading this chapter, you should
increasing its year-round activities to maximize the use of shops, be able to
hotels, convention facilities, and restaurants. The resort's goal is to =£• set priorities for targeting specific
expand its target market (and profitability) by including non-skiers customer segments
in its customer base. Intrawest is also encouraging customers to
=£• understand that not all customers
purchase condominiums or chalets, since property owners tend to
are equally attractive to a firm
come back more often throughout the year. After all, the mountains
are lovely in summer and fall as well as in winter and early spring =^ recognize the role of customer
when there is still snow on the upper slopes for skiing. And the loyalty in determining financial
resort operators can also manage properties on behalf of their own- success
ers, who can receive income by renting to other visitors.
=£> calculate the value of a customer
who remains loyal to a firm

=^ provide examples of customer loyalty
programs

=£> identify different types of customer
misbehaviors and strategies for
handling them

97


TARGETING THE RIGHT CUSTOMERS
Intrawest targets customers w h o will enjoy the skiing experience that it offers, can
afford this relatively expensive sport, and are also likely to purchase additional services at
the resort. It also appeals to non-skiers looking for a mountain vacation. This company
is not alone in recognizing the need for ongoing investments to keep current customers
loyal and to appeal to prospective customers. Managers in innovative service firms con-
stantly debate what new services or improvements in product elements they need to
target segments: segments offer to attract and retain customers in attractive target s e g m e n t s . Whistler would not
selected because their needs have grown to its present size if it had continued to rely on skiers from nearby
and other characteristics fit Vancouver, which is close enough to allow residents to make an easy day trip to the
well with a specific firm's slopes. Its carefully planned growth is designed to attract vacationers w h o will spend a
goals and capabilities. week or more at the resort.
In this chapter, we continue to examine the question, Wltat customers should we
serve and how should we relate to them? (see the service decision framework in Figure
II.1, page 49). In particular, we emphasize the importance of asking: Wltich customer rela-
tionships are worth developing and preserving? A service business must take a focused
approach to its markets, targeting prospects in the desired segments, while seeking to
avoid those it cannot hope to serve profitably. In the case of nonprofit organizations,
where financial profits are not the goal (except in fundraising), the objective should be
to focus on attracting and serving those customers w h o are central to the organization's
mission.
Acquiring the right customers is only the beginning. T h e real challenge lies in
building a relationship with them, growing the volume of business they transact, and
maintaining their loyalty over a long period of time. Even w h e n customers fit the
desired profile, a few may prove through undesirable behavior to be candidates for
prompt termination rather than retention. Although some believe the saying "the cus-
tomer is always right," that's not true in every instance. We address this issue in more
depth later in the chapter w h e n we discuss the different ways in which customers may
misbehave.

Airborne skier at Whistler.

CHAPTER FIVE • RELATIONSHIP MARKETING AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY 99

FROM TRANSACTIONS TO RELATIONSHIPS
Too many service firms still focus on the number of customers they serve without giv-
ing sufficient attention to the value of each customer. As David Maister emphasizes,
marketing is about getting better business, not just more business. 2 Volume alone is not
a good measure of excellence, sustainability, or profitability. Generally speaking, cus-
tomers w h o buy more frequently and in larger volumes are more profitable than occa-
sional users. Consider your own behavior. Do you have a favorite restaurant where you
often eat with friends or family? Is there a movie theater that you patronize regularly?
Are you a frequent customer at your local laundromat? If you answered yes to any of
these questions, then you are probably a lot more valuable to the management of these
different organizations than a one-time visitor w h o is just passing through town. T h e
revenue stream from your purchases may amount to a considerable sum over the course
of the year. (You would probably be quite surprised if you calculated the amount!)
Sometimes your value as a frequent user is openly recognized and appreciated. In
these situations, you feel that the business is tailoring its service features, including
schedules and prices, to foster a relationship with you and encourage your long-term
loyalty. But at other times, you may feel that nobody in the organization knows or cares
who you are.You may be a valuable customer, but you certainly don't feel valued. Thus
you are not likely to remain loyal if an opportunity arises to switch to another service
provider. Well-managed organizations work hard to develop relationships with desirable
customers and to grow the volume of business that they conduct. That strategy is usu-
ally a wise use of marketing resources, since it may cost a firm five to six times as much
to attract a new customer as it does to retain an existing one. 3
Building relationships with desirable customers can be very profitable. But what
constitutes a relationship? O n e transaction—or even a series of transactions—does not transaction: an event
necessarily represent a relationship. Mutual recognition and knowledge between the during which an exchange of
parties is required for a relationship to exist.When each transaction between a customer value takes place between
and a service provider is essentially separate and anonymous, with no long-term record two parties.
of a customer's purchasing history and little or no mutual recognition between the cus-
tomer and the firm's employees, then no meaningful marketing relationship can be said
to exist.
A word of caution is in order at this point. N o t all customers want to have in-depth
relationships with the firms whose services they buy. Some people prefer to patronize
several suppliers, either because they enjoy variety or because they like to search for the
best terms on any given purchase. Some dislike constant contact from a firm—by mail,
telephone, or e-mail—informing them about new developments and selling them new
services. Others are worried about privacy. They don't like the idea of a firm gathering
detailed information about their background and product usage behavior, because they
worry that this information might be sold or otherwise made available to other organi-
zations without their permission.The advent of the Internet as an interactive marketing
channel has increased these concerns. 4

The Nature of Service Relationships
Although some services involve discrete transactions, in other instances purchasers
receive service on a continuing basis. But even w h e n transactions are separate and inde-
membership
pendent, there may still be opportunities to create an ongoing relationship. T h e different relationship: a formalized
nature of these situations offers an opportunity for categorizing services. First, we can relationship between the firm
ask: Does the supplier enter into a formal m e m b e r s h i p relationship with customers, and a specified customer that
as with telephone subscriptions, banking, and the family doctor? Or is there no defined may offer special benefits to
relationship? And second: Is the service delivered on a continuous basis, as in insurance. both parties.


T A B L E 5.1
Relationships with
Customers

broadcasting, and police protection? Or is each transaction recorded and charged sepa-
rately? Table 5.1 shows the resulting matrix, with examples in each category.
A membership relationship is a formalized relationship between the firm and an
identifiable customer, w h o signs up in advance for service. Firms in the top left quadrant
of Table 5.1 are natural "membership" organizations; customers must apply in advance
before they can receive service. Such relationships have the potential to offer special
benefits to both parties, because the potential exists for both sides to get to know each
other better.
T h e advantage to the service organization of having membership relationships is
that it knows w h o its current customers are, what they spend, and (usually) w h e n ,
where, and how often they use the services offered. This information can be valuable for
segmentation purposes if good records are kept and the data are readily accessible in a
format that lends itself to computerized analysis. Knowing the identities and addresses
of current customers enables the organization to make effective use of direct mail
(including e-mail), telemarketing, and personal sales calls—all highly targeted methods
of marketing communication. In turn, members can be given access to special numbers
or even designated account managers to facilitate their communications with the firm.
Discrete transactions—when each usage involves a payment to the service supplier
by an essentially " a n o n y m o u s " consumer—are typical of services like transportation,
restaurants, cinemas, and shoe repair shops. T h e problem for marketers of such services
is that they are usually less informed about w h o their customers are and what use each
customer makes of the service than their counterparts in membership-type organiza-
tions. But firms that sell their services on a transactional basis to anonymous customers
can create relationships with frequent users by selling the service in bulk (for instance, a
theater series subscription or a commuter ticket on public transport) and recording the
customers name and address. Another approach is to offer extra benefits to customers
w h o agree to register with the firm so that their usage can be tracked (for example, loy-
alty programs for hotels, airlines, and car rental firms). In this way, an organization can
shift at least part of its customer base from the b o t t o m right quadrant of the matrix
shown in Table 5.1 to the b o t t o m left one.
In small businesses such as hair salons, frequent customers are (or should be) wel-
comed as "regulars" whose needs and preferences are remembered. Keeping formal
records of customers' needs, preferences, and purchasing behavior is useful even in small
firms. Accurate records eliminate the need for employees to ask repetitive questions dur-
ing every service encounter. Customer data can also be used to personalize the service


given to each customer. In large companies with substantial customer bases, transactions
can be transformed into relationships by opening accounts, maintaining computerized
customer records, and instituting account m a n a g e m e n t programs that provide cus-
tomers with a telephone number to call for assistance or a designated account represen-
tative. Long-term contracts between suppliers and their business customers take the
nature of relationships to a higher level, transforming them into partnerships and strate-
gic alliances.
The different types of service relationships shown in Table 5.1 have important
implications for pricing.Whenever service is offered on an ongoing basis, there can be a
single periodic charge covering all contracted services. Most insurance policies fall in
this category, as do tuition and board fees at a residential college. T h e big advantage of
this package approach is its simplicity. In other instances, the price paid by "members" is
tied to the number and type of specific transactions and may also include a base sub-
scription fee.While more complex to administer, such an approach recognizes variations
in usage patterns and may discourage wasteful use of the service. In these cases, " m e m -
bers" may be offered advantages over casual users—for instance, discount rates (tele-
phone subscribers pay less for long-distance calls made from their own phones than do
pay phone users) or advance notification and priority reservations (such as theater sub-
scriptions). Some services require no fee and are available to all. T h e final category in
Table 5.1 represents continuously delivered services like broadcasting, police protection,
lighthouse services, and public roads that are typically funded by advertising, donations,
or tax revenues.

Micro-Segmentation at the
Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank analysts run models based on complex algorithms
At least once a month, Toronto-based analysts at the Royal Bank of that can slice the bank's massive customer database into tightly
Canada (the country's largest bank) use data modeling to segment profiled micro-segments that are based on simultaneous use of
its base of 10 million customers. The segmentation variables several variables, including the probability that target customers
include credit risk, current and projected profitability, life stage, will respond positively to a particular offer. Customized marketing
likelihood of leaving the bank, channel preference (whether cus- programs can then be developed for each of these micro-seg-
tomers like to use a branch, the call center, or the Internet), product ments, giving the appearance of a highly personalized offer. The
activation (how quickly customers actually use a product they have data can also be used to improve the bank's performance on
bought), and propensity to purchase another product. Says a senior unprofitable accounts by identifying these customers and offering
vice president, "Gone are the days when we had mass buckets of them incentives to use lower-cost channels.
customers that would receive the same treatment or same offer on An important goal of Royal Bank's segmentation analysis is
a monthly basis. Our marketing strategy is [now] much more per- to maintain and enhance profitable relationships. The bank has
sonalized. Of course, it's the technology that allows us to do that." found that customers who hold packages of several services are
The main source of data is the marketing information file, more profitable than those who don't. These customers also stay
which records what products customers hold with the bank, the with the bank an average of three years longer. As a result of
channels they use, their responses to past campaigns, transac- the sophisticated segmentation practices at Royal Bank, the
tional data, and details of any restrictions on soliciting customers. response rates to its direct marketing programs have jumped
Another source is the enterprise data warehouse, which stores from an industry average of only 3 percent to as high as 30
billing records and information from every document that a new or percent.
existing customer fills out.
Source: Meredith Levinson, "Slices of Lives," CIO Magazine, 15 August 2000.


Relationship Marketing
There's a fundamental distinction in marketing between strategies intended to bring
about a single transaction and those designed to create extended relationships with cus-
relationship marketing: tomers. R e l a t i o n s h i p m a r k e t i n g involves activities aimed at developing long-term,
activities aimed at developing cost-effective links between an organization and its customers for their mutual benefit.
long-term, cost-effective links A m o n g the approaches used by service firms to maintain and enhance relationships are
between an organization and such basics as treating customers fairly, offering service augmentations, and treating each
its customers for the mutual customer as though he or she were a segment of one—the essence of mass customiza-
benefit of both parties.
tion. Service "extras" often play a key role in building and sustaining relationships
between vendors and purchasers of industrial goods.
Research by Coviello, Brodie, and M u n r o suggests that there are three distinct cat-
egories of relationship marketing: database marketing, interaction marketing, and net-
work marketing. 6

D a t a b a s e M a r k e t i n g In this type of marketing, the focus is on the market
transaction but includes information exchange. Marketers rely on information
technology—in the form of a database or the Internet—to form a relationship with
targeted customers and retain their patronage over time. However, the nature of these
relationships is often not a close one, with communication being driven and managed
by the seller. Technology is used to (1) identify and build a database of current and
potential customers, (2) deliver differentiated messages based on consumers'
characteristics and preferences, and (3) track each relationship to monitor the cost of
acquiring the consumer and the lifetime value of the resulting purchases. 7 Although
technology can be used to personalize the relationship (as in word-processed letters that
insert the customer's name), relations remain somewhat distant, as illustrated by utility
services such as electricity, gas, and cable TV.

Interaction Marketing A closer relationship exists in situations where there is direct
interaction between customers and company representatives (in person or by telephone
and e-mail). Although the service itself remains important, people and social processes
also add value through interactions that may include negotiations and mutual sharing of
information. This type of relationship has long existed in many local environments
where buyer and seller know and trust each other, ranging from community banks to
dentistry. It is also commonly found in many business-to-business services. Both the
firm and the customer are prepared to invest resources to develop a mutually beneficial
relationship. This investment may include time spent sharing and recording
information. As service companies grow, they face the challenge of maintaining
satisfying relationships with customers as new technologies encourage a shift from high-
to low-contact service.

N e t w o r k Marketing We often say that someone is a "good networker" because he
or she is able to put individuals in touch with others w h o have a mutual interest. This
type of marketing occurs primarily in a business-to-business context, where firms
commit resources to develop positions in a network of relationships with customers,
distributors, suppliers, the media, consultants, trade associations, government agencies,
competitors, and even the customers of their customers. Often a team of individuals
within a supplier's firm must collaborate to provide effective service to a parallel team
within the customer organization. However, the concept of networking is also relevant
in consumer marketing environments where customers are encouraged to refer friends
and acquaintances to the service provider.


CREATING AND MAINTAINING
VALUED RELATIONSHIPS
For the service provider, a valued relationship is one that is financially profitable in the
long run. In addition, the benefits of serving a customer may extend beyond revenues to
include such intangibles as the knowledge and pleasure obtained from working with
that customer over time. In a healthy and mutually profitable relationship, both parties
have an incentive to ensure that it extends for many years. T h e seller, in particular, rec-
ognizes that it pays to take an investment perspective. T h e initial costs of acquiring new
customers and learning about their needs—which may even make the account unprof-
itable in the short run—are justified by the expectation of future profits.
How do customers define a valued relationship? It's one in which the benefits
received from service delivery significantly exceed the associated costs of obtaining
them. Research suggests that relational benefits for individual consumers include greater
confidence, social benefits, and special treatment (see the boxed discussion on " H o w
Customers See Relational Benefits").Valued relationships in business-to-business ser-
vices are largely dependent on the quality of the interactions between individuals at
each of the partnering firms. "As relationships strengthen over a period of time," Piyush
Kumar observes, "the service provider's personnel often assume the role of outsourced
departments and make critical decisions on behalf of their clients."

How Customers See
Relational Benefits
After evaluating and categorizing such comments, the
What benefits do customers gain from an extended relationship researchers designed a second study. Subjects were told to select
with a service firm? In personal interviews, respondents were a specific service provider with which they had a strong, estab-
asked to identify service providers that they used on an ongoing lished relationship. They were then asked to indicate what benefits
basis and discuss any benefits they received as a result of being a they received from this relationship and how important these ben-
regular customer. Their comments included the following: efits were to them. Analysis of the results showed that most of the
>• "I like him [hair stylist] He's really funny and always benefits could be grouped into three clusters.
has lots of good jokes. He's kind of like a friend now." Confidence benefits—the most important group—included
>• "I know what I'm getting—I know that if I go to a restau- feelings by customers that in an established relationship there was
rant that I regularly go to, rather than taking a chance on less risk of something going wrong, more confidence in correct
all of the new restaurants, the food will be good." performance, greater ability to trust the provider, lowered anxiety
when purchasing, better knowledge of what to expect, and an
>• "I often get price breaks. The little bakery that I go to in the
expectation of receiving the firm's highest level of service.
morning, every once in a while, they'll give me a free muf-
Social benefits involved mutual recognition between cus-
fin and say, 'You're a good customer, it's on us today.'"
tomers and employees, being known by name, friendship with the
*- "You can get better service than drop-in customers . . . . service provider, and enjoyment of certain social aspects of the
We continue to go to the same automobile repair shop relationship.
because we have gotten to know the owner on a kind of Special treatment benefits included better prices, discounts or
personal basis, and h e . . . can always work us in." special deals that were unavailable to most customers, extra ser-
>• "Once people feel comfortable, they don't want to switch vices, higher priority when there was a wait, and faster service than
to another dentist. They don't want to train or break a new most customers.
dentist in."

Source: Kevin P. Gwinner. Dwayne D. Gremler, and Mary Jo Bitner, "Relational Benefits in Services Industries: The Customer's Perspective," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
26, no, 2 (1998): 101-114.


The Loyalty Effect
loyalty: a customer's Loyalty is an old-fashioned word, traditionally used to describe fidelity and enthusi-
voluntary decision to astic devotion to a country, cause, or individual. M o r e recently, in a business context,
continue patronizing a it has been used to describe a customer's willingness to continue patronizing a firm
specific firm over an over the long term, purchasing and using its goods and services on a repeated and
extended period of time.
preferably exclusive basis, and voluntarily r e c o m m e n d i n g it to friends and associates.
"Few companies think of customers as annuities," says Frederick R e i c h h e l d , author
of The Loyalty Effect, and a major researcher in this field. 9 A n d yet that is precisely
what a loyal customer can mean to a firm: a consistent source of revenues over a
period of many years. However, this loyalty cannot be taken for granted. It will only
continue as long as the customer feels that he or she is receiving better value (includ-
ing superior quality relative to price) than could be obtained by switching to another
supplier.
T h e r e are many possible ways to disappoint customers through service quality
failures. A major source of disappointment, especially in high-contact situations, is
p o o r performance by service employees. Researchers believe that there is an explicit
link between customers' satisfaction w i t h service and employees' satisfaction with
their jobs (Figure 5.1). To the extent that service workers are capable, enjoy their
jobs, and perceive themselves as well treated by their employer, they will be m o t i -
vated to remain loyal to that firm for an extended period of time rather than c o n -

FIGURE 5.1
The Links in the Service-
Profit Chain

Source: James L. Heskett, Thomas O. Jones, Gary W. Loveman, W. Earl Sasser, Jr., and Leonard A. Schlesinger, "Putting the Service Profit
Chain to Work," Harvard Business Review, March-April 1994. Copyright© 1994 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

C H A P T E R FIVE • R E L A T I O N S H I P M A R K E T I N G A N D C U S T O M E R LOYALTY 105

stantly switching j o b s . C o m p e t e n t and loyal workers tend to be m o r e productive
than new hires, to k n o w their customers well, and to be better able to deliver high-
quality service. In short, employee loyalty can c o n t r i b u t e to c u s t o m e r loyalty
through a series of links referred to as the "service profit chain."
"Defector" was a nasty word during the Cold War in the mid-1900s. It described
disloyal people w h o sold out their own side and went over to the enemy. Even when
they defected to " o u r " side, rather than away from it, they were still suspect. Today, the
term d e f e c t i o n is being applied to customers w h o transfer their brand loyalty to defection: a customers
another supplier. Reichheld and Sasser popularized the term "zero defections," which decision to transfer brand
they describe as keeping every customer the company can profitably serve. (As we've loyalty from a current service
already said, there are always some customers a firm is not sorry to lose.) N o t only provider to a competitor.
does a rising defection rate indicate that something is w r o n g with quality—or that
competitors offer better value—it may also signal the risk of a future decrease in rev-
enues. Profitable customers don't necessarily disappear overnight; they may signal their
mounting disaffection by steadily reducing their purchases. Observant firms record cus-
tomer purchase trends carefully and are quick to respond with recovery strategies in
the event of decreased purchases, customer complaints, or other indications of service
failure.

Realizing the Full Profit Potential of a Customer Relationship
How much is a loyal customer worth in terms of profits? In a classic study, Reichheld
and Sasser analyzed the profit per customer in many different industries, categorized by
the number of years that a customer had been with the firm. 1 2 They found that the
longer customers remained with a firm in each of these industries, the more profitable
they became to the company. Annual profits per customer, which have been indexed
over a five-year period for easier comparison, are summarized for four different service
industries in Figure 5.2.

FIGURE 5.2
How Much Profit a
Customer Generates Over
Source: Based on data in Frederick F. Reichheld and W. Earl Sasser, Jr., "Zero Defections: Quality Comes to Services," Harvard Business
Review, October 1990. Time


According to Reichheld and Sasser, four factors work to the supplier's advantage in
creating incremental profits over an extended period of time. In order of magnitude at
the end of a seven-year period, these factors are:

1. Profit derived from increased purchases (or higher account balances in credit card or
banking environments). Over time, business customers often grow larger and
need to purchase in greater quantities. Individuals may purchase more as their
families grow or as they become more affluent. Both types of customers may
decide to consolidate their purchases with a single supplier w h o provides high-
quality service.
2. Profit from reduced operating costs. As customers become more experienced, they
make fewer demands on the supplier (for instance, less need for information and
assistance). They may also make fewer mistakes w h e n involved in operational
processes, thus contributing to greater productivity.
3. Profit from referrals to other customers. Positive word-of-mouth recommendations
are like free sales and advertising, saving the firm from having to invest as much
money in these activities.
4. Profit from price premium. N e w customers often benefit from introductory pro-
motional discounts whereas long-term customers are more likely to pay regular
prices. Moreover, w h e n customers trust a supplier they may be more willing to
pay higher prices at peak periods or for express work.

R e i c h h e l d argues that the e c o n o m i c benefits of customer loyalty noted above
often explain w h y o n e firm is m o r e profitable than a c o m p e t i t o r . F u r t h e r , the
upfront costs of attracting these buyers can be a m o r t i z e d over m a n y years. For
insights on h o w to calculate customer value in any given business, see the worksheet
in Table 5.2.
It's important to note that not all loyal customers are necessarily profitable. Banks
and telephone companies, for instance, have many small accounts whose revenues do
not cover the costs of servicing them. Reinarz and Kumar suggest that the loyalty model
works best in situations where customers enter into a formal membership relationship
with the supplier. 13 W h e n such a relationship is absent, then customers are free to shop
around each time they need to make a transaction.

TABLE 5.2
Worksheet for Calculating
Long-Term Customer Value

C H A P T E R FIVE • R E L A T I O N S H I P M A R K E T I N G A N D C U S T O M E R LOYALTY 107

For profit-seeking firms, the potential value of a customer should be a key driver in
marketing strategy. Grant and Schlesinger state:

Achieving the full profit potential of each customer relationship should be the fundamen-
tal goal of every business. . . . Even using conservative estimates, the gap between most
companies' current and full potential performance is enormous}4

They suggest analysis of three gaps between actual and potential performance:
>• What percentage of its target customers does a firm currently have, and what
percentage could it potentially obtain? (If there is a large gap between a firm's
current share and its potential, then it may make sense to develop strategies to
attract new customers.)
>• What is the current purchasing behavior of customers in each target segment?
What would the impact be on sales and profits if they exhibited the ideal behav-
ior profile of (1) buying all services offered by the firm, (2) never purchasing
from competitors, and (3) paying full price? (To get customers to buy more,
firms should examine opportunities to cross-sell new services to existing cus-
tomers. Frequent user programs that reward loyalty can help to strengthen rela-
tionships. But getting customers to pay higher prices than they are used to may
be difficult unless competitors are also trying to reduce the availability of dis-
count promotions.)
»- H o w long, on average, do customers remain with the firm? What impact would
it have if they remained customers for life? (As we showed earlier, the profitabil-
ity of a customer often increases over time. If valued customers are defecting, it
is important to identify the reasons why customers defect and then take correc-
tive action.)
Many elements are involved in gaining market share, cross-selling other products
and services to existing customers, and creating long-term loyalty. T h e process starts, as
we suggested earlier, by identifying and targeting the right customers, then learning
everything possible about their needs, including their preferences for different forms of
service delivery. However, there's a dark side to the emphasis on identifying and cater-
ing to an organization's most profitable customers. Some companies are making very lit-
tle effort to serve those customers w h o offer little or no financial value to the firm.
According to a recent Business Week article,

The result could be a whole new stratification of consumer society. The top tier may enjoy
an unprecedented level of personal attention, but customers who fall below a certain level
of profitability for too long may find themselves bounced from the customer rolls alto-
gether or facing fees that all but usher them out the door. . . . [MJarketers . . . are doing
everything possible to push their customers—especially low-margin ones—toward self-
service. ' 5

Such strategies take segmentation analysis and database marketing to a new extreme in
identifying which customers will be most profitable to a firm in the long run and
actively courting them at the expense of less-profitable segments.

Loyalty Reward Programs
The big challenge for service marketers lies not only in giving prospective customers a
reason to do business with their firms, but also in offering existing customers incentives
to remain loyal and perhaps even increase their purchases. A m o n g the b e s t - k n o w n
strategies for rewarding frequent users are the "frequent flyer" programs offered by pas-
senger airlines (see box).


American Airlines was probably the first service firm to realize the value of its
customer database for learning more about the travel behavior of its best customers.
T h e company uses this data to create direct mail lists targeted at specific customers
(such as travelers w h o fly regularly between a certain pair of cities). T h e airline was
also quick to examine bookings for individual flights to see h o w many seats were
filled by frequent flyers, most of w h o m were probably traveling on business and
therefore less price sensitive than vacationers and pleasure travelers. This information
helped American to counter competition from low-cost discount airlines, whose p r i -
mary target segment was price-conscious pleasure travelers. R a t h e r than reducing all
fares on all flights between a pair of cities, American realized that it only needed to
offer a limited n u m b e r of discount fares. T h e s e fares were available primarily on
those flights k n o w n to be carrying significant numbers of nonbusiness passengers.
Even on such flights, the airline w o u l d limit availability of discount fares by such

Reinforcing Loyalty by
Rewarding Frequent Flyers
agement, seeking to encourage travel on less-popular routes. A
American Airlines established the original "frequent flyer" pro- common strategy was to award bonus miles for flying during the
gram in 1983. Targeted at business travelers (the individuals who low season when many empty seats were available or for changing
fly the most), this promotion enabled passengers to claim travel flights at an intermediate hub rather than taking a nonstop flight. To
awards based on the accumulated distance they had traveled on avoid giving away too many free seats at peak time, some airlines
the airline. "Miles" flown became the scoring system that entitled offered more generous redemption terms during off-peak times. A
customers to claim from a menu of free tickets in different few even created "blackout periods" during key vacation times like
classes of service. American was taken by surprise at the enor- Christmas and New Year, in order to avoid cannibalizing seat sales
mous popularity of this program. Other major airlines soon felt to paying customers.
obliged to follow and implemented similar schemes of their own. Competitive strategies often involved bonus miles, too, with
Each airline hoped that its own frequent flyer program, branded "bonus wars" breaking out on certain routes. At the height of its
with a distinctive name such as "AAdvantage" (American) or mid-1980s battle with New York Air on the lucrative 230-mile (370
"Mileage Plus" (United), would induce a traveler to remain brand km) New York-Boston shuttle service, the PanAm Shuttle offered
loyal, even to the extent of some inconvenience in scheduling. passengers 2,000 miles for a one-way trip and 5,000 miles for a
However, many business travelers enrolled in several programs, round trip completed within a single day. Bonus miles were also
thereby limiting the effectiveness of these promotions for individ- awarded for travel in first or business class. And bonuses might
ual carriers. also be used to encourage passengers to sample new services or
To make their programs more appealing, the airlines signed to complete market research surveys.
agreements with regional and international carriers, "partner" To record the mileage of passengers enrolled in their frequent
hotels, and rental car firms, allowing customers to be credited with flyer programs, the airlines have had to install elaborate tracking
mileage accrued through a variety of travel-related activities. What systems that capture details of each flight. They have also created
had begun as a one-year promotion by American Airlines was soon systems for recording and maintaining each member's current
transformed into a permanent—and quite expensive—part of the account status. United uses its extensive customer database to
industry's marketing structure. In due course, many international reward loyalty in a unique way. If a flight is canceled, passengers
airlines felt obliged to introduce their own frequent flyer programs, are placed on a waiting list for the next available flight according to
offering miles (or kilometers) to compete with American carriers how many miles they have accumulated. Thus more loyal cus-
and with each other. tomers are given preferential treatment in terms of service and
As time passed, airlines in the United States started to use convenience.
double and triple mileage bonus awards as a tool for demand man-


means as requiring an advance purchase or an extended stay in the destination city,
making it difficult for business travelers to trade down from full fare to a discount
ticket.
O n e problem with frequent flyer programs is that customers w h o travel exten-
sively tend to belong to several different programs.To encourage loyalty to a single car-
rier, some airlines have added a points system, based upon the value of the customer's
business in a given year, not just the mileage. For instance, at British Airways Executive
Club, travel in business class and first class qualifies, respectively, for double and triple
the number of points awarded in economy class, but discounted economy fares do not
qualify for points at all. Longer flights, being more expensive, yield more points. O n c e
club members have amassed a certain number of points, they receive silver or gold tier
status, valid for 12 months. This points-based reward system offers a number of privi-
leges, including automatic doubling of air miles for gold tier members and a 25 percent
bonus for silver tier members. A number of other airlines now use similar approaches,
but the tier system gives travelers an incentive to consolidate their flights with a single
airline.
Service businesses in other industries have sought to copy the airlines with fre-
quent user programs of their o w n . Hotels, car rental firms, telephone companies,
retailers, and even credit card issuers have been among those that seek to identify and
reward their best customers. For instance, the Safeway supermarket chain offers a
Club Card that provides savings on its own merchandise and discounts on purchases
of services from partner companies. Similarly, car rental firms offer vehicle upgrades
and hotels offer free rooms in vacation resorts. N o t all companies offer their o w n
products as rewards; instead, many firms offer miles credited to an airline's frequent
flyer program since air miles have b e c o m e a valuable promotional currency in their
own right.
Perhaps the most creative awards are those that even wealthy customers might find
difficult to obtain on their own. For example, Merrill Lynch recently offered its pre-
mium clients an opportunity to use Visa card points to "purchase" top seats at an award-

By specializing in cutting children's hair and
providing an appealing environment for them, this
salon hopes to build a relationship with both the
kids and their parents.


winning Broadway musical or a VIP package to attend the 2001 All-Star Hockey Game
in Denver, including a champagne reception at which the legendary player, Gordie
Howe, was scheduled to speak.
Despite the popularity of customer loyalty programs, researchers claim that these
programs have proved "surprisingly ineffective" for many firms.To succeed in competi-
tive markets, they suggest that loyalty programs must enhance the overall value of prod-
uct or service and motivate loyal buyers to make their next purchase. 1 6 In some
instances, like the airline s frequent flyer miles, the benefits are popular with customers
and virtually all players in the industry have felt obliged to offer a loyalty program.
Additional valued benefits for loyal airline customers often include priority reservation
and check-in services, use of airport lounges, and upgrades. In other industries, h o w -
ever, the benefits are not perceived as valuable enough to encourage loyalty or justify a
higher price than competitors. This may have been one reason why AT&T, facing fierce
price competition in the telecommunications industry, ended its "True Rewards" loy-
alty program in 1998.
T h e bottom line is that rewards alone will not enable a firm to retain its most desir-
able customers. If these customers are not delighted with the quality of service they
receive, or believe that they can obtain better value from a less-expensive service, they
may quickly become disloyal. No service business can afford to lose sight of the broader
goals of providing quality service and good value relative to the price and other costs of
service that customers incur.

Ending Unprofitable Relationships
Although our focus so far has been on increasing customer loyalty, not all of a firm's
existing customers may be worth keeping. Some customers no longer fit the firm's strat-
egy, either because that strategy has changed or because the customer's behavior and
needs have changed. Many relationships are no longer profitable for the firm, since they
cost more to maintain than the revenues they generate. Just as investors need to dispose
of poor investments and banks may have to write off bad loans, each service firm needs
to regularly evaluate its customer portfolio and consider terminating unsuccessful rela-
tionships. (Legal and ethical considerations, of course, will help determine whether it is
possible or proper to take such actions.)
Occasionally customers have to be terminated directly (although c o n c e r n for
due process is still important). Bank customers w h o b o u n c e too many checks, stu-
dents w h o are caught cheating on exams, or country club members w h o consistently
abuse the facilities (or staff and other members) may be asked to leave or face expul-
sion. In other situations, termination may be less confrontational. Banks have been
k n o w n to sell accounts that no longer fit with corporate priorities to other financial
institutions; the "traded" customers typically receive a letter in the mail or a p h o n e
call from the n e w supplier informing t h e m of the change. Professionals such as d o c -
tors or lawyers may suggest to difficult or dissatisfied clients that they should c o n -
sider switching to another provider whose expertise or style is more suited to their
needs and expectations.

THE PROBLEM OF CUSTOMER MISBEHAVIOR
Customers w h o act in uncooperative or abusive ways are a problem for any organiza-
tion. But they have m o r e potential for mischief in service businesses, particularly
those in which the customer comes to the service factory. As you know from your
o w n experience, the behavior of other customers can affect your enjoyment of a ser-

C H A P T E R FIVE . R E L A T I O N S H I P M A R K E T I N G A N D C U S T O M E R LOYALTY 111

vice. If you like classical music and attend symphony concerts, you expect audience
members to keep quiet during the performance, rather than spoiling the music by
talking or coughing loudly. By contrast, a silent audience would be deadly during a
rock concert or team sports event, where active audience participation adds to the
excitement. There is a fine line, however, between spectator enthusiasm and abusive
behavior by supporters of rival sports teams. Firms that fail to deal effectively with
customer misbehaviors risk damaging their relationships with all the other customers
they would like to keep.

Addressing the Challenge of Jaycustomers
Visitors to N o r t h America from other English-speaking countries are often puzzled by
the term "jaywalker," that distinctively American word used to describe people w h o
cross streets at unauthorized places or in a dangerous manner. T h e prefix "jay" comes
from a nineteenth-century slang term for a stupid person. We can create a whole vocab-
ulary of derogatory terms by adding the prefix "jay" to existing nouns and verbs. H o w
about "jaycustomer" for example, to denote someone w h o "jayuses" a service or "jaycon-
sumes" a physical product (and then "jaydisposes" of it afterwards)? We define a j a y c u s - jaycustomer: a customer
tomer as one w h o acts in a thoughtless or abusive way, causing problems for the firm, who acts in a thoughtless or
its employees, and other customers. 1 7 abusive way, causing
Every service has its share of jaycustomers. But opinions on this topic seem to problems for the firm, its
polarize around two opposing views of the situation. O n e is denial: " T h e customer is employees, and other
king and can do no wrong."The other view sees the marketplace of customers as posi- customers.
tively overpopulated with nasty people w h o cannot be trusted to behave in ways that
self-respecting service providers should expect and require. T h e first viewpoint has
received wide publicity in gung-ho management books and in motivational presenta-
tions to captive groups of employees. But the second view often appears to be dominant
among cynical managers and employees w h o have been burned at some point by cus-
tomer misbehaviors. As with so many opposing viewpoints in life, there are important
grains of truth in both perspectives. W h a t is clear, however, is that no self-respecting
firm would want to have an ongoing relationship with an abusive customer.

Six Types of Jaycustomers
Jaycustomers are undesirable. At worst, a firm needs to control or prevent their abusive
behavior. At best, it would like to avoid attracting them in the first place. Since defining
the problem is the first step in resolving it, let's start by considering the different seg-
ments of jaycustomers w h o prey upon providers of both goods and services. We've
identified six broad categories and given them generic names, but many customer-
contact personnel have come up with their own special terms. As you reflect on these
categories, you may be tempted to add a few more of your own.

The T h i e f This jaycustomer has no intention of paying and sets out to steal goods
and services (or to pay less than full price by switching price tickets or contesting
bills on baseless grounds). Shoplifting is a major p r o b l e m in retail stores. W h a t
retailers euphemistically call " s h r i n k a g e " is estimated to cost t h e m h u g e sums of
money in annual revenues. M a n y services lend themselves to clever schemes for
avoiding payment. For those with technical skills, it's sometimes possible to bypass
electricity meters, access telephone lines free of charge, or circumvent normal cable
TV feeds. R i d i n g free on public transportation, sneaking into movie theaters, or not
paying for restaurant meals are also popular. A n d we mustn't forget the use of
fraudulent forms of payment such as stolen credit cards or checks drawn on accounts
without any funds. F i n d i n g o u t h o w p e o p l e steal a service is the first step in


preventing theft or catching thieves and, where appropriate, prosecuting them. But
managers should try not to alienate honest customers by degrading their service
experiences. And provision must be made for honest but absent-minded customers
w h o forget to pay.

T h e R u l e b r e a k e r Just as highways need safety regulations (including " D o n ' t
Jaywalk"), many service businesses need to establish rules of behavior for employees and
customers to guide t h e m safely through the various steps of the service encounter.
Some of these rules are imposed by government agencies for health and safety reasons.
T h e sign found in many restaurants that states " N o shirt, no shoes—no service"
demonstrates a health-related regulation. A n d air travel provides one of the best of
examples of rules designed to ensure safety—there are few other environments outside
prison where healthy, mentally competent, adult customers are quite so constrained
(albeit with good reason).
In addition to enforcing government regulations, suppliers often impose their own
rules to facilitate smooth operations, avoid unreasonable demands on employees, pre-
vent misuse of products and facilities, protect themselves legally, and discourage individ-
ual customers from misbehaving. Ski resorts, for instance, are getting tough on careless
skiers w h o pose risks to b o t h themselves and others. 1 8 Collisions can cause serious
injury and even death. So ski patrol members must be safety oriented and sometimes
take on a policing role. Just as dangerous drivers can lose their licenses, so dangerous
skiers can lose their lift tickets.
At Vail and Beaver Creek in Colorado, ski patrollers once revoked nearly 400 lift
tickets in just a single weekend. At Winter Park near Denver, skiers w h o lose their passes
for dangerous behavior may have to attend a 45-minute safety class before they can get
their passes back. Ski patrollers at Vermont's O k e m o Mountain may issue warnings to
reckless skiers by attaching a bright orange sticker to their lift tickets. If pulled over
again for inappropriate behavior, such skiers may be escorted off the mountain and
banned for a day or more. "We're not trying to be Gestapos on the slopes," says the
resort's marketing director, "just trying to educate people."
H o w should a firm deal with rulebreakers? M u c h depends on which rules have
been broken. In the case of legally enforceable ones—theft, bad debts, trying to take
guns on aircraft—the courses of action need to be laid d o w n explicitly to protect
employees and to punish or discourage wrongdoing by customers. Company rules are a
little more ambiguous. Are they really necessary in the first place? If not, the firm should
get rid of them. Do they deal with health and safety? If so, educating customers about
the rules should reduce the need for taking corrective action. T h e same is true for rules
designed to protect the comfort and enjoyment of all customers. There are also unwrit-
ten social norms such as " t h o u shalt not j u m p the q u e u e " (although this is a m u c h
stronger cultural expectation in the United States or Canada than in many countries, as
any visitor to Paris Disneyland can attest!). O t h e r customers can often be relied upon to
help service personnel enforce rules that affect everybody else; they may even take the
initiative in doing so.
There are risks attached to making lots of rules. They can make an organization
appear bureaucratic and overbearing. And they can transform employees, whose orien-
tation should be service to customers, into police officers w h o see (or are told to see)
their most important task as enforcing all the rules. T h e fewer the rules, the more
explicit the important ones can be.

T h e Belligerent You've probably seen him (or her) in a store, at the airport, in a
hotel or restaurant—red in the face and shouting angrily, or perhaps icily calm and
mouthing off insults, threats, and obscenities. 19 Things don't always work as they should:


Machines break down, service is clumsy, customers are ignored, a flight is delayed, an
order is delivered incorrectly, staff are unhelpful, a promise is broken. Or perhaps the
customer in question is expressing resentment at being told to abide by the rules.
Service personnel are often abused, even w h e n they are not to blame. If an employee
lacks authority to resolve the problem, the belligerent may become madder still, even to
the point of physical attack. Drunkenness and drug abuse add extra layers of
complication (see the box "Air Rage"). Organizations that care about their employees
go to great efforts to develop skills in dealing with these difficult situations. Training

Air Rage: Unruly Passengers
a Growing Problem
door of an airliner 20 minutes before it was scheduled to land in
Joining the term "road rage"—coined in 1988 to describe angry, gait Lake City
aggressive drivers who threaten other road users—is the newer term, !n testimony before the U.S. Congress, an airline captain
"air rage." Perpetrators of air rage are violent, unruly passengers who speaking for the Air Line Pilots Association declared, "Passenger
endanger flight attendants, pilots, and other passengers. Incidents of interference is the most pervasive security problem facing air-
air rage are perpetrated by only a tiny fraction of all airline passen- | i n e s » A g r o w i n g n u r n b e r of c a r r i e r s a r e t a k j n g a i r r a g e p e r p etra-
gers—reportedly about 5,000 times a year—but each incident in the t o r s t0 c o u r t Northwest Airlines permanently blacklisted three vio-

air may affect the comfort and safety of hundreds of other people. | e n t travelers from flying on its aircraft. British Airways gives out
Acts of violence may be committed against employees or the "warning cards" to any passenger getting dangerously out of con-
aircraft itself. On a flight from Orlando (Florida) to London, a t rol. Some airlines carry physical restraints to subdue out-of-con-

drunken passenger smashed a video screen and began ramming a t r o t pasS engers until they can be handed over to airport authorities,

window, telling fellow passengers they were about to "get sucked tn A p r l | 2 ooo, the U.S. Congress increased the civil penalty for air

out and die." The crew strapped him down and the aircraft made r a g e f r a m $-, 1 0 0 to $25,000 in an attempt to discourage passen-

an unscheduled landing in Bangor (Maine), where U.S. marshals g e r s f r o m misbehaving. Criminal penalties—a $10,000 fine and up

arrested him. Another unscheduled stop in Bangor involved a drug to 20 years in jail—can also be imposed for the most serious inci-
smuggler flying from Jamaica to the Netherlands. When a balloon d e n t s However, airlines have been reluctant to publicize this infor-

filled with cocaine ruptured in his stomach, he went berserk, m a t i 0 n f o r f e a r 0 f appearing confrontational or intimidating,

pounding a bathroom door to pieces and grabbing a female pas- W hat causes air rage? Researchers suggest that air travel has

senger by the throat. become increasingly stressful as a result of crowding and longer
On a flight from London to Spain, a passenger who was f | ightS ; the airlines themselves may have contributed to the prob-

already drunk at the time of boarding became angry when a flight | e m by squeezing rows of seats more tightly together and failing to
attendant told him not to smoke in the lavatory and refused to e x p | a i n d e | a y s Findings suggest that risk factors for air travel

serve him another drink. Later, he smashed her over the head with s t r e s s inc|UC|e a n x i e t y a n ( j an anger-prone personality; they also

a duty-free vodka bottle before being restrained by other passen- s h o w that traveling on unfamiliar routes is more stressful than on a

gers (she required 18 stitches to close the wound). Other danger- f a m i | i a r o r i e A n o t h e r f a c t o r m a y be restrictions on smoking,
ous incidents have included throwing hot coffee at flight atten- A i n i n e s a r e t r a i n j n g their employees to handle violent individ-

dants, head butting a copilot, invading the cockpit and disengaging ua | S a n d t0 s p o t p r 0 D | e m passengers before they start causing seri-

the autopilot, throwing a flight attendant across three rows of 0 us problems. Some carriers offer travelers specific suggestions on

seats, and attempting to open an emergency door in flight. In h o w t0 relax during long flights. And a few European airlines are

August 2000, a violent passenger was restrained and ultimately considering offering nicotine patches to passengers who are des-
suffocated by other passengers after he kicked through the cockpit p e r a t e f o r a Smoke but are no longer allowed to light up.

Source: Daniel Eisenberg, "Acting Up in the Air," Time, 21 December 1998; Carol Smith, "Air Travel Stress Can Make Life Miserable," Seattle Post Intelligencer, syndicated article, August
1999; "Air Rage Capital: Bangor Becomes Nation's Flight Problem Drop Point," The Baltimore Sun, syndicated article, September, 1999; "Airlines Strangely Mum About New Fine," The
Omaha World-Herald, syndicated article, 25 September 2000; and Metanie Trottman and Chip Cummins, "Passenger's Death Prompts Calls for Improved 'Air Rage' Procedures," The Wall
Street Journal, 26 September 2000.


exercises that involve role-playing help employees develop the self-confidence and
assertiveness that they need to deal with upset, belligerent customers (sometimes
referred to as "irates"). Employees also need to learn how to defuse anger, calm anxiety,
and comfort distress (particularly w h e n there is good reason for the customer to be
upset with the organization's performance).
W h a t should an employee do w h e n an aggressive customer brushes off attempts
to defuse the situation? In a public environment, one priority should be to move the
person away from other customers. Sometimes supervisors may have to arbitrate dis-
putes b e t w e e n customers and staff m e m b e r s ; at o t h e r times, they n e e d to stand
b e h i n d the employee's actions. If a customer has physically assaulted an employee,
then it may be necessary to s u m m o n security officers or the police. Some firms try
to conceal such events, fearing bad publicity. But others feel obliged to make a p u b -
lic stand on behalf of their employees, like the Body Shop manager w h o ordered an
ill-tempered customer out of the store, telling her: "I won't stand for your rudeness
to my staff."
Telephone rudeness poses a different challenge. Service personnel have been
known to hang up on angry customers, but that action doesn't resolve the problem.
Bank customers, for instance, tend to get upset when learning that checks have been
returned because they are overdrawn (which means they've broken the rules) or that a
request for a loan has been denied. O n e approach for handling customers w h o continue
to berate a telephone-based employee is for the latter to say firmly: "This conversation
isn't getting us anywhere.Why don't I call you back in a few minutes when you've had
time to digest the information?" In many cases, a break for reflection is exactly what's
needed.

The Family Feuders People w h o get into arguments (or worse) with other
customers—often members of their own family—make up a subcategory of belligerents
we call family feuders. Employee intervention may calm the situation or actually make
it worse. Some situations require detailed analysis and a carefully measured response.
Others, like customers starting a food fight in a nice restaurant (yes, such things do
happen!), require almost instantaneous response. Service managers in these situations
need to be prepared to think on their feet and act fast.

T h e Vandal T h e level of physical abuse to which service facilities and equipment can
be subjected is truly astonishing. Soft drinks are poured into bank cash machines; graffiti
are scrawled on both interior and exterior surfaces; b u r n holes from cigarettes scar
carpets, tablecloths, and bedcovers; bus seats are slashed and hotel furniture broken;
telephone handsets are torn off; customers' cars are vandalized; glass is smashed and
fabrics are torn. T h e list is endless. Customers don't cause all of the damage, of course.
Bored or d r u n k y o u n g people are the source of m u c h exterior vandalism. And
disgruntled employees have been known to commit sabotage. But much of the problem
does originate with paying customers w h o choose to misbehave. Alcohol and drugs are
sometimes the cause, psychological problems may contribute, and carelessness can play a
role. T h e r e are also occasions w h e n unhappy customers, feeling mistreated by the
service provider, try to take revenge in some way.
T h e best cure for vandalism is prevention. Improved security discourages some van-
dals. G o o d lighting helps, as does open design of public areas. Companies can choose
pleasing yet vandal-resistant surfaces, protective coverings for equipment, and rugged
furnishings. Educating customers on h o w to use equipment properly (rather than fight-
ing with it) and providing warnings about fragile objects can reduce the likelihood of
abuse or careless handling. And there are economic sanctions: security deposits or signed
agreements in which customers agree to pay for any damage that they cause.

CHAPTER FIVE . RELATIONSHIP MARKETING AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY 115

What should managers do if prevention fails and damage is done? If the perpetra-
tor is caught, they should first clarify w h e t h e r there are any extenuating circumstances
(because accidents do happen). Sanctions for deliberate damage can range from a
warning to prosecution. As far as the physical damage itself is concerned, it's best to fix
it fast (within any constraints imposed by legal or insurance considerations).The gen-
eral manager of a bus company had the right idea w h e n he said: "If one of our buses
is vandalized, whether it's a broken window, a slashed seat, or graffiti on the ceiling,
we take it out of service immediately, so nobody sees it. Otherwise you just give the
same idea to five other characters w h o were too d u m b to think of it in the first
place!"

The D e a d b e a t Leaving aside those individuals w h o never intended to pay in the first
place (our term for them is "the thief"), there are many reasons why customers fail to
pay for services they have received. O n c e again, preventive action is better than a cure.
A growing number of firms insist on prepayment. Any form of ticket sale is a good
example of this. Direct marketing organizations ask for your credit card number as they
take your order, as do most hotels w h e n you make a reservation. T h e next best thing is
to present the customer with a bill immediately on completion of service. If the bill is
to be sent by mail, the firm should send it fast, while the service is still fresh in the
customers mind.
N o t every apparent delinquent is a hopeless deadbeat. Perhaps there's good reason
for the delay and acceptable payment arrangements can be worked out. A key question
is whether such a personalized approach can be cost-justified, relative to the results
obtained by purchasing the services of a collection agency. There may be other consid-
erations, too. If the client's problems are only temporary ones, what is the long-term
value of maintaining the relationship? Will it create positive goodwill and word-of-
mouth to help the customer work things out? These decisions are judgment calls, but if
creating and maintaining long-term relationships is the firm's ultimate goal, they bear
exploration.

Conclusion
All marketers need to be concerned about w h o their customers are, because some are
more profitable (or more central to the organization's mission) than others. This con-
cern takes on added dimensions for certain types of services. W h e n customers have a
high level of contact with the service organization and with one another, the customer
mix helps to define the character of the organization, because customers themselves
become a part of the product. So marketers must be selective in targeting the desired
customer segments. Too diverse a portfolio of customers may result in an ill-defined
image, especially if different customer segments are present at the same time. Avoiding
inappropriate behavior is a related issue. Abusive customers—what we call "jaycus-
tomers"—are a particular concern since they may spoil the experience for others and
hurt profitability in other ways, too.
Marketers need to pay special attention to those customers w h o offer the firm the
greatest value. Programs to reward frequent users—of which the most highly developed
are the frequent flyer clubs created by the airlines—help identify and provide rewards
for high-value customers and track their behavior in terms of where and when they use
the service, what service classes or types of product they buy, and how much they spend.
The most successful organizations give their best customers incentives to remain loyal,
creating valued relationships that are nurtured over time.


1. W h a t criteria should a marketing manager use to decide which customer
segments should be targeted by the firm?
2. Make a case both for and against the statement that " T h e customer is always
right."
3. Identify some of the measures that can be used to encourage long-term
relationships with customers.
4. W h y should companies spend money to keep existing customers loyal?
5. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of frequent user programs in different
types of service industries.
6. Select a people-processing service business.Then pick two types of
jaycustomers and develop strategies designed (a) to discourage these customers
from using your service, (b) to prevent them from causing distress to other
customers a n d / o r to employees, and (c) to minimize financial loss to your
organization.

Endnotes
1. Based on information from the IntrawestWeb site, www.intrawest.com, November 2000,
and past annual reports of Intrawest Corporation,Vancouver, BC.
2. David H. Maister, True Professionalism (New York: The Free Press, 1997) (see especially ch. 20).
3. Paul S. Bender, Design and Operation of Customer Service Systems (New York: AMACOM,
1976), determined that, on average, a lost customer reduced profits by $118 compared
with a $20 cost to keep a customer satisfied.
4. See "Special Report: Privacy in the Digital Age," Yahoo Internet Life 6 (October 2000),
98-115.
5. Leonard L. Berry and A. Parasuraman, Marketing Services: Competing Through Quality (New
York:The Free Press, 1991). See especially ch. 8, 132-150.
6. Nicole E. Coviello, Roderick J. Brodie, and Hugh J. Munro, "Understanding
Contemporary Marketing: Development of a Classification Scheme," Journal of Marketing
Management, 13, no.6 (1995), 501-522.
7. J. R. Copulsky and M.J.Wolf,"Relationship Marketing: Positioning for the Future,"
Journal of Business Strategy 11, no. 4 (1990): 16—20.
8. Piyush Kumar, "The Impact of Long-Term Client Relationships on the Performance of
Business Service Firms," Journal of Service Research 2 (August 1999): 4-18.
9. Frederick F. Reichheld, The Loyalty Effect (Boston: Harvard Business School Press,
1996).
10. Frederick F. Reichheld and W. Earl Sasser,Jr.,"Zero Defections: Quality Comes to
Services," Harvard Business Review, 68 October 1990.
11. James L. Heskett,W Earl Sasser.Jr., and Leonard A. Schlesinger, The Service Profit Chain
(NewYork:The Free Press, 1997).
12. Reichheld and Sasser, "Zero Defections."
13. Werner J. Reinarz andV. Kumar, "On the Profitability of Long-Life Customers in a
Noncontractual Setting: An Empirical Investigation and Implications for Marketing,"
Journal of Marketing 64 (October 2000): 17-35.
14. Alan W H. Grant and Leonard H. Schlesinger, "Realize Your Customer's Full Profit
Potential," Harvard Business Review 73 (September-October, 1995): 59—75.
15. Diane Brady,"Why Service Stinks," Business Week, 23 October 2000, 118-128.
16. Gerald R. Dowling and Mark Uncles, "Do Customer Loyalty Programs Really Work?"
Sloan Management Review (Summer 1997): 71—81.

C H A P T E R F I V E • R E L A T I O N S H I P M A R K E T I N G A N D C U S T O M E R LOYALTY 117

17. This section is adapted from Christopher Lovelock, Product Plus (New York: McGraw-
Hill, 1994), ch. 15.
18. Based on Rob Ortega and Emily Nelson, "Skiing Deaths May Fuel Calls for Helmets,"
Wall Street Journal, 7 January 1998.B1-B16.
19. For an amusing and explicit depiction of various types of belligerent customers, see Ron
Zemke and Kristin Anderson, "The Customers from Hell," Training 26 (February 1990):
25-31 [reprinted in John E. G. Bateson and K. Douglas Hoffman, Managing Services
Marketing, 4th ed. (Fort Worth,TX:The Dryden Press, 1999), 61-62.].

Complaint Handling
and Service Recovery
Why Did the Hotel Guests Pass Up
a Free Breakfast?
An alert hostess at a Hampton Inn in California noticed that two guests Guarantee." More important, mere imitation has not produced the
from an Australian tour group were passing up her hotel's complimen- same results, because the imitators lack the supporting infrastructure,
tary breakfast.1 On the second morning, she asked if anything was culture, and above all the necessary attitude to make the guarantee
wrong. "To be honest, the food is just not what we're used to at home," more than a slogan. Initially, the guarantee was viewed as a proactive
they replied, describing a typical Australian breakfast. When they came approach to what Ray Schultz, later chairman of Hampton Inn's parent
down the next morning, the hostess greeted them cheerfully. "I think company, referred to as "the heartbreak of franchising," the all-too-
we might be able to give you some breakfast this morning," she familiar deterioration of a lodging chain that traditionally plagues the
smiled, laying out items they had mentioned the previous day. She had lodging industry. He recognized how easily quality and service stan-
made a quick trip to a nearby supermarket and added some items dards could slip as properties aged. Investments in properties—either
from her own kitchen at home. The guests were thrilled. "So this is hard dollars for capital improvements or soft dollars for employee
what 100 percent satisfaction means?" they asked." We get to define training, for example, were often compromised to support short-term
satisfaction?" They were so impressed that they arranged to have the earnings.
other members of their tour group, who were staying at another hotel, Furthermore, Schultz recognized the inherent difficulty of main-
move to the Hampton Inn. The two weeks of unexpected tour revenue taining quality standards across a large and diverse multi-site fran-
from the group resulted in a more than adequate return on the extra chise system, in which properties are owned by outside investors. He
time and money. knew that the challenge would only intensify given the company's
The 1,000-plus Hampton Inns offer their guests a valued aggressive growth strategy. "We cannot compromise the quality of
promise: an unconditional guarantee of satisfaction. Guests define Hampton Inns as we grow, because ultimately that would constrain our
satisfaction on their own terms, and the hotel guarantees the cus- growth," he asserted. "Deteriorating quality inevitably will result in
tomer-defined satisfaction—without negotiation. These two elements declining guest satisfaction, lower guest loyalty, and negative word-of-
make the guarantee extraordinary and give Hampton Inn a competitive mouth. That's a recipe for further deterioration in revenue and operat-
advantage in its lodging segment. Since its introduction, only a few ing cash flow. It is easy to lower service standards, but once lowered,
competitors have imitated Hampton Inn's "100% Satisfaction it is very difficult to raise them."

be able to
£> discuss the nature and extent of
consumer complaints
^> outline the courses of action
available to a dissatisfied consumer
3>
= explain the factors that influence
consumer complaining behavior

^> identify the principles of an effective
service recovery system

^> demonstrate the value of an effective
service guarantee

119


CONSUMER COMPLAINING BEHAVIOR
" T h a n k Heavens for Complainers" was the provocative title of an article about cus-
tomer complaining behavior. " T h e ones I worry about," declared one successful m a n -
ager, "are the ones I never hear from." 2 Customers w h o do complain give a firm the
chance to correct problems (including some the firm may not even know it has), restore
relationships with the complainer, and improve future satisfaction for all.
Although the first law of service productivity and quality might be " D o it right the
first time," we can't ignore the fact that failures continue to occur, sometimes for reasons
outside the organization's control.You've probably noticed from your own experience
that the various "moments of truth" in service encounters are especially vulnerable to
breakdowns. Such distinctive service characteristics as real-time performance, customer
involvement, people as part of the product, and difficulty of evaluation greatly increase
the chance of perceived service failures. This chapter addresses the question: What should
we do when customers' expectations are not met? H o w well a firm handles complaints and
resolves problems may determine whether it builds customer loyalty or watches former
customers take their business elsewhere.
T h e chances are that you're not entirely satisfied with the quality of at least some of
the services that you use. Specific complaints can be related to any of the 8Ps. A c o m -
m o n source of frustration results from inappropriate trade-offs between productivity and
quality, when a firm tries to boost productivity without thinking about its impact on
customers. Perhaps some of the product elements are poorly executed. Or maybe the ser-
vice processes in which you are involved are badly organized. Shortcomings in delivery—
place, cyberspace, and time—are common. For example, a service may be unavailable where
and when you want it; or a Web site may not be functioning satisfactorily. Failings in
physical evidence include ugly or poorly maintained facilities and dirty or poorly fitting
staff uniforms.
Price and other user outlays are a major source of complaints. You can probably recall
occasions when you felt you were overcharged, were kept waiting too long, or endured
unnecessary hassles.Your disappointment with a service may also have resulted from pro-
motion and education strategies that promised too much (thus raising your expectations
too high), or failed to instruct you properly in how to use the service. And perhaps you
were inconvenienced or annoyed at some point by the behavior of the people in a ser-
vice environment—either customer-contact personnel or other customers.
H o w do you respond when you have been disappointed? Do you complain infor-
complaint: a formal mally to an employee, ask to speak to the manager, file a c o m p l a i n t with the head office
expression of dissatisfaction of the firm that let you down, write to some regulatory authority, or telephone a con-
with any aspect of a service sumer advocacy group? Or do you just grumble to your friends and family, mutter darkly
experience. to y 0 u r s e lf, and take your business elsewhere next time you need that type of service?
If you don't normally tell a company (or outside agency) of your displeasure with
unsatisfactory service or faulty goods, then you're not alone. Research around the world
has exposed the sad fact that most people do not complain, especially if they don't think
it will do any good. And even w h e n they do communicate their dissatisfaction, m a n -
agers may not hear about complaints made to customer-contact personnel. 3

Customer Response to Service Failures
service failure: a What options are open to customers when they experience a s e r v i c e failure? Figure
perception by customers that 6.1 depicts the courses of action available.
one or more specific aspects This model suggests at least four major courses of action:
of service delivery have not
>- Do nothing
met their expectations.
»- Complain to the service firm

CHAPTER SIX • COMPLAINT HANDLING AND SERVICE RECOVERY 121

»- Take action through a third party (consumer advocacy group, consumer affairs
or regulatory agencies, civil or criminal courts)
>- Switch suppliers and discourage other people from using the original service
firm (through negative word-of-mouth)
It's possible to imagine a variety of outcomes to the actions listed in Figure 6.1 that
might cause customers to feel a range of emotions from fury to delight. T h e risk of
defection is high if customers are dissatisfied, especially w h e n there is a variety of c o m -
peting alternatives available. O n e study of customer switching behavior in service
industries found that close to 60 percent of all respondents w h o reported changing sup-
pliers did so because of a perceived failure: 25 percent cited failures in the core service,
19 percent reported an unsatisfactory encounter with an employee, 10 percent reported
an unsatisfactory response to a prior service failure, and 4 percent described unethical
behavior on the part of the provider. 4
Managers need to be aware that the impact of a defection can go far beyond the
loss of that customer's future business. Angry customers often tell many other people
about their problems. T h e Web has made life more difficult for companies that provide
poor service, because unhappy customers can n o w reach thousands of people by posting
complaints on bulletin boards or setting up Web sites to publicize their bad experiences
with specific organizations. 5 There are even Internet-based services like Ellen's Poison
Pen (www.ellenspoisonpen.com) that, for a fee, will deluge C E O s of offending compa-
nies with letters, e-mails, and faxes until the disgruntled customer is compensated—or
at least acknowledged. Companies w h o have been on the receiving end of correspon-
dence from these n e w online consumer complaint services have charged that cyber-
space is fast becoming " W h i n e Country." 6

FIGURE 6.1
Courses of Action Open to a
Dissatisfied Customer


The TARP Study of Consumer Complaint Handling
TARP, a leading customer satisfaction and loyalty measurement firm (now known as e-
Satisfy), has studied consumer complaint handling in many countries. It published a land-
mark research study based on its own research and a detailed review of other studies from
around the world. 7 The findings, which were widely publicized, prompted many managers
to consider the impact of dissatisfied customers—especially those w h o never complained
but simply defected to a competitor. Let's take a closer look at some specific findings, rec-
ognizing that some of the percentages reported may change for better or worse over time.

W h a t P e r c e n t a g e of P r o b l e m s Are R e p o r t e d ? From its o w n research and
detailed literature studies,TARP found that when U.S. customers experienced problems
concerning manufactured consumer products, only 25 percent to 30 percent of them
actually complained. For grocery products or their packaging, the market research firm
of A.C. Nielsen found a complaint rate of 30 percent. Even for problems with large-
ticket durables,TARP determined that the complaint rate among dissatisfied customers
was only 40 percent. Similar findings come from other countries. A Norwegian study
found that the percentage of dissatisfied consumers w h o complained ranged from 9
percent for coffee to 68 percent for cars. A German study showed that only a small
fraction of customers expressed dissatisfaction, but among this group the complaint rates
ranged from 29 percent to 81 percent. And finally, a Japanese study found complaint
rates of 17 percent among those experiencing a problem with services and 36 percent
for those experiencing a problem with goods.

W h e r e Do P e o p l e C o m p l a i n ? Studies show that the majority of complaints are
made at the place where the product was bought or the service received. Very few
dissatisfied consumers complain directly to the manufacturers or to the head office. In
fact, industry-specific studies conducted by T A R P suggest that fewer than 5 percent of
complaints about large-ticket durable goods or services ever reach corporate
headquarters, presumably because retail intermediaries fail to pass them on.

W h o Is M o s t Likely to C o m p l a i n ? In general, research findings suggest that
consumers from high-income households are more likely to complain than those from
lower income ones, and younger people are more likely to complain than older ones.
People w h o complain also tend to be m o r e knowledgeable about the products in
question and the procedures for complaining. Other factors that increase the likelihood
of a complaint include problem severity, importance of the product to the customer, and
whether financial loss is involved. Customers are also more likely to complain if the
problem involves a technology failure during a self-service interaction instead of an
encounter with a service employee. 8

W h y D o n ' t U n h a p p y C u s t o m e r s Complain? T A R P found three primary reasons
why dissatisfied customers don't complain. In order of frequency, customers stated that:
>- they didn't think it was worth the time or effort,
>- they decided no one would be concerned about their problem or resolving it, and
>• they did not know where to go or what to do.
Unfortunately, this pessimism seems justified since a large percentage of people (40
percent to 60 percent in two studies) reported dissatisfaction with the outcome of their
complaints. Another reason why people don't complain reflects culture or context. A
study in Japan found that 21 percent of dissatisfied customers felt awkward or embar-
rassed about complaining. In some European countries, there is a strong guest-host rela-

CHAPTER SIX . COMPLAINT HANDLING AND SERVICE RECOVERY 123

tionship between service providers and customers (especially in the restaurant industry)
and it's considered bad manners to tell customer-contact personnel that you are dissat-
isfied in any way with the service or the meal. Think about an occasion when you were
dissatisfied but did not complain. W h a t were the reasons?

Impact on R e p u r c h a s e Intentions W h e n complaints are satisfactorily resolved,
there's a much better chance that the customers involved will remain brand loyal and
continue to repurchase the items in question.TARP found that intentions to repurchase
different types of products ranged from 69 percent to 80 percent a m o n g those
complainers w h o were completely satisfied with the outcome of the complaint. This
figure dropped to 17 percent to 32 percent (depending on the type of product) for
complainers w h o felt that their complaint had not been settled to their satisfaction.

Variations in Dissatisfaction by Industry
Although significant improvements in complaint handling practices occurred during
the 1980s and early 1990s in some industries, many customers remain dissatisfied with
the way in which their problems are resolved.
There are discouraging signs that the situation is deteriorating again. Data from
Better Business Bureaus showed that consumer complaints more than doubled between
1995 and 1999. O n e reason may be that customer expectations are rising at the same
time that companies are focusing their attention on their most loyal and profitable cus-
tomers and paying less attention to the rest. 9 Firms have also been trying to save money
by automating their complaint handling procedures, making it increasingly difficult for
customers to speak with a real person.
A valuable measure of h o w well different industries in the United States are per-
forming relative to the needs and expectations of the marketplace is provided by the
American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which measures customers' evaluations
of the total purchase and consumption experience, both actual and anticipated, on an
annual basis. 10 ACSI results show that most manufactured products score higher than
most services. Figure 6.2 shows the trend in annual satisfaction scores for several major
service industries between 1995 and 2000. Most show a decline, with the airline indus-

FIGURE 6.2
Declining Satisfaction Hits Major
Service Industries in the USA,
Source: American Customer Service Index, University of Michigan Business School. 1995-2000


try showing the sharpest deterioration in customer satisfaction. As these data suggest,
many service industries are still a long way from meeting their customers' expectations
on service. But some companies do better than others. Within each industry, there are
often considerable variations in performance between different firms.
Findings from a large-scale study of consumer complaining behavior in Australia
showed that, among the industries studied, a majority of customers w h o had a serious
problem did make the effort to complain.' ^ The results showed considerable disparity from
one service industry to another in both the incidence of unsatisfactory service as well as in
customers' likeliness to complain. For instance, more Australians were willing to complain
about telephone service and other utilities than about restaurants and health services.
Other key findings from this study were the following:
>- 57 percent of respondents had experienced at least one problem with products
or services within the past 12 months.
>- On average, 73 percent of those respondents w h o had a serious problem took
some action to have it corrected.
>> Only 34 percent w h o took action were satisfied with the way the problem was
resolved.
>» A m o n g those w h o were not happy with their complaint outcome, 89 percent
reported they would not deal with the same firm again.
>» Complaining households made an average of 3.4 contacts each in an effort to
have their most serious problems resolved.
>- T h e further up the management hierarchy customers had to go to get the p r o b -
lem resolved, the more their satisfaction declined.
>- On average, a dissatisfied customer told nine other people while a satisfied cus-
tomer told only half as many.
What do people actually complain about? Inevitably, there are variations from one
industry to another when it comes to problems with the core product, but certain aspects
of customer service are c o m m o n to numerous service industries. Figure 6.3 highlights
the extent of different types of complaints about telephone service in the United States,
as reported to the Federal Communications Commission. It's striking to note that 41
percent of all complaints concern inaccurate information. A substantial proportion of the

FIGURE 6.3
How U.S. Complaints About
Phone Service Break Down Data: Federal Communications Commission.

CHAPTER SIX - COMPLAINT HANDLING AND SERVICE RECOVERY 125

remaining complaints revolve around failings on the part of service personnel, including
unresponsiveness, rudeness, poor training, and a bias against minorities.

Factors Influencing Complaining Behavior
When consumers have an unsatisfactory service encounter, their initial (often u n c o n -
scious) reaction is to assess what is at stake. In general, studies of consumer complaining
behavior have identified two main purposes for complaining. First, consumers will
complain to recover some economic loss, seeking either to get a refund or to have the
service performed again (e.g., car repairs, dry-cleaning services). They may take legal
action if the problem remains unresolved. A second reason for complaining is to rebuild
self-esteem. W h e n service employees are rude, aggressive, deliberately intimidating, or
apparently uncaring (such as when a sales assistant is discussing his weekend social activ-
ities with colleagues and pointedly ignores waiting customers), the customers' self-
esteem, self-worth, or sense of fairness may be negatively affected. They may feel that
they should be treated with more respect and become angry or emotional.
There are costs associated with complaining. These may include the monetary cost
of a stamp or phone call, time and effort in writing a detailed letter or making a verbal
complaint, and the psychological burden of risking an unpleasant personal confronta-
tion with a service provider—especially if this involves someone w h o m the customer
knows and may have to deal with again). Such costs may well deter a dissatisfied cus-
tomer from complaining. Often, it is simply less stressful to defect to a different service
supplier—especially w h e n the switching costs are low or nonexistent. If you are
unhappy with the service you receive from your travel agent, for example, you may eas-
ily switch to a different agent next time. However, if you decide to switch doctors or
dentists, you may have to ask to have all of your medical records transferred. This
requires more effort and might make you feel uncomfortable.
Complaining represents a form of social interaction and therefore is likely to be
influenced by role perceptions and social norms. O n e study found that for services
where customers have "low power" (defined as the perceived ability to influence or
control the transaction), they are less likely to voice complaints. Professional service
providers such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, professors, and architects are a good example.
Social norms tend to discourage criticism by clients of such individuals, w h o are seen as
"experts" about the service being offered. A clear implication is that professionals need
to develop comfortable ways for their clients to express legitimate complaints.
What do customers expect after investing time and effort in making a complaint?
In a very real sense, they are looking for justice and fairness. Based on a study of con-
sumers' experiences with complaint resolution, Tax and Brown identified three types of
fairness. 13 T h e first, outcome fairness, relates to customer expectations of outcomes or
compensation that matches the level of dissatisfaction. Second, customers expect proce-
dural fairness, in terms of clear, timely, and hassle-free procedures for handling complaints
and resolving problems. Third, customers look for interaction fairness, which involves
being treated politely, with care and honesty.

Complaints as Market Research Data
Responsive service organizations look at complaints as a stream of information that can
be used to help m o n i t o r productivity and quality and highlight changes needed to
improve service design and execution. Complaints about slow service or bureaucratic
procedures, for instance, may provide useful documentation of inefficient and u n p r o -
ductive processes. Personal or telephone interviews offer much better opportunities
than mail or in-store surveys to dig deeper and probe for what lies behind certain
responses. A skilled interviewer can solicit valuable information by asking customers
questions such as: " C a n you tell me why you feel this way? W h o (or what) caused this


situation? H o w did customer-contact employees respond? W h a t action would you like
to see the firm take to prevent a recurrence of such a situation?"
For complaints to be useful as research input, they should be funneled into a central
collection point, recorded, categorized, and analyzed. Compiling this documentation
requires a system for capturing complaints wherever they are made—without hindering
timely resolution of each specific problem—and transmitting them to a central location
complaint log: a detailed where they can be recorded in a company-wide c o m p l a i n t l o g . T h e most useful roles
record of all customer for centralized complaint logs are: (1) to provide a basis for following up on and track-
complaints received by a ing all complaints to see that they have in fact been resolved; (2) to serve as an early
service provider. warning indicator of perceived deterioration in one or more aspects of service; and (3)
to indicate topics and issues that may require more detailed research. However, creating
and maintaining a company-wide log is not a simple matter because there are many dif-
ferent entry points for complaints, including the following:
>- the firm's own employees at the front line, w h o may be in contact with cus-
tomers face-to-face or by telecommunications;
^ i n t e r m e d i a r y organizations acting on behalf of the original supplier;
>- managers w h o normally work backstage but w h o are contacted by a customer
seeking higher authority;
»- suggestion or complaint cards mailed or placed in a special box; and
>• complaints to third parties—consumer advocate groups, legislative agencies,
trade organizations, and other customers.

Making It Easier for Customers to Complain
H o w can managers make it easier for unhappy customers to complain about service
failures? Many companies have improved their complaint collection procedures by
adding special toll-free phone lines, prominently displayed customer comment cards,
Web sites and e-mail addresses, and video or computer terminals for recording c o m -
plaints. Some go even further, encouraging their staff to ask customers if everything is
satisfactory and to intervene if a customer is obviously unhappy. 1 4 T h e hostess at
H a m p t o n Inn was clearly very observant. She noticed that the two Australian guests

When unhappy customers
complain, it makes life stressful
for service personnel like this
pharmacist—especially if it's
not the latter's fault.

CHAPTER SIX . COMPLAINT HANDLING AND SERVICE RECOVERY 127

passed up the opportunity for breakfast two mornings in a row and sensed—or perhaps
overheard them express—their disappointment.
Of course, just collecting complaints doesn't necessarily help to resolve them. In
fact, accepting complaints and then ignoring them may make matters worse! Although
friendly sympathy from an employee is much better than an irritable shrug, companies
need to have a well-designed service recovery strategy that empowers employees to
resolve problems quickly and satisfactorily. For example, the Hampton Inn hostess asked
the two guests what they would normally eat for breakfast at home and then took the
initiative during her free time to obtain the preferred items and bring them to the hotel.
Ritz-Carlton employees are empowered to spend up to $2,000 to find a solution for a
customer complaint. They also have permission to break from their routine jobs for as
long as necessary to make a guest happy.15

IMPACT OF SERVICE RECOVERY EFFORTS
ON CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Complaint handling should be seen as a profit center, not a cost center. TARP has even
created a formula to help companies relate the value of retaining a profitable customer to
the overall costs of running an effective complaint handling unit. Plugging industry data
into this formula yielded some impressive returns on investment: from 50 percent to 170
percent for banking, 20 percent to 150 percent for gas utilities, over 100 percent for auto-
motive service, and from 35 percent to an astonishing 400 percent for retailing.16
Underlying these statistics is a simple fact. When a dissatisfied customer defects, the
firm loses more than just the value of the next transaction. It may also lose a long-term
stream of profits from that customer and from anyone else who switches suppliers
because of negative comments from an unhappy friend. So it pays to invest in service service recovery:
recovery efforts designed to protect those long-term profits. Efforts to design service systematic efforts by a firm
recovery procedures must take into account a firm's specific environment and the types after a service failure to
of problems that customers are likely to encounter. Figure 6.4 displays the components correct a problem and retain
of an effective service recovery system. a customer s goodwill.

FIGURE 6.4
Components of an Effective
Source: Lovelock, Patterson, and Walker, Services Marketing—Australia and New Zealand {Sydney: Prentice Hall, 1998). Service Recovery System


Service Recovery Following Customer Complaints
Service recovery plays a crucial role in restoring customer satisfaction following a ser-
vice failure and retaining a customer's goodwill. T h e true test of a firm's commitment to
satisfaction and service quality isn't in the advertising promises or the decor and ambi-
ence of its offices, but in the way it responds w h e n things go wrong for the customer.
R e c e n t research suggests that customers' satisfaction with the way in which complaints
are handled has a direct impact on the trust they place in that supplier and on their
future commitment to the firm. 17 Unfortunately, firms don't always react in ways that
match their advertised promises. Effective service recovery requires thoughtful proce-
dures for resolving problems and handling disgruntled customers, because even a single
service problem can destroy a customer's confidence in a firm if the following condi-
tions exist: 18
*> The failure is totally outrageous (e.g., blatant dishonesty on the part of the supplier).
»- T h e problem fits a pattern of failure rather than being an isolated incident.
*- T h e recovery efforts are weak, serving to compound the original problem rather
than correct it.

Principles of Effective Problem Resolution
Recovering from service failures takes more than just pious expressions of determina-
tion to resolve any problems that may occur. It requires commitment, planning, and
clear guidelines. Both managers and front-line employees must be prepared to deal with
angry customers w h o are confrontational and sometimes behave in insulting ways
toward service personnel w h o aren't at fault in any way. Service recovery efforts should
be flexible, with employees being trained to handle complaints and empowered to
develop solutions that will satisfy complaining customers. 1 9

Guidelines for Effective
Problem Resolution
4. Don't argue with customers. The goal should be to
1. Act fast. If the complaint is made during service delivery, gather facts to reach a mutually acceptable solution, not to
then time is of the essence to achieve a full recovery. win a debate or prove that the customer is an idiot.
When complaints are made after the fact, many compa- Arguing gets in the way of listening and seldom diffuses
nies have established policies of responding within 24 anger.
hours, or sooner. Even when full resolution is likely to take
5. Acknowledge the customer's feelings, either tacitly or
longer, fast acknowledgment remains very important.
explicitly (e.g., "I can understand why you're upset"). This
2. Admit mistakes but don't be defensive. Acting defen- action helps to build rapport, the first step in rebuilding a
sively may suggest that the organization has something to bruised relationship.
hide or is reluctant to fully explore the situation.
6. Give customers the benefit of the doubt. Not all cus-
3. Show that you understand the problem from each customers are truthful and not all complaints justified. But
tomer's point of view. Seeing situations through the cus- customers should be treated as though they have a valid
tomers' eyes is the only way to understand what they think complaint until clear evidence to the contrary emerges. If a
has gone wrong and why they are upset. Service person- lot of money is at stake (as in insurance claims or potential
nel should avoid jumping to conclusions with their own lawsuits), careful investigation is warranted; if the amount
interpretations. involved is small, it may not be worth haggling over a


The material in the box on guidelines for effective problem resolution is based on
discussions with executives in many different industries. Well-managed companies seek
to act quickly and perform well on each of the 10 guidelines. Research suggests that the
slower the resolution of a service problem, the greater the compensation (or "atone-
ment") needed to make customers satisfied with the outcome of the service recovery
process.20 Treating complaints with suspicion is likely to alienate customers. T h e presi-
dent o f T A R P (the company that u n d e r t o o k the studies of complaining behavior
described earlier) notes:
Our research has found premeditated rip-offs represent 1 to 2 percent oj the customer
base in most organizations. However, most organizations defend themselves against
unscrupulous customers by . . . treating the 98 percent of honest customers like crooks to
catch the 2 percent who are crooks.

Taking care of customers requires that the firm also take care of its employees.
Managers need to recognize that handling complaints about service failures and
attempting service recovery can be stressful for employees, especially w h e n they are
treated abusively for problems over which they have no control. C o m p o u n d i n g the
stress are policies that impose inflexible, bureaucratic procedures rather than empower-
ing customer-contact personnel to handle recovery situations as they see fit. Bowen and
Johnston argue that service firms need to develop "internal service recovery strategies"
designed to help employees recover from the negative feelings that they may incur from
being the target of customer anger and dissatisfaction. 22
Similarly, management must ensure that the firm employs a sufficient number of
well-trained and motivated employees to be able to provide good service in the first
place. Downsizing (a deliberate policy of reducing the number of employees to reduce
costs) often involves a calculated gamble that replacing people by automated phone
messages and Web sites will enable the firm to continue to respond satisfactorily to cus-
tomers' problems. T h e telecommunications industry provides a cautionary tale of the
risks of cutting back people-based service in favor of automated solutions, especially

refund or other compensation. But it's still a good idea to nience and/or loss of time and money because of service
check records to see if there is a past history of dubious failures, either a monetary payment or an offer of equiva-
complaints by the same customer. lent service in kind is appropriate. This type of recovery
7. Clarify the steps needed to solve the problem. When strategy may also reduce the risk of legal action by an
instant solutions aren't possible, telling customers how the angry customer. Service guarantees often lay out in
organization plans to proceed shows that corrective action advance what such compensation will be, and the firm
is being taken. It also sets expectations about the time should ensure that all guarantees are met.
involved (so firms should be careful not to overpromise!). 10. Persevering to regain customer goodwill. When cus-
8. Keep customers informed of progress. Nobody likes tomers have been disappointed, one of the biggest chal-
being left in the dark. Uncertainty breeds anxiety and lenges is to restore their confidence and preserve the rela-
stress. People tend to be more accepting of disruptions if tionship for the future. Perseverance may be required to
they know what is going on and receive periodic progress defuse customers' anger and to convince them that
reports. actions are being taken to avoid a recurrence of the prob-
lem. Truly exceptional recovery efforts can be extremely
9. Consider compensation. When customers don't receive
effective in building loyalty and referrals.
the service outcomes promised or suffer serious inconve-


during a period of continuing mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. Corporate cus-
tomers, ranging from international airlines to the Chicago Board of Trade, are among
those whose telephone or Internet operations have been paralyzed by service failures;
service guarantee: a these situations worsened dissatisfaction when customers "were unable to find anyone
promise that if service w h o could promptly resolve their problems.
delivery fails to meet
predefined standards, the
customer is entitled to one or SERVICE GUARANTEES
more forms of compensation. A small but growing number of companies offer customers an unconditional guarantee
of satisfaction. These guarantees promise that if service delivery fails to meet predefined
standards, the customer is entitled to one or more forms of compensation—such as an
easy-to-claim replacement, refund, or credit. Christopher Hart argues that service
guarantee is a powerful tool for promoting and achieving service quality, citing the fol-
lowing reasons:
1. Guarantees force firms to focus on what their customers want and expect in
each element of the service.
2. Guarantees set clear standards, telling customers and employees alike what the
company stands for. Compensating customers for poor service causes managers

Four Service
Guarantees
the guaranteed time and the mailer makes a claim for a refund, the
1. Excerpt from the "Quality Standard USPS will refund the postage unless: (1) delivery was attempted
Guarantees" of an office services but could not be made, (2) this shipment was delayed by strike or
company work stoppage, or (3) detention was made for a law enforcement
We guarantee six-hour turnaround on documents of two pages purpose.
or less . . . (does not include client subsequent changes or
Source: Printed on back of Express Mail receipt
equipment failures). We guarantee that there will be a recep-
tionist to greet you and your visitors during normal business
hours . . . (short breaks of less than five minutes are not subject
3. L.L. Bean's Guarantee
to this guarantee). You will not be obligated to pay rent for any Our products are guaranteed to give 100 percent satisfaction in
day on which there is not a manager onsite to assist you (lunch every way. Return anything purchased from us at any time if it
and reasonable breaks are expected and not subject to this proves otherwise. We will replace it, refund your purchase price, or
guarantee). credit your credit card. We do not want you to have anything from
L.L. Bean that is not completely satisfactory.
Source: Reproduced in Eileen C. Shapiro, Fad Surfing in the Boardroom (Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesiey, 1995), 180. Source: Printed in all L.L, Bean catalogs and on the company's Web site,
www.llbean.com/customerservice/, January 2000.

2. U.S. Postal Service Express Mail
Guarantee 4. Blockbuster Video's Guarantee
Excludes all international shipments. Military shipments delayed Get a Movie Rental FREE if you don't love Keeping the Faith.
due to Customs' inspections are also excluded. If this shipment is FREE movie rental given only on visit with return of paid rental of
mailed at a designated USPS Express Mail facility on or before the Keeping the Faith. Recipient responsible for applicable taxes and
specified time for overnight delivery to the addressee, it will be extended viewing fees. If recipient rents more than one movie, credit
delivered to the addressee or agent before the guaranteed time the will be applied to lowest rental price. Offer valid at participating
next delivery day. Signature of the addressee, addressee's agent, or stores. Limit one (1) satisfaction guarantee coupon per featured title.
delivery employee is required upon delivery. If it is not delivered by Source: Blockbuster Video monthly mailing to Rewards program members, October 2000.


to take guarantees seriously, because they highlight the financial costs of quality
failures.
3. Guarantees require the development of systems for generating meaningful cus-
tomer feedback and acting on it.
4. Guarantees force service organizations to understand why they fail and encour-
age them to identify and overcome potential fail points.
5. Guarantees build "marketing muscle" by reducing the risk of the purchase deci-
sion and building long-term loyalty.
Many firms have enthusiastically leapt on the service guarantees bandwagon with-
out carefully thinking through what is implied in making and keeping the promises of
an unconditional service guarantee. Compare the four examples of service guarantees in
the box on page 130 and ask yourself h o w m u c h is covered by each guarantee, how
much each contributes to reducing risk for the customer, and how much pressure each
puts on its respective organization to maintain service standards.

Building Strategy Around a Hotel Service Guarantee
Hampton Inn's 100 percent Satisfaction Guarantee (see Figure 6.5) has proved to be a
very successful business-building program. T h e strategy of offering to refund the cost
of the room for the day on which a guest expresses dissatisfaction has attracted new
customers and also served as a powerful guest-retention device. People choose to stay
at a Hampton Inn because they are confident they will be satisfied. At least as impor-
tant, the guarantee has become a vital tool to help managers to identify new opportu-
nities for quality i m p r o v e m e n t and to make those improvements happen. In this
regard, the 100% Satisfaction Guarantee "turned up the pressure in the hose," as one
manager put it, showing where "leaks" existed, and providing the incentive to plug

FIGURE 6.5
The Hampton Inn 100% Satisfaction
Guarantee


them. As a result, the guarantee has had an important impact on product consistency
and service delivery across the H a m p t o n Inn chain, dramatically improving on finan-
cial performance.
However, fully i m p l e m e n t i n g a 100 percent Satisfaction Guarantee is no easy
task, as some competitors w h o have tried to imitate it can attest. Successful imple-
mentation of a 100 percent Satisfaction Guarantee requires that its underlying philos-
ophy of guest satisfaction be embraced by every employee, from senior management
to hourly workers. This has proved challenging even for H a m p t o n Inn, where the
guarantee has faced b o t h resistance and skepticism from hotel managers in spite of its
proven benefits. T h e box " H o w U n c o n d i t i o n a l Is Your Guarantee?" illustrates just
h o w challenging it is for other hotels to imitate the concept of a truly unconditional
guarantee.

D e s i g n i n g the Guarantee T h e first step in designing the guarantee at H a m p t o n Inn
was to answer a key question: " W h a t would guests want in a guarantee?" Research
revealed that they were most interested in the quality and cleanliness of their
accommodations, friendly and efficient service, and a moderate price.They also wanted

How Unconditional
Is Your Guarantee?'
"Well, what rooms is it on?"
Christopher Hart tells this story of an incident at a hotel in a well- "Only the good rooms."
known chain. He and his two cousins, Jeff and Roxy Hart, were "You mean you have bad rooms?"
nearing the end of an extended holiday weekend and needed to "Well, we have some rooms that have not been renovated.
find an inexpensive place to stay. It was late in the day and their Those are the ones we sell for $55.95. But we're sold out of them
flight left early the following morning. Jeff called Hampton Inn and tonight."
found nothing available in the area. So he called (name deleted) Chris said, "Well, Jeff, you'd better get one of the more expen-
Inn, which had rooms available and booked one for $62. sive rooms, because I'm not sure how satisfied you're going to be
We found the hotel [said Chris], noticing a huge banner tomorrow."
draped from the bottom of the sign, advertising, "Rooms for The manager quickly added, "Did I mention that the guarantee
$55.95, including breakfast." We went inside. After giving the front- doesn't apply on weekends?"
desk clerk the basic information, Jeff was told that his room would "No," barked Jeff, who had worked for 15 years conducting
be $69. "But the reservation agent I just booked the room with cost-benefit and compliance studies for the U.S. government, "and
quoted me $62. What's the story? And, by the way, what about the that's illegal too!"
$55.95 price advertised on your sign? Can I get a room for that "Wait just a minute," said the manager, getting a puzzled look
price?" as though something had just popped into his head. "Let me see
"Oh," replied the front-desk clerk. "That was a special promo- something." He then buried his head into the computer, clicking
tion for the spring. It's over now." (It was late June.) away madly at the keyboard, creating the impression that he was
Jeff replied, "But you're still advertising the price. It's illegal to working on our behalf. After an appropriate time, up popped his
advertise one price and charge another one." head, now with a big smile.
"Let me get my manager," came the nervous response. Out "One of the guests who originally reserved a $55.95 room,
came the manager. In the middle of the conversation, in which Jeff called and upgraded—but the upgrade wasn't recorded in the
was arguing the same points that he made with the front-desk computer. I could let you have that room—but I can't guarantee
clerk, Chris interjected, "By the way, I understand you offer a satis- your satisfaction."
faction guarantee. Right?" "We'll take it," said an exhausted Roxy.
"Not on the $55.95 rooms," came the reply from the manager.


a guarantee that was simple and easy to invoke if necessary. In-depth guest interviews
yielded 53 "moments of truth" critical to guests' satisfaction with their H a m p t o n Inn
stays. These m o m e n t s of truth translated into concrete and controllable aspects of
Hampton Inn's product and service delivery. Throughout the guarantee design process,
an important new mindset was reinforced: Listen to the guests, w h o knew best what
satisfied them.
According to the vice president of marketing for H a m p t o n Inn, "Designing the
guarantee made us understand what made guests satisfied, rather than what we thought
made them satisfied." It became imperative that everyone, from front-line employees to
general managers and personnel at corporate headquarters, should listen carefully to
guests, anticipate their needs to the greatest extent possible, and remedy problems
quickly so that guests were satisfied with the solution.Viewing a hotel's function in this
customer-centric way had a profound impact on the way the parent company con-
ducted business.
Even among those w h o fully supported the guarantee concept in principle, pressing
concerns remained:
»- "Will guests try to cheat and rip us off?"
>• "Will our employees give the store away?"
>- "What will be the return on our efforts to increase customer satisfaction?"

The P i l o t Test To prepare for the launch of the guarantee, a pilot test was
conducted in 30 hotels that already had high customer satisfaction. Training was seen
as critical. First, general managers were trained in the fundamentals of the
guarantee—what it was and h o w it worked. T h e n the general managers trained their
employees. Managers were taught to take a leadership role by actively demonstrating
their support for the guarantee and helping their employees gain the confidence to
handle guest c o n c e r n s and problems. Finally, t h e guarantee was explained and
promoted to guests.
After learning basic guarantee concepts and reviewing the H a m p t o n Inn 100 per-
cent Satisfaction Guarantee, general managers were asked to form groups of 10 to 12.
Their charge was to list the positive and negative aspects of the guarantee on a flipchart.
Few groups could come up with more than one or two pages of positives, but they had
little difficulty creating lists of negatives; one such list was 26 pages long! Senior c o r p o -
rate managers went through each negative issue, addressing managers' concerns one by
one. The concerns remained relatively consistent and centered on management control.
There were also worries about guests abusing the guarantee and cheating (those nasty
"jaycustomers" that were described in Chapter 5). For a discussion of how the company
identifies such guests, see the box "Tracking D o w n Guests W h o Cheat."
The pilot test produced some interesting results. Even at hotels that already had a
high-satisfaction culture, corporate m a n a g e m e n t found that front-line employees
weren't always fully empowered to do whatever was needed to make a guest 100 percent
satisfied. Further, employees did not always feel they had explicit responsibility for guest
satisfaction. So they had to be taught that their j o b responsibilities n o w extended
beyond the functional roles for which they were initially hired (i.e., property mainte-
nance, breakfast staff, front desk).
Managers and employees discovered that the guarantee was not about giving
money away—it was about making guests satisfied. They learned that satisfying guests by
correcting problems had to be a priority. Employees were encouraged to creatively fix
problems "on the spot," and rely on the guarantee as a "safety net" to catch guests w h o
were still dissatisfied.


Ongoing Experience N o w that the 100 percent Satisfaction Guarantee has become
standard practice at H a m p t o n Inn, the company provides reports every quarter that
show the top five reasons for guarantee payouts. Managers are encouraged to develop
clear action plans for eliminating the sources of guarantee payouts at their hotels. O n c e
the sources of problems are systematically eliminated, payouts b e c o m e less frequent.
Guest satisfaction has increased substantially at those hotels where the guarantee has
been most strongly embraced. H a m p t o n Inn has also implemented an employee-awards
program for employees w h o have undertaken exceptional acts of customer service.
W h e n this "cycle of success" occurs at a specific hotel, its employees become "guarantee
advocates" w h o spread word of their success throughout the chain.
Over time, hotel managers have recognized two things. First, the number of people
invoking the guarantee represents only a small percentage of all guests. Second, the per-
centage of cheaters in this group amounts to a ridiculously small number. As one m a n -
ager admitted, "It occurred to me that I was managing my entire operation to accom-
modate the half of one percent of guests w h o actually invoke the guarantee. And out of
that number, maybe only 5 percent were cheating. Viewed this way, I was focused on
managing my business to only 0.025 percent of total revenues."
Experience has shown that guests are not typically looking for a refund—they just
want to be satisfied with what they pay for. And because the 100 percent Satisfaction
Guarantee promises just that, it's a powerful vehicle for attracting and retaining guests.
T h e guarantee was subsequently extended to several of H a m p t o n Inn's sister brands,
H a m p t o n Inn and Suites, Embassy Suites, and H o m e w o o d Suites. A subsequent survey
found that:
>- Fifty-four percent of guests interviewed said they were more likely to consider
H a m p t o n Inn (or one of its sister brand hotels) because of the guarantee.
>- Seventy-seven percent of guests interviewed said they would stay again at the
same hotel.
»- Ninety-three percent of guests interviewed said they would stay at another hotel
in the same chain.
>- Fifty-nine percent of guests interviewed have already returned.

Tracking Down Guests
Who Cheat
were." The typical response is dead silence! Sometimes the silence
As part of its guarantee tracking system, Hampton Inn has devel- is followed with questions of how headquarters could possibly
oped ways to identify guests who appeared to be cheating—using know about their problems. These calls have their humorous
aliases or different satisfaction problems to invoke the guarantee moments as well. One individual, who had invoked the guarantee
repeatedly in order to get the cost of their room refunded. Guests 17 times in what appeared to be a trip that took him across the
who request frequent compensation receive personalized attention United States and back, was asked, innocuously, "Where do you
and follow-up from the company's Guest Assistance Team. like to stay when you travel?" "Hampton Inn," came the enthusias-
Wherever possible, senior managers will telephone these guests to tic response. "But," said the executive making the call, "our records
ask them about their recent stays. The conversation might go as show that the last 17 times you have stayed at a Hampton Inn, you
follows: "Hello, Mr. Jones. I'm the director of guest assistance and I have invoked the 100 percent Satisfaction Guarantee." "That's why
see that you've had some difficulty with the last four Hampton Inn I like them!" proclaimed the guest (who turned out to be a long-
properties you've visited. Since we take our guarantee very seri- distance truck driver).
ously, I thought I'd give you a call and find out what the problems


Among the reasons for the success of the H a m p t o n Inn service guarantee are
careful planning, listening to employee and manager concerns, an emphasis on train-
ing, and a willingness to delegate m o r e authority to employees. T h e company has
evaluated the possibility that customers would abuse its service guarantee—namely,
making fraudulent claims to obtain a free night in a hotel—and has determined that
the incidence of such fraud is confined to a tiny fraction of its customers. So cus-
tomers are trusted w h e n they register a complaint and a refund is cheerfully given on
the spot. However, the firm's management is not naive: There is careful tracking after
the fact of all claims against the guarantee and any suspicious-looking p a t t e r n of
repeated claims is followed up.

Developing Viable Guarantees
Guarantees need to be clear, so that customers and employees can understand them eas-
ily. Sometimes, this means relating the terms of the guarantee to satisfaction with a spe-
cific activity rather than overall performance. For instance, the Irish Electricity Supply
Board (ESB) offers 12 clearly stated service guarantees in its "Customer Charter," relat-
ing to such elements as network repair, the main fuse, meter connection and accuracy,
and scheduled appointments (when an employee visits the customer's premises). In each
instance, the ESB has established a service standard, such as a promised speed of
response, stating the payment that will be made to the customer if the company fails to
meet the promised standard. T h e charter is written in simple language and tells cus-
tomers what to do if they encounter a problem with any of the problems covered by the
12 guarantees. Compensation payments range from IR£20—100 ($23—115) depending
on the nature of the problem and whether the customer is a household or a business.
Is it always a good idea for a service firm to offer a guarantee? T h e answer, accord-
ing to Ostrom and Hart, is that managers should first think carefully about their firms'
strengths and weaknesses in the context of the markets in w h i c h they c o m p e t e . 2 6
Companies that already have a strong reputation for high-quality service may not need
a guarantee; in fact, it might even be incongruent with their image to offer one. Firms
whose service is currently poor must first work to improve quality to a level above that
at which the guarantee might be invoked on a regular basis by most of their customers!
Service organizations that suffer from high turnover, p o o r employee attitudes, and
inability to recruit strong managers are also in no position to start offering guarantees.
Similarly, firms whose service quality is truly uncontrollable (due to outside forces)
would be foolish to consider guaranteeing any aspect of their service that was not
amenable to improvement through internal strategies.
Service managers should ask themselves: Do the benefits outweigh the costs?
Potential costs include compensating customers for failures covered by the guarantee
and the cost of investments to improve operational effectiveness and staff performance.
In evaluating benefits, managers need to look at the value of the extra business gained,
the long-term potential for greater operational productivity, increased staff pride and
motivation, and the firm's ability to recruit and retain the best employees.
In a market where customers see little financial, personal, or psychological risk asso-
ciated with purchasing and using the service, it's questionable w h e t h e r m u c h value
would be added by instituting a guarantee. However, where perceived risks do exist but
there is little identifiable difference in service quality among competing offerings, the
first company to institute a guarantee may be able to obtain a first-mover advantage and
differentiate its services. But what should managers do if one or m o r e competitors
already have a guarantee in place? Doing nothing is a risk in that it may be seen as a de
facto admission of inconsistent quality. There is also the possibility that the availability of
a guarantee may eventually become a requirement in customers' purchase decision cri-


teria. So the best response may be to attract customers' attention by launching a highly
distinctive guarantee like H a m p t o n Inn's that goes beyond what the competition offers
and will also be difficult for them to match or exceed in the short run.

Conclusion
Collecting customer feedback via complaints, suggestions, and compliments provides a
means of increasing customer satisfaction. It's a terrific opportunity to get into the hearts
and minds of customers. In all but the worst instances, complaining customers are indi-
cating that they want to continue their relationship with the service firm. But they are
also signaling that all is not well, and that they expect the company to make things right.
Service firms need to develop effective strategies for recovering from service fail-
ures so that they can maintain customer goodwill.This is vital for the long-term success
of the company. However, service personnel must also learn from their mistakes and try
to ensure that problems are eliminated. After all, even the best recovery strategy isn't as
good in the customer's eyes as being treated right the first time. Well-designed uncondi-
tional service guarantees have proved to be a powerful vehicle for identifying and justi-
fying needed improvements, as well for creating a culture in which staff members take
proactive steps to ensure that guests will be satisfied.

1. Explain the courses of action available to a dissatisfied consumer.
2. Describe the factors that may prevent a dissatisfied consumer from complaining.
H o w can service providers encourage dissatisfied customers to complain?
3. W h e n was the last time you were truly satisfied with an organization's response
to your complaint? Describe in detail what happened and what made you
satisfied.
4. Think about the last time you experienced a less than satisfactory service
experience. Did you complain? Why? If you did not complain, explain why not.
5. Apply the service recovery concepts presented in this chapter to a service
organization with which you are familiar. Describe how this organization
follows/does not follow these guidelines. What impact do you think this has on
the firm's customers in terms of loyalty?
6. Evaluate the 100 percent Service Guarantee introduced by H a m p t o n Inn. What
are its main advantages and disadvantages?

Endnotes
1. Based on information in Christopher W! Hart •with Elizabeth Long, Extraordinary
Guarantees (NewYork: AMACOM, 1997).
2. Oren Harari,"Thank Heavens for Complainers," Management Review (March 1997):
25-29.
3. Technical Assistance Research Programs Institute (TARP), Consumer Complaint Handling
in America; An Update Study, Part II (Washington DC: TARP and US Office of Consumer
Affairs, April 1986).
4. Susan M. Keveaney, "Customer Switching Behavior in Service Industries: An Exploratory
Study," Journal of Marketing 59 (April 1995): 71-82.

CHAPTER SIX • COMPLAINT HANDLING AND SERVICE RECOVERY

5. Bernd Stauss, "Global Word of Mouth," Marketing Management (Fall 1997): 28-30.
6. Sam McManis, "Whine Online: Web Sites Are Cropping Up to Do the Griping for You,"
San Francisco Chronicle, 14 September 1999.
7. TARP, Consumer Complaint Handling in America.
8. Matthew L. Meuter, Amy L. Ostrom, Robert I. Roundtree, and Mary Jo Bitner,
"Understanding Customer Satisfaction with Technology-Based Service Encounters,"
Journal of Marketing 64 (Summer 2000): 50-64.
9. Diane Brady, "Why Service Stinks," Business Week, 23 October 2000, 118-128.
10. Eugene W. Anderson and Claes Forneil, "The Customer Satisfaction Index as a Leading
Indicator," in Teresa A. Schwartz and Dawn Iacobucci, Handbook of Service Marketing and
Management (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2000), 255-270. See also Claes
Forneil, Michael D.Johnson, Eugene W.Anderson, Jaesung Cha, and Barbara Everitt
Bryant, "The American Customer Satisfaction Index: Nature, Purpose, and Findings,"
Journal of Marketing 60 (October 1996): 7-18.
11. Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals (SOCAP), Study of Consumer Complaint
Behaviour in Australia, 1995.
12. Cathy Goodwin and B.J. Verhage, "Role perceptions of Services: A Cross-Cultural
Comparison with Behavioral Implications," Jowma/ of Economic Psychology 10 (1990):
543-558.
13. Stephen S.Tax and Stephen W. Brown, "Recovering and Learning from Service Failure,"
Sloan Management Review (Fall 1998): 75-88.
14. Christopher WL. Hart, James L. Heskett, and W Earl Sasser Jr.,"The Profitable Art of
Service Recovery," Harvard Business Review 68 (July-August, 1990): 148-156.
15. Rahul Jacob, "Why Some Customers Are More Equal than Others," Fortune, 9 September
1994,224.
16. TARP, Consumer Complaint Handling in America.
17. Stephen S.Tax, Stephen W. Brown, and Murali Chandrashekaran,"Customer Evaluations
of Service Complaint Exercises: Implications for Relationship Marketing," Journal of
Marketing 62 (April 1998): 60-76.
18. Leonard L. Berry, On Great Service: A Framework for Action (NewYork:The Free Press,
1995).
19. Ko de Ruyter and Martin Wetzels, "Customer Equity Considerations in Service
Recovery: A Cross Industry Perspective," International Journal of Service Industry Management
l l . n o . l (2000): 91-108.
20. Christo Boshoff, "An Experimental Study of Service Recovery Options," International
Journal of Service Industry Management 8, no. 2 (1997): 1110—130.
21. John Goodman, quoted in "Improving Service Doesn't Always Require Big Investment,"
Vie Service Edge (July-August, 1990): 3.
22. David E. Bowen and Robert Johnston, "Internal Service Recovery: Developing a New
Construct," International Journal of Service Industry Management 10, no. 2 (1999): 118-131.
23. Rebecca Blumenstein and Stephanie N Mehta,"Lost in the Shuffle: As the Telecoms
Merge and Cut Costs, Service Is Often a Casualty," Wall Street Journal, 19 January 2000,
A1.A6.
24. Christopher W L. Hart, "The Power of Unconditional Service Guarantees," Harvard
Business Review 68 (July-August 1990): 54-62.
25. Information on the 100 percent Satisfaction Guarantee at Hampton Inn is drawn from
Christopher W Hart with Elizabeth Long, Extraordinary Guarantees (New York:
AMACOM, 1997).
26. Amy L. Ostrom and Christopher Hart, "Service Guarantees: Research and Practice," in
Teresa A. Schwartz and Dawn Iacobucci, Handbook of Service Marketing and Management,
(Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2000), 299-316.

Service Marketing Strategy

In Part III of the book, we focus on some key marketing compo- nation of several different pricing elements like a fixed monthly
nents of the 8Ps—product elements, price and other user out- rate, a usage charge that offers volume discounts, and various sup-
lays, and promotion and education. Figure 1 11 shows how these
1. plementary charges. Service managers need to recognize that
three elements relate to the service management decision price is not the only cost incurred by customers. There may be out-
framework. of-pocket expenditures associated with purchasing and using the
We've already addressed service product issues in several service. Customers may also incur significant nonfinancial outlays
previous chapters, where we (1) defined service as an act or per- and burdens ranging from time costs to physical and mental effort.
formance that provides benefits for customers, (2) showed how the Designing a good product and pricing it appropriately will
core product is surrounded by a group of supplementary service not ensure its success if people are unaware of it. So service
elements, and (3) specified how the nature of the underlying ser- firms must address the question: How should we communicate
vice process shapes the performance and thus the customer's what our service has to offer? Credibility is an important issue
experience. Chapter 7 raises the question: What should be the in marketing communication and may depend, in part, on the
core and supplementary elements of our service product? reputation of the organization, its capabilities, and its brand
Developing service product strategy requires managers to identify names. Managers must ask themselves what customers need to
the characteristics of the core product, consider how it should be know about the service and its benefits. Communication must go
augmented and enhanced by supplementary services, and deter- beyond mere promotion. Many customers, especially new ones,
mine how best to design the overall service experience. These deci- will need to be educated about the service. Service businesses
sions are shaped by the nature of the market for the service, requir-have to determine what communication methods and media will
ing consideration of what product benefits will create the most be most effective in reaching their target audiences. They also
value for target customers. need to examine the role that physical evidence can play in cre-
The question What price should we charge for our service? ating desired impressions. These issues are discussed in
is addressed in Chapter 8. Identifying the costs to be recovered Chapter 9.
tends to be a more challenging task for services than for manufac- Finally, service managers must decide how to differentiate
tured goods. Service prices may vary by time of day, day of week, or their firm's offerings from those of the competition—which is
season. And the price actually paid by customers may be a combi- the essence of positioning strategy. Chapter 10 examines issues

FIGURE I I I . l
Product, Pricing, and
Communication Decisions

related to linking product, pricing, and communication in a needs of specific target segments, and (3) create a service pack-
strategic context. This chapter also emphasizes the need to (1) age that is differentiated from competitors' offerings in mean-
integrate different elements of the 8Ps so that they are mutually ingful ways.
reinforcing, (2) ensure that key product attributes relate to the

139

The Service Product
The Moose Ts Loose at Germany's Most
Popular Radio Station
SWF3 is Germany's most popular radio station, reaching more than dise offers. The Club is also featured on SWF3's Web site,
two million listeners in southwestern Germany every day. Some say www.swf3.de.
that it's more than radio—it's a lifestyle.1 Perhaps SWF3's most note- Of course, anyone can access the Web site, and fans living far
worthy feature is the never-ending production of its comic radio skits. outside SWF3's broadcast reception area—even on another conti-
For over 20 years the station has created characters and slogans that nent—can still listen to the station live on Web radio. The user-friendly
have become part of everyday conversation in Germany. These skits, site features information on the station, its staff, and programming, as
plus investigative journalism and trend-setting music, reflect the sta- well as offering services ranging from weather forecasts to
tion's philosophy and are essential keys to its success. SWF3's trade- Kinodatenbank (a useful database of movie reviews). There is also a
mark, the moose, was chosen because the station is headquartered in chat room and a library of pictures of real moose, cartoon moose, and
Baden-Baden in the famous Black Forest. The animal has become a stuffed toy moose in many amusing situations.
part of the station's lifestyle, to the extent that quality is referred to as To serve listeners who want information about the station, club
"moose-proof." services, and related activities, the station has instituted the SWF3
Following deregulation of the German radio broadcasting market, Service Center (even using the English-language term as its name),
hundreds of new local and national radio stations swamped the mar- which also handles ticket sales and merchandise orders. The SWF3
ket. To compete more effectively and to build greater loyalty among its Club produces and coproduces about 120 events each year. Large
listeners, SWF3 established a club, now some 100,000 strong, that open-air concerts and festivals can draw over 100,000 visitors,
offers members a variety of financial and nonfinancial benefits with a whereas the numerous smaller shows with newcomer bands attract
high emotional and economic value. Holders of the SWF3 Club's gold just a few hundred. At all major events, a Club Lounge—open to
Wildcard (which costs the equivalent of about $15) can obtain savings members and event guests only—provides special catering. After the
on a variety of purchases. show, rock and pop stars show up for scheduled "unplugged" sessions
The Club's popular quarterly publication, ON, offers a mix of and interviews. Club members can save up to $6 off the ticket prices
journalism, music, and humor written by the station's staff, including to all major pop and rock concerts in Germany, including concerts of
DJs, editors, and anchors. The members' newsletter, published every major artists such as the Rolling Stones, Simple Minds, R.E.M., and
six weeks and called ONFO, contains details of Club events through- U2. In addition to tickets for the Club's own productions, members also
out the year, news from the station, and current ticket and merchan- get offers for preferential tickets to hundreds of events each year.

SWF3 believes that its club program and event sponsorship have
helped the station to build high awareness, develop a strong relation-
ship with its listeners, and increase its ratings. In short, the Club has After reading this chapter, you should
proven to be absolutely "moose-proof." be able to

£> discuss several frameworks for
describing the augmented service
product
^> define the eight petals of the Flower
of Service
^> distinguish between facilitating and
enhancing supplementary services

^> complete a service blueprint for
different kinds of services

:£> describe the types of information
that service blueprints can provide

141

142 PART THREE . SERVICE MARKETING STRATEGY

THE SERVICE OFFERING
In this chapter, we address the question, What should be the core and supplementary ele-
ments of our service product? T h e core addresses the customer's need for a basic bene-
fit—such as transportation to a desired location, resolution of a specific health problem,
or repair of malfunctioning equipment. Supplementary services facilitate and enhance
use of the core service; they range from information, advice, and documentation to
problem solving and acts of hospitality.
As an industry matures and competition increases, there's a risk that prospective
customers may view competing core products as commodities that are indistinguishable
from each other. For instance, many airlines fly the same types of aircraft, all credit cards
perform the same basic function, and it's hard to distinguish one hotel bed from another
within a given class of service. In these cases, the customer's natural tendency is to
choose the option with the cheapest price. Hence, the search for competitive advantage
augmented product: the in a mature industry often focuses on differentiating the product through better supple-
core product (a good or a mentary services. SWF3, the German radio station in the opening story, uses a mix of
service) plus all financial and nonfinancial benefits to offer a value-oriented package that attracts listen-
supplementary elements that ers in the highly competitive radio broadcasting market and keeps them loyal.
add value for customers.
The Augmented Product
molecular model: a
framework that uses a Marketers use the term a u g m e n t e d product to describe the combination of a core
chemical analogy to describe product with a bundle of value-adding supplementary elements. Theorists have devel-
the structure of service oped several frameworks to describe augmented products. Lynn Shostack created a
offerings. m o l e c u l a r m o d e l (Figure 7.1) that can be applied to either goods or services. The

FIGURE 7.1
Shostack's Molecular Model:
Passenger Airline Service
Source: G. Lynn Shostack, "Breaking Free from Product Marketing," Journal of Marketing (April 1977), published by the American Marketing
Association. Reprinted with permission.

CHAPTER SEVEN • THE SERVICE PRODUCT 143

model uses a chemical analogy to help marketers visualize and manage what she termed
a "total market entity." At the center is the core benefit that addresses the basic cus-
tomer need, with links to a series of other service characteristics. Surrounding the mol-
ecules is a series of bands representing price, distribution, and market positioning (com-
munication messages). As in chemical formulations, a change in one element may
completely alter the nature of the entity.
The molecular m o d e l helps identify the tangible and intangible elements
involved in service delivery. By highlighting tangible elements, marketers can deter-
mine whether their services are tangible-dominant or intangible-dominant. In an air-
line, for example, the intangible elements include transportation itself, service fre-
quency, and pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight service. But the aircraft itself and the
food and drinks that are served to passengers are all tangible.The more intangible ele-
ments exist, the more necessary it is to provide tangible clues about the features and
quality of the service.
Eiglier and Langeard developed a different model to describe the augmented prod-
uct. In their model, the core service is surrounded by a circle containing a series of sup-
plementary services that are specific to that particular product. 3 Their approach, like
Shostack's, emphasizes the interdependence of the various components. They distinguish
between those elements needed to facilitate use of the core service (such as the reception
desk at a hotel) and those that enhance the appeal of the core service (such as a fitness
center and business services at a hotel). Eiglier and Langeard focus on two issues: (1)
whether supplementary services are needed to facilitate use of the core service or simply
to add extra appeal; and (2) whether customers should be charged separately for each ser-
vice element or whether all elements should be bundled under a single price tag.

IDENTIFYING AND CLASSIFYING
SUPPLEMENTARY SERVICES
The more we examine different types of core services, the more we find that most of
them have many supplementary services in c o m m o n . Although core products may dif-
fer widely, certain supplementary elements—like information, billing, and reservations
or order taking—keep recurring. 4 There are dozens of different supplementary services,

FIGURE 7.2
The Flower of Service: Core
Product Surrounded by
Clusters of Supplementary
Services

144 PART THREE • SERVICE MARKETING STRATEGY

T A B L E 7.1 Directions to service site
Examples of Information Schedules/service hours
Elements Prices
Instructions on using core product/supplementary services
Reminders
Warnings
Conditions of sale/service
Notification of changes
Documentation
Confirmation of reservations
Summaries of account activity
Receipts and tickets

but almost all of them can be classified into one of the following eight clusters. We have
facilitating listed them as either facilitating s u p p l e m e n t a r y services, which aid in the use of the
supplementary services: core product or are required for service delivery, or e n h a n c i n g s u p p l e m e n t a r y ser-
supplementary services that v i c e s , which add extra value for customers.
aid in the use of the core
product or are required for
Facilitating Services Enhancing Services
service delivery.
*- Information >• Consultation
enhancing >- Order Taking 5* Hospitality
supplementary services:
supplementary services that >- Billing >- Safekeeping
may add extra value for >- Payment >• Exceptions
customers.
In Figure 7.2, these eight clusters are displayed as petals surrounding the center of a
flower—which we call the Flower of Service. We've shown them clockwise in the
Flower of Service: a visual
sequence in which they are often likely to be encountered by customers (although this
framework for understanding
the supplementary service sequence may vary—for instance, payment may have to be made before service is deliv-
elements that surround and ered rather than afterwards). In a well-run service organization, the petals and core are
add value to the product core. fresh and attractive. But a badly designed or poorly executed service is like a flower with
missing, wilted, or discolored petals. Even if the core is perfect, the overall flower is
unattractive. Think about your own experiences as a customer. W h e n you were dissatis-
fied with a particular purchase, was it the core that was at fault or was there a problem
with one or more of the supplementary service petals? N o t every core product is sur-
rounded by supplementary elements from all eight clusters. As we'll see, the nature of
the product helps to determine w h i c h supplementary services must be offered and
which might be added to enhance the value of the core service.

Information
To obtain full value from any service experience, customers need relevant information
(Table 7.1). N e w customers and prospects are especially information hungry. Customer
needs may include directions to the physical location where the product is sold (or
details of how to order it by telephone or Web site), service hours, prices, and usage
instructions. Further information, sometimes required by law, could include conditions
of sale and use, warnings, reminders, and notification of changes. Finally, customers may
want documentation of what has already taken place, such as confirmation of reserva-
tions, receipts and tickets, and monthly summaries of account activity.
Companies should make sure the information they provide is b o t h timely and
accurate; if it's not, customers may be annoyed or inconvenienced. Traditional ways of
providing information to customers include using front-line employees (who are not
always as well informed as customers might like), printed notices, brochures, and


Applications TABLE 7.2
• Membership in clubs or programs Examples of Order-Taking
• Subscription services (e.g., utilities) Elements
• Prerequisite-based services (e.g., financial credit, college enrollment)
Order Entry
• On-site order fulfillment
• Mail/telephone order placement
• E-mail/Web site order placement
Reservations and Check-in
• Seats
• Tables
• Rooms
• Vehicles or equipment rental
• Professional appointments
• Admission to restricted facilities (e.g., museums, aquariums)

instruction books. Other media include videotapes or software-driven tutorials, touch-
screen video displays, and menu-driven recorded telephone messages.The most signifi-
cant recent innovation has been corporate use of Web sites. Companies use the Internet
for a wide range of useful applications including the provision of information about
train and airline schedules, hotel availability and reservations, the location of specific
retail outlets such as restaurants and stores, and service descriptions and prices. Many
business logistics companies offer shippers the opportunity to track the movements of
their packages—each of which has been assigned a unique identification number.

Order Taking
Once customers are ready to buy, companies must have effective supplementary service
processes in place to handle applications, orders, and reservations (Table 7.2). T h e
process of order taking should be polite, fast, and accurate so that customers do not
waste time and endure unnecessary mental or physical effort.
Banks, insurance companies, and utilities require prospective customers to go
through an application process designed to gather relevant information and to screen
out those w h o do not meet basic enrollment criteria (like a bad credit record or serious
health problems). Universities also require prospective students to apply for admission.
Reservations (including appointments and check-in) represent a special type of order
taking that entitles customers to a defined unit of service at a specific time and loca-
tion—for example, an airline seat, a restaurant table, a hotel room, time with a qualified
professional, or admission to a facility such as a theater or sports arena.
Ticketless systems, based upon telephone or online reservations, provide enormous
cost savings for airlines. There is no travel agent commission since customers b o o k
directly, and the administrative effort is drastically reduced. A paper ticket at an airline
may be handled 15 times while an electronic ticket requires just one step. But some cus-
tomers are not comfortable with the paperless process.

Billing
Billing is common to almost all services (unless the service is provided free of charge).
Inaccurate, illegible, or incomplete bills risk disappointing customers w h o may, up to that
point, have been quite satisfied with their experience. Such failures add insult to injury if
the customer is already dissatisfied. Billing procedures range from verbal statements to a
machine-displayed price, and from handwritten invoices to elaborate monthly statements
of account activity and fees (Table 7.3). D u e to recent technological advances, many


T A Tl T TH 7 1
• Periodic statements of account activity
Examples of B i l l i n g Elements • Invoices for individual transactions
• Verbal statements of amount due
• Machine display of amount due
• Self-billing (computed by customer)

forms of billing are computerized to capitalize on the potential for productivity improve-
ments. But computerized billing can sometimes cause service failures, as when an inno-
cent customer tries futilely to contest an inaccurate bill and is met by an escalating
sequence of ever-larger bills (compounded interest and penalty charges) accompanied by
increasingly threatening, computer-generated letters.
Customers usually expect bills to be clear and informative, and itemized in ways
that make it clear how the total was computed. Unexplained or confusing charges do
not create a favorable impression of the supplier. N o r does fuzzy printing or illegible
handwriting. Laser printers, with their ability to switch fonts and typefaces, to box and
to highlight, can produce statements that are not only more legible but also organize
information in more useful ways.
Marketing research can help companies design user-friendly bills by identifying
what information customers want and h o w they would like it to be organized.
Sometimes billing information can even be used to provide extra value to customers.
For example, American Express built its Corporate Card business by offering companies
detailed documentation of the spending patterns of individual employees and depart-
ments on travel and entertainment. Its Corporate Purchasing Card is particularly useful

FIGURE 7.3
American Express Promotes the
Benefits of Its Corporate
Purchasing Card


for firms making purchases through the Internet, allowing senior management to estab-
lish spending limits, designate preferred vendors, and track expenses (Figure 7.3).
Intelligent thinking about customer needs led A m E x to realize that well-organized
billing information and control of spending were valuable to its business customers,
beyond just the basic requirement of knowing h o w much to pay.
Busy customers hate to be kept waiting for a bill. Some service providers offer
express checkout options, taking customers' credit card details in advance and docu-
menting charges later by mail. Many hotels push bills under guests' doors on the m o r n -
ing of departure showing charges to date; others offer customers the option of preview-
ing their bills before checkout on the TV monitors in their rooms. Some car rental
companies use an alternative express checkout procedure. An agent meets customers as
they return their cars, checks the odometer and fuel gauge readings, and then prints a
bill on the spot using a portable wireless terminal. Accuracy is essential with all of these
billing methods. Since customers use the express checkouts to save time, they certainly
don't want to waste time later seeking corrections and refunds.

Payment
In most cases, a bill requires the customer to take action on payment. Bank statements
are an exception, since they detail charges that have already been deducted from the
customer's account. Increasingly, customers expect ease and convenience of payment,
including credit, wherever they make their purchases.
A variety of options exists to facilitate customer bill paying (Table 7.4). Self-service
payment systems, for instance, require customers to insert coins, banknotes, tokens, or
cards in machines. But equipment breakdowns destroy the whole purpose of such a sys-
tem, so good maintenance and speedy trouble-shooting are essential. M u c h payment
still takes place through hand-to-hand transfers of cash and checks, but credit and debit
cards are growing in importance as more and more establishments accept them. Other
alternatives include tokens, vouchers, coupons, or prepaid tickets. Firms benefit from
prompt payment, since it reduces the amount of accounts receivable.
To ensure that people actually pay what they owe, some services employ control
systems, such as ticket collection before entering a movie theater or boarding a train.
However, inspectors and security officers must be trained to combine politeness with
firmness in performing their jobs, so that honest customers do not feel harassed.

T A B L E 7 4
self-service
• Exact change in machine Examples of Payment
• Cash in machine with change returned Elements
• Insert prepayment card
• Insert credit/charge/debit card
• Insert token
• Electronic funds transfer
• Mail a check
• Enter credit card number online
Direct to payee or intermediary
• Cash handling and change giving
• Check handling
• Credit/charge/debit card handling
• Coupon redemption
• Tokens, vouchers, etc.
Automatic deduction from financial deposits (e.g., bank charges)
Control and verification
• Automated systems (e.g., machine-readable tickets that operate entry gates)
• Human systems (e.g., toll collectors, ticket inspectors)


TABLE 7.5 • Advice
Examples of Consultation • Auditing
Elements • Personal counseling
• Tutoring/training in product usage
• Management or technical consulting

Consultation
Consultation is an enhancing supplementary service that involves a dialog to identify
customer requirements and develop a personalized solution. Table 7.5 provides exam-
ples of several supplementary services in the consultation category. At its simplest, con-
sultation consists of immediate advice from a knowledgeable service person in response
to the request: " W h a t do you suggest?" (For example, you might ask the person who
cuts your hair for advice on different hairstyles and products.) Effective consultation
requires an understanding of each customer's current situation before suggesting a suit-
able course of action. Good customer records can be a great help in this respect, partic-
ularly if relevant data can be retrieved easily from a remote terminal.
Counseling represents a more subtle approach to consultation. It involves helping
customers better understand their situations so that they can come up with their " o w n "
solutions and action programs. This approach can be a particularly valuable supplement
to services such as health treatment. Part of the challenge in this situation is to get cus-
tomers to take a long-term view of their personal situation and to adopt more healthful
behaviors, which often involve some initial sacrifice. Diet centers like Weight Watchers
use counseling to help customers change their behaviors so that weight loss can be sus-
tained after the initial diet is completed.
Finally, there are more formalized efforts to provide management and technical
consulting for corporate customers, such as the "solution selling" associated with mar-
keting expensive industrial equipment and services. T h e sales engineer researches the
business customer's situation and then offers objective advice about what particular
package of equipment and systems will yield the best results. Some consulting services
are offered free of charge in the hope of making a sale. In other instances the service is
"unbundled" and customers are expected to pay for it.

Hospitality
Hospitality-related services should ideally reflect pleasure at meeting new customers
and greeting old ones when they return. Companies like Wal-Mart take this concept
quite literally, designating a specific employee in each store to welcome customers as
they enter. Well-managed businesses try to ensure that their employees treat customers
as guests. Courtesy and consideration for customers' needs apply to both face-to-face
encounters and telephone interactions (Table 7.6). Hospitality finds its full expression in
face-to-face encounters. In some cases, it starts with an offer of transport to and from

TABLE 7.6 Greeting
Examples of Hospitality Food and beverages
Elements Toilets and washrooms
Waiting facilities and amenities
• Lounges, waiting areas, seating
• Weather protection
• Magazines, entertainment, newspapers
Transport
Security


the service site, as with courtesy shuttle buses. If customers must wait outdoors before
the service can be delivered, then a thoughtful service provider will offer weather pro-
tection. If the wait occurs indoors, then guests should have access to a waiting area with
seating and entertainment (TV, newspapers, or magazines) to pass the time. Recruiting
employees w h o are naturally warm, welcoming, and considerate for customer-contact
jobs also helps to create a hospitable atmosphere.
The quality of a firm's hospitality services can increase or decrease satisfaction with
the core product.This is especially true for people-processing services where customers
cannot easily leave the service facility. Private hospitals often seek to enhance their hos-
pitality by providing the level of r o o m service—including meals—that might be
expected in a good hotel.
Some air transportation companies (like Singapore Airlines) differentiate themselves
from their competitors with better meals and more attentive cabin crew.While in-flight
hospitality is important, an airline journey also includes passengers' pre- and post-flight
experiences. Air travelers have come to expect departure lounges, but British Airways
(BA) came up with the novel idea of an arrivals lounge for its terminals at London's
Heathrow and Gatwick airports to serve passengers arriving early in the m o r n i n g after
a long, overnight flight from the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australia. T h e airline allows
holders of first- and business-class tickets or a BA Executive Club gold card (awarded to
the airline's most frequent flyers) to use a special lounge where they can take a shower,
change, have breakfast, and make phone calls or send faxes before continuing to their
final destination. T h e arrivals lounge provided such a significant competitive advantage
for British Airways that other airlines felt obliged to copy it.

Safekeeping
While visiting a service site, customers often want assistance with their personal pos-
sessions. In fact, unless certain safekeeping services are provided (like safe and conve-
nient parking for their cars), some customers may not come at all.The list of potential
on-site safekeeping services is long. It includes: provision of coatrooms; luggage trans-
port, handling, and storage; safekeeping of valuables; and even child and pet care
(Table 7.7).

Caring for possessions customers bring with them TABLE 7.7
• Childcare Examples of Safekeeping
• Pet care Elements
• Parking facilities for vehicles
• Valet parking
• Coatrooms
• Luggage handling
• Storage space
• Safe deposit boxes
• Security personnel
Caring for goods purchased (or rented) by customers
• Packaging
• Pick-up
• Transportation
• Delivery
• Installation
• Inspection and diagnosis
• Cleaning
• Refueling
• Preventive maintenance
• Repairs and renovation
• Upgrade


Additional safekeeping services are directed at physical products that customers buy
or rent. They include packaging, pick-up and delivery, assembly, installation, cleaning,
and inspection. Sometimes there's a charge for these services.

Exceptions
Exceptions involve supplementary services that fall outside the routine of normal ser-
vice delivery (Table 7.8). Astute businesses anticipate exceptions and develop contin-
gency plans and guidelines in advance. That way, employees will not appear helpless and
surprised w h e n customers ask for special assistance. Well-defined procedures make it
easier for employees to respond promptly and effectively.
There are several different types of exceptions:
1. Special requests. There are many circumstances when a customer may request ser-
vice that requires a departure from normal operating procedures. Advance
requests often relate to personal needs, including childcare, dietary requirements,
medical needs, religious observances, and personal disabilities. Such special
requests are c o m m o n in the travel and hospitality industries.
3. Problem solving. Situations arise w h e n normal service delivery (or product perfor-
mance) fails to run smoothly as a result of accidents, delays, equipment failures,
or customers experiencing difficulty in using the product.
3. Handling of complaints /suggestions /compliments. This activity requires well-defined
procedures. It should be easy for customers to express dissatisfaction, offer sug-
gestions for improvement, or pass on compliments, and service providers should
be able to make an appropriate response quickly.
4. Restitution. Many customers expect to be compensated for serious performance
failures. Compensation may take the form of repairs under warranty, legal settle-
ments, refunds, an offer of free service, or other forms of payment-in-kind.
A flexible approach to exceptions is generally a g o o d idea because it reflects
responsiveness to customer needs. On the other hand, too many exceptions may

TABLE 7.8 Special requests in advance of service delivery
Examples of Exceptions • Children's needs
Elements • Dietary requirements
• Medical or disability needs
• Religious observances
• Deviations from standard operating procedures
Handling special communications
• Complaints
• Compliments
• Suggestions
Problem solving
• Warranties and guarantees against product malfunction
• Resolving difficulties that arise from using the product
• Resolving difficulties caused by accidents, service failures,
and problems with staff or other customers
• Assisting customers who have suffered an accident or
medical emergency
Restitution
• Refunds
• Compensation in kind for unsatisfactory goods and services
• Free repair of defective goods


compromise safety, negatively impact other customers, and overburden employees.
Managers need to keep an eye on the level of exception requests. Large numbers of
exceptions may indicate a need to reexamine standard service procedures. For instance,
if a restaurant constantly receives requests for special vegetarian meals w h e n there are
none on the menu, then it may be time to revise the m e n u to include at least one
meatless dish.

Managerial Implications of the Flower of Service
The eight categories of supplementary services that form the Flower of Service provide
many options for enhancing the core service product. Most supplementary services do
(or should) represent responses to customer needs. As noted earlier, some are facilitating
services—like information and reservations—that enable customers to use the core
product more effectively. Others are "extras" that enhance the core or even reduce its
nonfinancial costs (for example, meals, magazines, and entertainment are hospitality ele-
ments that help pass the time). Some elements—notably billing and payment—are
imposed by the service provider. But even if not actively desired by the customer, they
still form part of the overall service experience. Any badly handled element may nega-
tively affect customers' perceptions of service quality. T h e "information" and "consulta-
tion" petals emphasize the need for education as well as promotion in communicating
with service customers.
A key insight from the Flower of Service concept is that different types of core
products often share use of similar supplementary elements. As a result, customers may
make comparisons across unrelated industries. For instance, "If my stockbroker can give
me clear documentation of my account activity, why can't the department store where
I shop?" Or "If my favorite airline can take reservations accurately, why can't the French
restaurant up the street?" Questions like these suggest that managers should be studying
businesses outside their own industries in a search for "best-in-class" performers on spe-
cific supplementary services.
N o t every core product will be surrounded by a large n u m b e r of supplementary
services from all eight petals. People-processing services t e n d to be the most
demanding in terms of supplementary elements like hospitality, since they involve
close (and often extended) interactions with c u s t o m e r s . W h e n customers do not visit
the service factory, the need for hospitality may be limited to simple courtesies in
letters and t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s . Possession-processing services sometimes place
heavy demands on safekeeping elements, but there may be no need for this particu-
lar petal in information-processing services w h e r e customers and suppliers deal
entirely at arm's length. However, financial services that are provided electronically
are an exception to this. C o m p a n i e s must ensure that their customers' intangible
financial assets are carefully safeguarded in transactions that occur via p h o n e or the
Web.
Companies in the business-to-business sector face many decisions concerning what
types of supplementary services to offer. A study of Japanese, American, and European
firms found that most simply added layer upon layer of services to their core offerings
without knowing what customers really valued. 5 Managers surveyed in the study indi-
cated that they did not understand which services should be offered to customers as a
standard package accompanying the core, and which should be offered as options for an
extra charge.
There are no simple rules governing decisions about core products and supple-
mentary services. But managers should continually review their firms' product offer-
ings to make sure they are in line with both market practice and customer needs. A
study of plastic surgeons' offices and procedures suggests that poor performance on

152 PART T H R E E • SERVICE MARKETING STRATEGY

supplementary services—notably, u n w a n t e d information and inhospitable waiting
areas—creates unfavorable initial impressions that may lead patients to cancel surgery
or even change doctors (see the box titled "Cosmetic Surgeons' Offices Disappoint
Patients").
Customer needs and expectations often vary by segment. Consider the example of
Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), a supplier of power plant equipment and maintenance ser-
vices to utilities companies. ABB's Power Transformers business realized that not all
customers needed or wanted the same levels of maintenance service; some utilities pre-
fer to handle maintenance in-house, using their o w n employees and equipment.
Instead of simply supplying a comprehensive maintenance service to all of its cus-
tomers, ABB n o w offers different levels of service and prices as part of a negotiated ser-
vice agreement. It no longer requires customers to have ABB service all aspects of their
transformers. Instead, they can choose the combination of supplementary services that
they prefer. 6
Tables 7.1 t h r o u g h 7.8 can be used to identify value-added ways to augment
existing core products and design n e w offerings. T h e lists provided in these eight
tables do not claim to be all encompassing, since some products may require special-
ized supplementary elements. A company's marketing strategy helps to determine
which supplementary services should be included. A strategy of adding benefits to
increase customers'perceptions of quality will probably require more supplementary
services (and also a higher level of performance on all such elements) than a strategy
of competing on low prices. In general, a firm that competes on a low-cost, no-frills
basis will require fewer s u p p l e m e n t a r y elements than o n e that is m a r k e t i n g an
expensive, high-value-added product. And firms that offer different grades of ser-
vice—like first class, business class, and economy class in an airline context—often

Cosmetic Surgeons' Offices
Disappoint Patients
What do patients want? Most requests are surprisingly simple
It appears that plastic surgeons could use some service marketing and involve creature comforts like tissues, water coolers, tele-
training along with their other courses in medical school. That's the phones, plants, and bowls of candy in the waiting room and live
diagnosis of two experts, Kate Altork and Douglas Dedo, who did a flower arrangements in the lobby. Patients also want windows in
study of patients' reactions to doctors' offices. They found that the examining rooms and gowns that wrap around the entire body.
many patients will cancel a surgery, change doctors, or refuse to They would like to sit on a real chair when they talk to a doctor
consider future elective surgery if they feel uneasy in the doctor's instead of perching on a stool or examining table. Finally, preopera-
office. The study results suggested that patients won't usually tive patients prefer to be separated from postoperative patients,
"doctor-jump" because they don't like the doctor; they defect since they are disturbed by sitting next to someone in the waiting
because they don't like the context of the service experience. The room whose head is enclosed in bandages.
list of common patient dislikes includes: graphic posters of moles These study results suggest that cosmetic surgery patients
and skin cancers decorating office walls; uncomfortable plastic would rather visit an office that looks more like a health spa than a
identification bracelets for patients; claustrophobic examining hospital ward. By thinking like service marketers, savvy surgeons
rooms with no windows or current reading material; bathrooms could look outside their own industries to find ways of creating
that aren't clearly marked; and not enough wastebaskets and patient-friendly environments that will complement rather than
water coolers in the waiting room. counteract their technical expertise.

Source: LisaBannon, "Plastic Surgeons Are Told to Pay More Attention to Appearances." Wall Street Journal, 15 March 1997, B1.

CHAPTER SEVEN . THE SERVICE P R O D U C T 153

differentiate t h e m by adding extra supplementary services to a c o m m o n core for
each upgrade in service.
Regardless of which supplementary services a firm decides to offer, the elements in
each petal should receive the care and attention needed to consistently meet defined
service standards. That way the resulting Flower of Service will always have a fresh and
appealing appearance rather than looking wilted or disfigured by neglect.

SERVICE DESIGN
Service design is a complex task that requires an understanding of how the core and
supplementary services are combined to create a product offering that meets the needs
of target customers. For physical objects like new buildings or ships, the design is usually
captured on architectural drawings called blueprints (because reproductions have tradi-
tionally been printed on special paper where all the drawings and annotations appear in
blue).These blueprints show what the product should look like and detail the specifica-
tions to which it should conform.
In contrast to the physical architecture of a building, ship, or piece of equipment,
services have a largely intangible structure that makes t h e m all the more difficult to
plan and execute. However, it is possible to m a p service processes by defining the
steps required to provide the core and supplementary product elements. To do this,
we b o r r o w p r o c e s s - m a p p i n g t e c h n i q u e s from logistics, industrial e n g i n e e r i n g ,
decision theory, and c o m p u t e r systems analysis, each of which uses blueprint-like
techniques to describe processes involving flows, sequences, relationships, and
dependencies. 7
Blueprinting can be used to document an existing service or design a n e w service
concept. We introduced a simpler version of blueprinting k n o w n as flowcharting in
Chapter 4. But in that case our focus was limited to front-stage service delivery from the
customer's perspective. As you'll see, blueprinting provides more extensive documenta-
tion of the activities involved in producing a service.
To develop a blueprint, you need to be able to identify all of the key activities
involved in service delivery and production, clarify the sequence, and to specify the
linkages b e t w e e n these activities. 8 S e r v i c e b l u e p r i n t s clarify the interactions service blueprint: a visual
between customers and employees and h o w these are supported by additional activ- map of the sequence of
ities and systems backstage. As a result, they can facilitate the integration of market- activities required for service
ing, operations, and h u m a n resource management within a firm. This can be benefi- delivery that specifies front-
cial, since operationally oriented businesses are sometimes so focused on managing stage and backstage elements
and the linkages between
backstage activities that they neglect to consider the customer's view of front-stage
them.
activities. Accounting firms, for instance, often have elaborately d o c u m e n t e d proce-
dures and standards for h o w to conduct an audit properly, but may lack clear stan-
dards for w h e n and h o w to host a client meeting or h o w to answer the telephone
when clients call.
By analyzing blueprints, managers are often able to identify potential fail points in fail point: a point in a
the service delivery process where there's a significant risk of problems that can hurt ser- process where there is a
vice quality. Knowledge of these fail points enables managers to design procedures to significant risk of problems
avoid their occurrence or implement effective recovery strategies if necessary. that can damage service
quality.
Blueprints can also pinpoint parts of the process where customers commonly have to
wait. Standards can then be developed for these activities that include times for comple-
tion of a task, maximum wait times in between tasks, and scripts to guide interactions
between staff members and customers.
Blueprints of existing services can suggest ideas for p r o d u c t i m p r o v e m e n t s .
Managers may spot opportunities to reconfigure delivery systems (perhaps through

154 PART T H R E E • SERVICE M A R K E T I N G STRATEGY

use of n e w technologies), add or delete specific elements, or reposition the service to
appeal to o t h e r segments. For example, Canadian Pacific Hotels (which operates
hotels u n d e r Fairmont and Delta brand names) decided to redesign its hotel services.
It had already b e e n successful w i t h conventions, meetings, and g r o u p travel but
w a n t e d to build greater b r a n d loyalty a m o n g business travelers. T h e c o m p a n y
blueprinted the entire "guest e x p e r i e n c e " from pulling up at the hotel to getting the
car keys from the valet. For each encounter, Canadian Pacific defined an expected
service level based on customer feedback and created systems to m o n i t o r service
performance. It also redesigned some aspects of its service processes to provide busi-
ness guests w i t h m o r e personalized service. T h e payoff for C a n a d i a n Pacific's
redesign efforts was a 16-percent increase in its share of business travelers in a single
year.
There's no single "best" way to prepare a service blueprint, but it's helpful to adopt
a consistent approach within a single organization. In this chapter, we adapt and simplify
an approach proposed by Jane Kingman-Brundage. 9 If desired, any aspect of a blueprint
can subsequently be examined in greater detail.

Developing a Service Blueprint
To illustrate blueprinting, let's examine the process of dining at Chez Jean, an upscale
restaurant that enhances its core food service with a variety of supplementary services.
A typical rule of thumb in full-service restaurants is that the cost of purchasing the food
ingredients represents about 20 to 30 percent of the price of the meal. T h e balance can
be seen as the "fees" that the customer is willing to pay for supplementary benefits like
renting a table and chairs in a pleasant setting, hiring the services of food preparation
experts and their kitchen equipment, and having staff to wait on them both inside and
outside the dining room.
Figure 7.4 (shown on pages 156—159) contains a blueprint of the Chez Jean restau-
rant experience. T h e key components of the blueprint (reading from top to bottom)
are:
1. Definition of standards for each front-stage activity (only a few examples are
actually specified here)
2. Physical and other evidence for front-stage activities (specified for all steps)
3. Principal customer actions (illustrated by pictures)
4. Line of interaction
5. Front-stage actions by customer-contact personnel
6. Line of visibility
7. Backstage actions by customer-contact personnel
8. Support processes involving other service personnel
9. Support processes involving information technology
Reading from left to right, the blueprint prescribes the sequence of actions over
time. To emphasize the involvement of human actors in the service delivery process, our
blueprint uses pictures to illustrate each of the 14 principal steps in which our two cus-
tomers are involved. T h e process begins with making a reservation and concludes with
departure from the restaurant after the meal. Like many high-contact services involving
discrete transactions, the restaurant experience can be divided into three "acts," repre-
senting activities that take place before the core product is encountered, delivery of the
core product (in this case, the meal), and subsequent activities while still involved with
the service provider.


Act I: Starting the Service Experience
Act I begins with the customer making a reservation—an interaction conducted by
telephone with an unseen employee. In theatrical terms, the telephone conversation
might be likened to a radio drama, with impressions being created by the speed of
response, tone of the respondent's voice, and style of the conversation. O n c e the cus-
tomers arrive at the restaurant, the "stage" or servicescape includes both the exterior
and interior of the restaurant. From this point on, front-stage actions take place in a very
visual environment. Restaurants are often quite theatrical in their use of physical evi-
dence like furnishings, decor, uniforms, lighting, and table settings; they may also
employ background music to help create an environment that matches their market
positioning.
By the time our customers reach their table in the dining room, they have been
exposed to several supplementary services, including reservations, valet parking, coat-
room, cocktails, and seating. They have also seen a sizeable cast of characters, including
five or more contact personnel and many other customers. Standards that are based on a
good understanding of guest expectations should be set for each of these service activi-
ties. Below the line of visibility, the blueprint identifies key actions that should take
place to ensure that each front-stage step is performed in a m a n n e r that meets or
exceeds customer expectations. These actions include recording reservations, handling
customers' coats, delivery and preparation of food, maintenance of facilities and equip-
ment, training and assignment of staff for each task, and use of information technology
to access, input, store, and transfer relevant data.

Identifying the Fail Points R u n n i n g a good restaurant is a complex business and
much can go wrong. T h e most serious fail points, marked by Q. are those that will
result in failure to access or enjoy the core product.They involve the reservation (Could
the customer get through by phone? Was a table available at the desired time and date?
Was the reservation recorded accurately?) and seating (Was a table available w h e n
promised?). Since service delivery takes place over time, there is also the possibility of
delays between specific actions that will cause customers to wait. Points at which there
is a risk of such a wait are identified by a y(^ Excessive waits at critical steps in delivery
can be classified as fail points, because they will annoy customers and negatively impact
perceived service quality.
Every step in the process has some potential for failures and delays. David Maister
coined the term O T S U ("opportunity to screw up") to highlight the importance of
thinking about all the things that might go wrong in delivering a particular type of ser-
vice. 10 O T S U s can be very humorous if you're not personally involved. J o h n Cleese
made millions laugh with his portrayal of an inept hotel manager in the television series
Fmt'lty Towers. Chevy Chase and Steve Martin have entertained movie audiences for
years by playing customers tortured by inept, rude, or downright cruel service employ-
ees. However, customers don't always see the funny side w h e n the joke is on them.
That's why it is important for service managers to identify all the possible O T S U s asso-
ciated with a particular task so they can put together a delivery system that is explicitly
designed to avoid these problems.

Setting S e r v i c e S t a n d a r d s T h r o u g h b o t h formal research and o n - t h e - j o b
experience, service managers can learn the nature of customer expectations at each
step in the process. As discussed in other chapters, customers' expectations range
across a spectrum—referred to as the zone of tolerance—from desired service (an ideal)
to a threshold level of merely adequate service. Service providers should design


FIGURE 7.4
Blueprinting a Full-Service
Restaurant Experience

CHAPTER SEVEN . THE SERVICE PRODUCT 157


FIGURE 7.4
(continued)


standards for each step that are sufficiently high to satisfy and even delight customers.
These standards may include time parameters for specific activities, the script for a
technically correct performance, and prescriptions for appropriate employee style and
demeanor.
T h e initial steps of service delivery are particularly important, since customers' first
impressions can affect their evaluations of quality during later stages of service delivery.
Perceptions of their service experiences tend to be cumulative. 1 1 If things go badly at
the outset, customers may simply walk out. Even if they stay, they may be looking for
other things that aren't quite right. On the other hand, if the first steps go well, their
zones of tolerance may increase so that they are more willing to overlook minor mis-
takes later in the service performance.
Research by Marriott Hotels has found that four of the five top factors contribut-
ing to customer loyalty come into play during the first 10 minutes of service delivery. 12
While initial impressions are critical, performance standards should not be allowed to
fall off toward the end of service delivery. O t h e r research findings point to the impor-
tance of a strong finish. They suggest that a service encounter that starts poorly but then
increases in quality will be better rated than one that starts well but declines to a poor
conclusion.

Act II: Delivery of the Core Product
In Act II, our customers are finally about to experience the core service they came
for. We've condensed the meal into just four scenes for simplicity's sake. But review-
ing the m e n u and placing the order are actually two separate activities and meal ser-
vice typically proceeds on a course-by-course basis. Assuming all goes well, the two
guests will have an excellent meal, nicely served in a pleasant atmosphere, and perhaps
a fine wine to enhance it. But there is always the possibility that the restaurant won't
satisfy customer expectations during Act II. T h e answers to the following questions
can help managers identify potential fail points: Is the m e n u information complete? Is
it intelligible? Is everything that's listed on the m e n u available this evening? Will
employees provide explanations and advice in a friendly and noncondescending man-
ner for guests w h o have questions about specific m e n u items or are unsure about
which wine to order?
After o u r customers decide on their meals, they place their order w i t h the
server, w h o must t h e n pass on the details to p e r s o n n e l in the k i t c h e n , bar, and
billing desk. Mistakes in transmitting information are a frequent cause of quality
failures in many organizations. Bad handwriting or unclear verbal requests can lead
to delivery of the w r o n g items a l t o g e t h e r — o r of the right items incorrectly
prepared.
As Act II continues, our customers evaluate not only the quality of food and
drink—the most important dimension of all—but also how promptly it is served and
the style of service. A disinterested, ingratiating, or overly casual server can still spoil a
technically correct performance.

Act III: Concluding the Service Performance
T h e meal may be over, b u t m u c h activity is still taking place b o t h front stage
and backstage as the service process moves to its close. T h e core service has n o w
been delivered, and we'll assume that our customers are happily digesting it. Act
III should be short. T h e action in each of t h e r e m a i n i n g scenes should move
smoothly, quickly, and pleasantly, with no shocking surprises at the end. In a N o r t h

CHAPTER SEVEN . THE SERVICE PRODUCT 161

American environment, most customers' expectations would probably include the
following:
>- An accurate, intelligible bill is presented promptly as soon as customers request it.
>- Payment is handled politely and expeditiously (with all major credit cards
accepted).
>• Guests are thanked for their patronage and invited to come again.
>- Customers visiting the restrooms find them clean and properly supplied.
»- T h e right coats are promptly retrieved from the coat room.
>- T h e customers' car is brought promptly to the door in the same condition as
when it was left.
>- T h e parking lot attendant thanks them again and bids them a good evening.
But how often do failures at the end of a service intervene to ruin the customers'
experience and spoil their good humor? Can you remember situations in which the
experience of a nice meal was completely spoiled by one or more failures in conclud-
ing the service delivery? Informal research among participants in dozens of executive
programs has found that the most commonly cited source of dissatisfaction with restau-
rants is an inability to get the bill quickly w h e n customers are ready to leave! This seem-
ingly minor O T S U can sour the overall dining experience even if everything else has
gone well. (For some suggestions on reducing customer waits, see the box, "In and O u t
Food Service.")
We chose a restaurant example to illustrate b l u e p r i n t i n g because it is a
high-contact, people-processing service that is familiar to most readers. However,
many possession-processing services (like repair or maintenance) and information-
processing services (like insurance or accounting) involve far less contact w i t h
customers since m u c h of the action takes place backstage. In these situations, a

In and Out
Food Service
4. Place the quickest, highest-margin menu items either first or
When customers are on a tight time budget, making them wait last on the menu.
unnecessarily at any point in the process is akin to stealing their
5. Offer dishes that can be prepared ahead of time.
time. Restaurant Hospitality, a trade magazine for the restaurant
industry, offers the following 10 suggestions for serving customers 6. Warn customers when they order menu items that will take a
quickly without making them feel like they've been pushed out of the lot of time to prepare.
door. As you'll see, some of these tactics involve front-stage
7. Consider short-line buffets, roving carts, and more sand-
processes while others take place backstage—but it is the interac-
wiches.
tion between front stage and backstage that creates the desired ser-
vice delivery. 8. Offer "wrap"-style sandwiches, which are a quickly prepared,
filling meal.
1. Distinguish between patrons who are in a hurry, and those
who are not. 9. Use equipment built for speed, like combination ovens.
2. Design specials that are quick. 10. Eliminate preparation steps that require cooks to stop
3. Guide hurried customers to those specials. cooking.

Adapted from Paul B. Hertneky, "Built for Speed," Restaurant Hospitality, January 1997, 58.


failure c o m m i t t e d front stage is likely to represent a h i g h e r p r o p o r t i o n of the
customer's service encounters w i t h a company. T h u s it may be viewed even more
seriously, because there are fewer subsequent o p p o r t u n i t i e s to create a favorable
impression.

REENGINEERING SERVICE PROCESSES
Blueprinting can provide valuable insights by suggesting opportunities to reengineer
business processes, improve capacity planning, and better define employee roles. T h e
design of business processes has important implications for the nature and quality of the
customer's experience as well as the cost, speed, and productivity w i t h which the
desired outcome is achieved.
Improving productivity in services often requires speeding up the overall process,
since the cost of creating a service is usually related to h o w long it takes to deliver each
step in the process (plus any dead time between each step). W h e n they are relaxing or
reengineering: the analysis being entertained, customers don't mind spending time. But w h e n they are busy, they
and redesign of business hate wasting time and often view time expenditures as something to be minimized.
processes to create dramatic Even w h e n customers aren't directly involved in the process, the elapsed time between
performance improvements ordering and receiving a service may be seen as burdensome (for example, waiting for
in such areas as cost, quality, repair of a broken machine, installation of a new computer system, receipt of legal
speed, and customers' service
advice, or delivery of a consulting report).
experiences.
R e e n g i n e e r i n g involves analyzing and redesigning business processes to
achieve faster and better performance. To reduce the overall time for a process, ana-
lysts must identify each step, measure h o w long it takes, look for opportunities to
speed it up (or even eliminate it altogether), and cut out dead time. R u n n i n g tasks in
parallel rather than in sequence is a well-established approach to speed up processes
(a simple household example would be to cook the vegetables for a meal while the
main dish was in the oven, rather than waiting to cook t h e m until after the main dish
was removed).
Examination of business processes sometimes leads to creation of alternative deliv-
ery forms that are so radically different as to constitute entirely new service concepts.
Options may include eliminating certain supplementary services, adding new ones,
transforming personal service into self-service, or rethinking the location where service
delivery takes place. Figure 7.5 illustrates this principle with simple flowcharts of four
alternative ways to deliver meal service. Take a m o m e n t to compare and contrast what
happens front stage at a fast-food restaurant, a drive-in restaurant, h o m e delivery, and
h o m e catering. And now, for each alternative, think about the implications for backstage
activities.

Understanding Employee Roles
M a n y of the benefits of b l u e p r i n t i n g c o m e from the actual nature of the w o r k
required to create the charts—especially if employees themselves are directly
involved in the task. Participation in mapping specific processes gives employees a
clearer picture of their roles and responsibilities and makes t h e m feel like part of a
team that is responsible for implementing a shared service vision. Blueprints can also
help managers and employees understand the service delivery process as customers
experience it.
Blueprinting can also be used to show backstage personnel how their work relates
to that of their front-stage colleagues. Backstage personnel provide a series of internal
services (represented by each of the vertically stacked boxes in Figure 7.4) that support

C H A P T E R SEVEN • T H E SERVICE P R O D U C T 163

FIGURE 7.5
Flowcharts for Meal Delivery
Scenarios
front-stage activities. If they do their jobs poorly, the employees working backstage may
create problems for their coworkers with customer-contact responsibilities. It's not
always possible to give either external or internal customers exactly the service that they
would like, but blueprinting can be a valuable tool for facilitating discussion about how
to improve service processes.

Conclusion
In mature industries, the core service can become a commodity. T h e search for compet-
itive advantage often centers on improvements to the supplementary services that sur-
round this core. In this chapter, we grouped supplementary services into eight cate-
gories, circling the core like the petals of a flower. T h e y are categorized as either
facilitating or enhancing supplementary services. Facilitating supplementary services aid
in the use of the core product or are required for service delivery, while enhancing sup-
plementary services add extra value for customers.
Designing the overall service experience is a complex task that requires an under-
standing of h o w the core and supplementary services should be c o m b i n e d and
sequenced to create a product offering that meets the needs of target customers.
Blueprinting is a structured procedure for analyzing existing services and planning
new ones. In particular, it enables us to define the different components of the aug-
mented service, to examine the sequence in which they are delivered, and to identify
potential fail points. We also gain insights into what is happening to the customer at
each stage. Supporting each front-stage action are backstage activities involving people,
supporting equipment and facilities, and information (often stored in a databank). As
we discussed, a poorly organized backstage can lead to failures that are experienced by
the customer.

SERVICE MARKETING STRATEGY

1. Define what is meant by the core product and supplementary services. Can they
be applied to goods as well as services? Explain your answer.
2. W h a t service failures have you encountered recently? D i d they involve the core
product or supplementary service elements? Identify possible causes and suggest
how such failures might be prevented in the future.
3. Explain the distinction between enhancing and facilitating supplementary
services. Give several examples of each for services that you have used
recently.
4. R e v i e w the blueprint of the restaurant experience in this chapter (Figure 7.4).
Identify and categorize each of the supplementary services described in the
figure.
5. Prepare detailed blueprints for the following services:
a. Repair of a damaged bicycle
b. Applying to college or graduate school
c. R e n t i n g a car
6. Describe the different types of information that service blueprints can
provide.

Endnotes
1. Thomas Brinckwirth and Stephen A. Butscher,"Germany's Most Popular
Radio Station Creates Loyal Listeners," Colloquy (the Frequency Marketing,
Inc. quarterly newsletter) 6, no. 3 (1998); SWF3 Web site, www.swO.de,January
2001.
2. G. Lynn Shostack, "Breaking Free from Product Marketing," Journal of Marketing, 44
(April 1977): 73-80.
3. Pierre Eiglier and Eric Langeard,"Services as Systems: Marketing Implications," in P.
Eiglier, E. Langeard, C. H. Lovelock, J.E.G. Bateson, and R. F. Young, Marketing Consumer
Services: New Insights (Cambridge, MA: Marketing Science Institute, 1977), 83-103. Note:
An earlier version of this article was published in French in Revue Francaise de Gestion,
March-April, 1977,72-84.
4. The "Flower of Service" concept presented in this section was first introduced in
Christopher H. Lovelock, "Cultivating the Flower of Service: New Ways of Looking at
Core and Supplementary Services," in P. Eiglier and E. Langeard (eds.) Marketing,
Operations, and Human Resources: Insights into Services (Aix-en-Provence, France: IAE,
Universite d'Aix-Marseille III, 1992), 296-316.
5. James C.Anderson and James A. Narus, "Capturing the Value of Supplementary
Services," Harvard Business Review, 73 Qanuary-February 1995): 75-83.
6. From James C.Anderson and James A. Narus, Business Market Management (Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999), 180.
7. See G. Lynn Shostack,"Understanding Services through Blueprinting" i n T Schwartz et
al., Advances in Services Marketing and Management (Greenwich, CT:JAI Press, 1992),
75-90.
8. G. Lynn Shostack, "Designing Services That Deliver," Harvard Business Review (January-
February 1984): 133-139.
9. Jane Kingman-Brundage,"The ABCs of Service System Blueprinting," in M.J. Bitner and
L. A. Crosby (eds.), Designing a Winning Service Strategy (Chicago, IL: American Marketing
Association, 1989).


10. David Maister, now president of Maister Associates, coined the term OTSU while
teaching at Harvard Business School in the 1980s.
11. See for example, Eric J. Arnould and Linda L. Price, "River Magic: Extraordinary
Experience and the Extended Service Encounter," Journal of Consumer Research 20
(June 1993): 24-25; Nick Johns and Phil Tyas, "Customer Perceptions of Service
Operations: Gestalt, Incident or Mythology?" The Service Industries Journal 17 (July
1997): 474-488.
12. "How Marriott Makes a Great First Impression," The Service Edge 6 (May 1993): 5.
13. David E. Hansen and Peter J. Danaher, "Inconsistent Performance during the Service
Encounter: What's a Good Start Worth!" Journal of Service Research 1 (February 1999):
227-235.

Pricing Strategies for Services
"Name Your O w n Price"
w i t h Priceline.com
Priceline.com was launched in 1998 to give customers some leverage William Shatner (best known for his role of Captain Kirk in Star Trek),
in purchasing a variety of services.1 Using the slogan, "Name Your Priceline soon became one of the most widely recognized brand
Own Price," the Internet-based company invited price-conscious con- names in e-commerce.
sumers to make offers for services such as airline tickets, hotel rooms, But in spite of Priceline's promising start, things began to go
rental cars, long-distance phone service, and mortgages. In addition to wrong in 2000. Instead of taking a markup on the inventory that it
helping customers save money, Priceline offered sellers an opportunity held and resold, Priceline sometimes found itself selling rooms, tick-
to generate incremental revenue without disrupting their existing dis- ets, and even gasoline at prices below its own cost. There was a
tribution channels or retail pricing structures. growing number of complaints, ranging from hidden airline charges
Priceline termed its approach a demand collection system. to shabby hotel facilities; consumer dissatisfaction was compounded
Through its Web site, the firm collected consumer demand (in the form by poor customer service, eventually leading to an investigation by
of individual bids guaranteed by a credit card) for a particular service the attorney general in the company's home state of Connecticut
at prices set by those customers. It then communicated that demand and expulsion from the local Better Business Bureau. The company's
directly to participating sellers or to their private databases. Customers business model had worked best in the air travel market, where
agreed to hold their offers open for a specified period of time, during Priceline accounted for about 4 percent of all ticket sales in the
which Priceline sought to fulfill their offers from inventory provided by United States. However, new competition emerged in October 2000
participating sellers. Users of the service had to be flexible with regard when a number of airlines got together to create their own Internet
to brands, sellers, and/or product features. Once fulfilled, purchases service to dispose of unsold tickets at discounts of up to 40 percent.
normally couldn't be canceled. Named Hotwire, this service differed from Priceline in that users
The concept of giving customers the freedom to set their own specified their travel needs (but no price) and received an almost
prices initially attracted a lot of attention and enthusiasm. The firm's immediate fare offer; however, as with Priceline, customers didn't
market value rose to $20 billion within a month after it went public in learn the carrier name or precise schedule until after they had pur-
1999. Founder (and then-CEO) Jay Walker expanded Priceline's offer- chased the ticket.
ings to include hotel rooms, rental cars, home mortgages, long-dis- WebHouse Club service had to be discontinued in late 2000
tance telephone services, and cars. He also added services like when it became clear that suppliers weren't eager to provide groceries
WebHouse Club that allowed customers to bid on groceries and gaso- or gasoline at cut-rate prices in response to consumer bids. And con-
line. Promoted heavily through television advertising featuring actor sumers themselves got frustrated at the conditions that sellers often

attached to sales, such as a requirement to sign up for trial magazine
subscriptions.
In response to investigations into consumer complaints, the firm After reading this chapter, you should
added more customer service reps, improved its training procedures, be able to
and instituted more consistent guidelines on problem resolution. £> explain how the differences between
Misleading procedures on the Web site were corrected. In particular, goods and services affect pricing
the full amount that customers would have to pay for an airline ticket, strategy
including all taxes and fuel charges, was disclosed on a single page;
£> appreciate ethical concerns in pricing
previously, the extras were noted on separate screens. Finally, an
policy
important phrasing change, from "Submitting my offer now" to "Buy
my ticket now" clarified that customers were committing themselves £)> identify the different outlays
to a purchase if their offer was accepted. customers incur in purchasing and
Seeking to sharpen its focus, Priceline announced that it was using a service
restructuring its operations, cutting staff, and canceling plans to add
£> discuss the relationship between
cell phone services and insurance. But Hotwire disclosed that it was pricing and demand
expanding service to include hotel rooms and international air travel.
Further bad news for Priceline came from the departure of key execu- ^> understand yield management and
tives and a plummeting stock price. how it relates to price elasticity
All in all, the future looked very uncertain for Priceline as it ^ describe the key issues in designing
entered 2001, with promises of profits still unfulfilled and news that and implementing pricing strategies
the company's market valuation on Wall Street had sunk to an all-
time low of only $200 million—down more than 99 percent from its
peak.

SERVICE M A R K E T I N G STRATEGY

PAYING FOR SERVICE:
THE CUSTOMER'S PERSPECTIVE
Have you ever noticed what a wide variety of terms service organizations use to describe
the prices they set? Universities talk about tuition, professional firms collect fees, and banks
charge interest on loans or add service charges. Some bridges and highways impose tolls, trans-
port operators collect fares, clubs charge subscriptions, utilities set tariffs, insurance companies
establish premiums, and hotels establish room rates.These diverse terms are a signal that service
industries have historically taken a different approach to pricing than manufacturers.
Answering the question, What price should we charge for our service? is a task that
can't be left solely to financial managers. T h e challenges of service pricing require active
participation from marketers w h o understand customer needs and behavior and from
operations managers w h o recognize the importance of matching demand to available
capacity. T h e discussion that follows in this chapter assumes a basic understanding of the
economic costs—fixed, semivariable, and variable—incurred by companies, as well as
the concepts of contribution and break-even analysis. If you haven't previously been
exposed to this material or feel you could benefit from a refresher, you may want to
review the information in the box titled "Understanding Costs, C o n t r i b u t i o n , and
Break-Even Analysis" on page 169.

What Makes Service Pricing Different?
Let's consider h o w some of the differences between goods and services marketing that
we discussed in Chapter 1 may affect pricing strategy.

No O w n e r s h i p of S e r v i c e s It's usually harder for managers to calculate the
financial costs involved in creating an intangible performance for a customer than it is
to identify the labor, materials, machine time, storage, and shipping costs associated with
producing a physical good. Yet w i t h o u t a good understanding of costs, h o w can
managers hope to price at levels sufficient to achieve a desired profit margin?

H i g h e r R a t i o of F i x e d C o s t s to Variable C o s t s Because of the labor and
infrastructure needed to create performances, many service organizations have a much
higher ratio of fixed costs to variable costs than is found in manufacturing firms. 2
Service businesses with high fixed costs include those with an expensive physical facility
(e.g., a hotel, a hospital, a university, or a theater), or a fleet of vehicles (e.g., an airline, a
bus company, or a trucking company), or a network dependent on company-owned
infrastructure (e.g., a telecommunications company, an Internet provider, a railroad, or a
gas pipeline).While the fixed costs may be high for such businesses, the variable costs for
serving one extra customer may be minimal.

Variability of B o t h Inputs and O u t p u t s . It's not always easy to define a unit of
service, raising questions as to what should be the basis for service pricing. And
seemingly similar units of service may not cost the same to produce, nor may they be of
equal value to all customers. T h e potential for variability in service performances
(especially those that involve interactions with employees and other customers) means
that customers may pay the same price for a service but receive different levels of quality
and value. Alternatively, they may be charged radically different prices for the same
service offering, as often happens in the hotel industry. Advertising byTravelscape.com,
the do-it-yourself travel site, emphasizes its ability to help customers quickly find the
cheapest price for a hotel room (see Figure 8.1).

C H A P T E R E I G H T . P R I C I N G S T R A T E G I E S FOR S E R V I C E S 169

Many Services Are Hard to Evaluate T h e intangibility of service performances
and the invisibility of the backstage facilities and labor make it harder for customers to
know what they are getting for their money than w h e n they purchase a physical good.
Consider the homeowners w h o call an electrical firm, seeking repairs to a defective
circuit.A few days later (if they are lucky) an electrician arrives with a small bag of tools.
Within 20 minutes, the problem is located and a new circuit breaker installed. Presto,
everything works! Subsequently, the owners are horrified to receive a bill for $65, most
of it for labor charges. But they're overlooking all the fixed costs that the firm needs to
recover, such as the office, telephone, vehicles, tools, fuel, and support staff. T h e variable
costs of the visit are also higher than they appear. Fifteen minutes of driving back and
forth plus 5 minutes to unload (and later reload) needed tools and supplies from the van
on arrival at the house must be added to the 20 minutes spent at the customers' house.
These activities effectively double the labor time devoted to this call. Finally, the firm

Understanding Costs, Contribution,
and Break-Even Analysis
Contribution is the difference between the variable cost of sell-
Fixed costs—sometimes referred to as overheads—are those ing an extra unit of service and the money received for that service. It
economic costs that a supplier would continue to incur (at least in goes to cover fixed and semivariable costs before creating profits.
the short run) even if no services were sold. These costs may Determining and allocating economic costs can be a chal-
include rent, depreciation, utilities, taxes, insurance, salaries and lenging task in some service operations. For example, it's difficult
wages for managers and long-term employees, security, and inter- to decide how to assign fixed costs in a multi-service facility like a
est payments. hospital. There are certain fixed costs associated with running the
Variable costs refer to the economic costs associated with emergency unit. Beyond that there are fixed costs for running the
serving an additional customer, such as making another bank entire hospital. How much of the hospital's fixed costs should be
transaction, selling an additional seat in a train or theater, serving allocated to the emergency unit? A hospital manager might use one
an extra hotel guest for the night in a hotel, or completing one of several approaches to calculate the unit's share of overheads.
more repair job. For many services, such costs are very low. These could include (1) the percentage of total floor space that it
There is, for instance, very little labor or fuel cost involved in occupies, (2) the percentage of employee hours or payroll that it
transporting an extra bus passenger. Selling a hotel room for the accounts for, or (3) the percentage of total patient contact hours
night has slightly higher variable costs, since the room will need involved. Each method is likely to yield a totally different fixed-cost
to be cleaned and the linens sent to the laundry after a guest allocation. One method might indicate that the emergency unit is
leaves. More significant variable costs are associated with activi- very profitable, another might make it seem like a break-even
ties like serving food and beverages or installing a new part when operation, and a third might suggest that the unit is losing money.
making repairs, since they include the provision of costly physical Break-even analysis. Managers need to know at what sales
products in addition to labor. Just because a firm has sold a ser- volume a service will become profitable. This is called the break-
vice at a price that exceeds its variable costs does not mean that even point. The necessary analysis involves dividing the total fixed
the firm is now profitable. There are still fixed and semivariable and semivariable costs by the contribution obtained on each unit of
costs to be covered. service. For instance, if a 100-room hotel needs to cover fixed and
Semivariable costs fall in between fixed and variable costs. semivariable costs of $2 million a year and the average contribu-
They represent expenses that rise or fall in stepwise fashion as the tion per room-night is $100, then the hotel will need to sell 20,000
volume of business increases/decreases. Examples include adding room-nights per year out of a total annual capacity of 36,500. If
an extra flight to meet increased demand on a specific air route, prices are cut by an average of $20 per room night (or variable
or hiring a part-time employee to work in a restaurant on busy costs rise by $20), then the contribution will drop to $80 and the
weekends. hotel's break-even volume will rise to 25,000 room nights.


FIGURE 8.1
Travelscape.com Helps Customers
Find the Cheapest Price for a
Hotel Room

has to add a margin to the bill in order to make a profit for the owner. However, these
intrinsic costs are not readily visible to the customers, w h o are making their compar-
isons of price versus value based solely on visible service attributes.

I m p o r t a n c e of t h e T i m e Factor T i m e often drives value. In many instances,
customers are willing to pay more for a service delivered at a preferred time than for a
service ofiered at a less convenient time. They may also choose to pay more for faster
delivery of some services—compare the cost of express mail against that of regular mail.
Sometimes greater speed increases operating costs for the service provider, reflecting the
need to pay overtime wages or use m o r e expensive equipment. In o t h e r instances,
achieving faster turnaround is simply a matter of giving priority to one customer over
another. For instance, clothes requiring express dry-cleaning take the same amount of
time to clean.The firm saves time for these customers by moving their jobs to the head
of the line.

Availability of B o t h Electronic and Physical Distribution Channels T h e use
of different channels to deliver the same service can affect costs and perceived value.
Electronic banking transactions are m u c h cheaper for a bank than face-to-face contact
in a branch. W h i l e some people like the convenience of impersonal b u t efficient
electronic transactions, others prefer to deal with a real bank teller. T h u s , a service
delivered t h r o u g h a particular channel may have value for one person b u t n o t for
another. Companies must balance customer needs and preferences against the desire to
reduce production costs, because in some cases customers may be willing to accept a
price increase in order to have access to a physical distribution channel.

CHAPTER EIGHT • PRICING STRATEGIES FOR SERVICES 171

Ethical Concerns
Services often invite performance and pricing abuses. T h e problem is especially acute
for services that are high in credence attributes, whose quality and benefits are hard to
evaluate even after delivery. 3

Exploiting C u s t o m e r I g n o r a n c e W h e n customers don't k n o w what they are
getting from a service supplier, are not present w h e n the work is being performed, and
lack the technical skills to know if a good j o b has been done, they are vulnerable to
paying for work that wasn't done, wasn't necessary, or was poorly executed. Although
price can serve as a surrogate for quality, it's sometimes hard to be sure if the extra value
( is really there. This is an important issue, since customers may rely more heavily on price
cues as an indication of service value w h e n perceived risks (e.g., functional, financial,
psychological, or social) are high.
( Web sites sometimes take advantage of customer ignorance, particularly where air-
line tickets are concerned. Although there are many Internet travel sites, finding the
cheapest fare isn't easy. Priceline initially confused customers by not clarifying that air-
port taxes and fuel surcharges had to be added to ticket prices.

Complexity and Unfairness Pricing schedules for services are often quite
complex. Changing circumstances sometimes result in complicated pricing schedules
that are difficult for consumers to interpret. C o n s i d e r the credit card industry.
Traditionally, the banks that issue these cards received revenues from two sources: a
small percentage of the value of each transaction (paid by the merchant), and high
interest charges on credit balances. As credit cards became more popular, costs started

( to rise for the banks on two fronts. First, more customers defaulted on their balances,
leading to a big increase in bad debts. Second, as competition increased between banks,
marketing expenses rose and gold and platinum cards started offering more affluent
customers features like free travel insurance, emergency card replacement, and points
redeemable for air miles. But as marketing expenses were rising, m o r e customers
started to pay off their monthly balances in full and competition led to lower interest
rates, resulting in lower revenues. So the banks increased other charges and imposed
new fees that were often confusing to customers. Details of charges by one major bank
for its platinum card are shown in the box entitled "Charges, Fees, and Terms for a
Platinum Visa Card."
Another industry that has gained notoriety for its complex and sometimes mislead-
ing pricing schedules is cellular telephone service. Consumer Reports has warned its read-
ers about such practices as rounding up calling time to the nearest minute, misrepresen-
tation of "free" service elements that turn out not to be so, and huge cancellation fees
($150 to $200) for terminating a one-year contract before it expires. 5
Complexity makes it easier—and perhaps more tempting—for firms to engage in
unethical behavior. T h e car rental industry has attracted some notoriety for advertising
bargain rental prices and then telling customers on arrival that other fees like collision
insurance and personal insurance are compulsory. A n d employees sometimes fail to
clarify certain "small print" contract terms such as a high per mile charge that is added
once the car exceeds a very low threshold of free miles. T h e "hidden extras" p h e n o m -
enon for car rentals in some Florida resort towns got so bad at one point that people
were joking: "the car is free, the keys are extra! "A not u n c o m m o n practice is to charge
fees for refueling a partially empty tank that far exceed what the driver would pay at
the pump.
When customers know that they are vulnerable to potential abuse, they become
[ suspicious of both the firm and its employees. Assuming that a firm has honest manage-

172 PART T H R E E • SERVICE M A R K E T I N G S T R A T E G Y

ment, the best approach is a proactive one, spelling out all fees and expenses clearly in
advance so that there are no surprises. A related approach is to develop a simple fee
structure so that customers can easily understand the financial implications of a specific
usage situation.

Identifying User Outlays
From a customer's standpoint, the monetary price charged by a supplier is not the only
cost or outlay associated with purchase and delivery of a service. Let's take a look at
what's involved (see Figure 8.2). As we do so, please consider your own experiences in
different service contexts.

P r i c e and Other Financial E x p e n s e s Customers often spend additional amounts
financial outlays: all over and above the purchase price. Necessary incidental expenses may include travel to
monetary expenditures the service site, parking, and purchase of other facilitating goods or services ranging
incurred by customers in from meals to babysitting. We call the total of all these expenses (including the price of
purchasing and consuming a the service itself) the financial outlays associated with purchasing and consuming a
service. service.

Charges, Fees, and Terms
for a Platinum Visa Card
Annual fee First year free; thereafter $65
Finance charges on unpaid balances

Purchases 9.99% (min. charge $0.50)*

Cash advances 19.99% (min. charge $0.50)

After failure to make two monthly payments within 6 months 22.99%
(applies to all balances)

Transaction charges for purchase of money order, wire transfer, or 3% of transaction value (min. $5)
use of "convenience checks"

Cash advance (use card to obtain money from an ATM or bank) 2% of cash advance value (min. $10)

Other charges

Late fee $29

Returned check fee (payment) $29

Overlimit fee $29

Payment terms Due by 10 A.M. on payment due date specified on monthly state-
ment. Failure to enclose coupon, pay by check or money order, or
use envelope provided may result in up to a 5-day delay in posting.

'Minimum annual percentage rates (or prime rate + 0.99%, whichever is higher)
Source: First USA Bank (data taken from card member agreement, amended May 2000).


FIGURE 8.2
Determining the Total Costs
of a Service: More Than
Meets the Eye?

"Includes all five cost categories

nonfinancial outlays: the
time expenditures, physical
Nonfinancial Outlays Customers may incur a variety of nonfinancial outlays, and mental effort, and
representing the time, effort, and discomfort associated with searching for, purchasing, unwanted sensory experiences
and using a service. We can group nonfinancial outlays into four distinct categories. associated with searching for,
>• T i m e expenditures are inherent in the service delivery process.Time may also buying, and using a service.
be wasted simply waiting for service. There's an o p p o r t u n i t y cost involved
because customers could spend that time in other ways. time expenditures: time
spent by customers during all
>• Physical effort (including fatigue, discomfort, and occasionally even injury) aspects of the service delivery
may be incurred during visits to the service factory or while using a company's process.
self-service equipment.
>- P s y c h o l o g i c a l burdens like mental effort, feelings of inadequacy, or fear may physical effort: undesired
accompany the tasks of evaluating service alternatives, making a selection, and consequences to a customers
body that occur during the
then using the chosen service. Services that are high in experience and credence
service delivery process.
attributes may create psychological burdens like anxiety since service outcomes
are more difficult to evaluate. psychological burdens:
>- Sensory burdens relate to unpleasant sensations affecting any of the five senses. undesired mental or
They may include putting up with noise, unpleasant smells, drafts, excessive heat emotional states experienced
or cold, uncomfortable seating or lighting, visually unappealing environments, by customers as a result of
and even unpleasant tastes. the service delivery process.

The total costs of purchasing and using a service also include those associated with sensory burdens: negative
search activities. W h e n you were looking at colleges, h o w much money, time, and effort sensations experienced
did you spend before deciding where to apply? And h o w much effort would you put through a customer's five
into comparing alternative haircutters if your existing one was no longer available? senses during the service
There may even be further outlays after service delivery is completed. A doctor may delivery process.


FIGURE 8.3
Net Value = Benefits — Outlays

diagnose a medical problem for a patient and then prescribe a course of physical therapy
and drugs to be continued over several months. Obtaining refunds after service failures
may force customers to waste time, money, and effort in trying to resolve the problem.

Understanding Net Value
W h e n customers evaluate a service, they consider the benefits it offers relative to the
financial and nonfinancial outlays they will incur in purchasing and using it. Although
there are several ways to describe value, we have chosen to define value as "what I get
net value: the sum of all for what I give." 6 N e t value is defined as the sum of all the perceived benefits (gross
perceived benefits (gross value) minus the sum of all the perceived outlays for the customer. T h e greater the pos-
value) minus the sum of all itive difference between the two, the greater the net value. If the perceived costs and
perceived outlays. other outlays are greater than the perceived benefits, then the service in question will
possess negative net value.
Perceptions of net value may vary widely between customers, and even for the
same customer depending on the situation. H o w customers feel about the net value of
a service may be sharply different post-use and pre-use, reflecting the experiential qual-
ities of many services. W h e n customers use a service and find that it has cost more and
delivered fewer benefits than expected, they are unlikely to repurchase it and may c o m -
plain about "poor value."
You can think of the value calculations that customers make in their minds as being
similar to weighing materials on an old-fashioned pair of scales, with product benefits in
one tray and the outlays associated with obtaining those benefits in the other (see Figure
8.3).When customers evaluate competing services, they are basically comparing the rel-
ative net values.

Increasing Net Value by Reducing Nonfinancial Outlays
Although our focus in this chapter is mainly on the monetary aspects of pricing, you've
probably noticed that people often pay a premium to save time, minimize unwanted effort,
and obtain greater comfort. In other words, they are willing to pay higher prices to reduce


their nonfinancial outlays. Marketers can increase the net value of a service by adding ben-
efits to the core product, enhancing supplementary services, or reducing the financial costs
and other outlays associated with purchase and use of the product. People w h o fly first class
versus coach class are paying for more spacious seating, better food, and more personalized
attention from flight attendants in return for a more expensive fare. Other types of service
companies have also recognized the different trade-offs that customers are willing to make
and have created multiple levels of service. For example, Capital O n e Financial provides
thousands of credit card options with varying benefits and interest rates. The company uses
its sophisticated database technology to segment the market based on spending patterns and
other consumer characteristics. It is then able to offer personally customized bundles of
benefits that add value for customers while reducing risk for Capital O n e . 7
In many cases, service firms can improve value by minimizing unwanted nonfinan-
cial outlays for customers. R e d u c i n g such outlays may even cause firms to increase the
monetary price for their services while still offering what customers perceive as "good
value." Strategies for reducing nonfinancial outlays include:
>• Reducing the time involved in service purchase, delivery, and consumption—
especially time wasted in waiting for service delivery
>- Minimizing unwanted psychological burdens during all stages of service con-
sumption
>• Eliminating unwanted physical effort, especially during the search and delivery
processes
>- Decreasing unpleasant sensory burdens by creating more attractive visual environ-
ments, reducing noise, installing more comfortable furniture and equipment, cur-
tailing offensive smells, and ensuring that foods, drinks, or medicines taste appealing

FOUNDATIONS OF PRICING STRATEGY
The foundations underlying pricing strategy can be described as a tripod, with costs to
the provider, competition, and value to the customer as the three legs (see Figure 8.4).
The costs that a firm needs to recover usually impose a m i n i m u m or floor price for a
specific service offering. T h e perceived value of the offering to customers sets a maxi-
mum, or ceiling. T h e price charged by competitors for similar services typically deter-

FIGURE 8.4
T h e Pricing Tripod


mines where, within the floor-to-ceiling range, the price should actually be set. Let's
look at each leg of the pricing tripod in more detail.

Cost-Based Pricing
cost-based pricing: the C o s t - b a s e d p r i c i n g involves setting prices relative to financial costs. Companies seek-
practice of relating the price ing to make a profit must set a price sufficient to recover the full costs—variable, semi-
to be charged to the costs variable, and fixed—of producing and marketing a service. A sufficient margin must also
associated with producing, be added to provide the desired level of profit at the predicted sales volume. W h e n fixed
delivering, and marketing a costs are high and the variable costs of serving an additional customer are very low,
product.
managers may feel that they have tremendous pricing flexibility and be tempted to
price low in order to make an extra sale. However, there can be no profit at the end of
the year unless all relevant costs have been recovered. Firms that compete on the basis of
low prices need to analyze their cost structure and identify the sales volume needed to
break even at particular prices.

R e g u l a t o r y Pressures N o t all service firms are free to charge whatever price they
choose. Most local utilities—like telephone, water, cable TV, electricity, and gas—have
been regulated historically by government agencies that control all changes in prices
and terms of service. Industry regulators or politicians, responding to complaints about
excessively high prices, sometimes put pressure on these types of businesses to clarify
and account for service costs.
Sometimes companies lack the necessary information to calculate the costs associ-
ated with serving different types of users. In this case, managers may simply determine
the total costs incurred during a certain period, divide them by actual unit sales, calcu-
late an average cost per unit of service (e.g., kilowatt-hours or monthly p h o n e line
rental fees), and add a certain percentage for profit. However, more sophisticated costing
analysis in the telecommunications industry has shown that this is not always the most
effective pricing strategy. T h e results of this analysis indicated that business users had
been subsidizing household subscribers w h o were, in fact, much more expensive to
serve. T h e net result was a shift in regulatory policy to allow relatively larger price
increases for households than for business users.

A c t i v i t y - B a s e d C o s t i n g It's a mistake to look at costs from just an accounting
perspective. Progressive managers view t h e m as an integral part of their company's
efforts to create value for customers. 8 Unfortunately for the accountants, costs have
nothing to do with value, which is market driven. Customers aren't interested in what
it costs the firm to produce a service; instead, they focus on the relationship between
activity-based costing: an price and value. Activity-based c o s t i n g (ABC) provides a structured way of thinking
approach to costing based on about activities and the resources that they consume.
identifying the activities Many firms have developed A B C systems that link resource expenses to the variety
being performed and then and complexity of products produced, not just to physical volume. Instead of focusing
determining the resources on expense categories, such as labor or fuel, A B C analysis zeroes in on the activities that
that each consumes.
are performed and then determines the cost of each activity as it relates to each expense
category. As activities are segregated, a cost hierarchy emerges, reflecting the level at
which the cost is incurred. For instance, unit-level activities need to be performed for
each unit of service (such as rotating the tires on a customer's car at a service garage),
whereas batch-level activities relate to each batch or set-up of work performed (for
instance, periodically maintaining the tire rotation equipment).
Cooper and Kaplan note "ABC analysis enables managers to slice into the business in
many different ways—by product or group of similar products, by individual customer or
client group, or by distribution channel." 10 Thus ABC analysis can pinpoint differences in
the costs of serving individual customers, while traditional cost analysis tends to result in
loading the same overhead costs on all customers. This can lead to the assumption that

C H A P T E R E I G H T • P R I C I N G S T R A T E G I E S FOR SERVICES 177

large customers are more profitable. But a large customer w h o makes extensive demands
on a supplier may, in fact, be less profitable than a small and undemanding customer.
Controlling costs by cutting back certain activities often leads to reduced value for
customers because a curtailed activity may be crucial to providing a certain level and
quality of service. Many telecommunications firms created marketing problems for
themselves w h e n they dismissed customer service staff to save money. This strategy
resulted in a sharp decline in service responsiveness that led discontented customers to
take their business elsewhere.

Competition-Based Pricing
If customers see little or no difference between the services offered in the marketplace,
they may just choose the cheapest alternative. U n d e r conditions of c o m p e t i t i o n - competition-based
based pricing, the firm with the lowest cost per unit of service enjoys an enviable pricing: the practice of
marketing advantage. It has the option of either c o m p e t i n g on price at levels that setting prices relative to
higher-cost competitors cannot afford to match, or charging the going market rate and those charged by
earning larger profits than competing firms. competitors.

Price Leadership In some industries, one firm may act as the price leader, with price leader: a firm that
others taking their cue from this company. You can see this p h e n o m e n o n at the local takes the initiative on price
level when several gas stations compete within a short distance of one another, or on changes in its market area
opposite corners of a crossroads. As soon as one station raises or lowers its prices, each of and is copied by others.
the others will follow promptly. D u r i n g b o o m times in competitive industries such as
airlines, hotels, and rental cars, firms are often willing to go along with the leader since
prices tend to be set at a level that allows good profits. However, during an economic
downturn, these industries quickly find themselves with surplus productive capacity. To
attract more customers, one firm (often not the original leader) may cut prices. Since
pricing is the easiest and fastest marketing variable to change, a price war may result
overnight as competitors rush to match the competition's bargain prices.

Price B i d s a n d N e g o t i a t i o n s Industrial buyers sometimes request bids from
competing service suppliers. C o m p a n i e s w h o outsource contracts to provide food
service or facilities maintenance often use this approach to pricing. U n d e r these
conditions, each bidder needs to review costs and think about what the buyer might be
willing to pay in addition to estimating the level of bid that competitors are likely to
submit. T h e more tightly specified the buyer's requirements, the less opportunity there
is to differentiate one bidder's offer from another. T h e terms of the bid will specify
whether the bids are to be sealed or not, and whether the buyer is obligated to take the
lowest bid. If the buyer feels that the bids are too high, it may change the specifications
and invite a new round of bidding.
An alternative to bidding is negotiation. T h e firm may request proposals from sev-
eral suppliers and then negotiate with a short list of those firms that seem the most qual-
ified and have offered the most relevant or innovative approaches. Large consulting pro-
jects, accounting audits, and engineering studies are often initiated through requests for
proposals. In this type of situation, the buyer may conduct several rounds of negotia-
tions, giving participating suppliers at least some information about competing offers as
an incentive to lower their prices, conduct the work faster, or offer more features.

Value-Based Pricing value-based pricing: the
practice of setting prices with
Service pricing strategies are often unsuccessful because they lack any clear association reference to what customers
between price and value. 11 In discussing value-based pricing, Berry and Yadav pro- are willing to pay for the
pose three strategies for capturing and communicating the value of a service: uncer- value they believe they will
tainty reduction, relationship enhancement, and cost leadership. receive.


P r i c i n g Strategies to R e d u c e U n c e r t a i n t y If customers are unsure about how
much value they will receive from a particular service, they may remain with a known
benefit-driven pricing: supplier or not purchase at all. Benefit-driven p r i c i n g helps reduce uncertainty by
the strategy of relating the focusing on that aspect of the service that directly benefits customers (requiring
price to that aspect of the marketers to research what aspects of the service the customers do and do not value).
service that directly creates This strategy requires firms to communicate service benefits clearly so that customers
benefits for customers. can see the relationship between value and costs. Flat-rate p r i c i n g involves quoting a
fixed price in advance of service delivery so that there are no surprises. This approach
flat-rate pricing: the
transfers the risk from the customer to the supplier in the event that service production
strategy of quoting a fixed
costs more than anticipated. Flat-rate pricing can be an effective differentiation tool in
price for a service in advance
of delivery. industries where service prices are unpredictable and suppliers are poor at controlling
their costs.

Relationship E n h a n c e m e n t In general, discounting to win new business is not the
best way to attract customers w h o will remain loyal over time, since those w h o are
attracted by cut-rate pricing are easily enticed away by competing offers. However,
offering discounts w h e n customers purchase two or more services together may be a
viable relationship-building strategy. T h e greater the n u m b e r of different services a
customer purchases from a single supplier, the closer the relationship is likely to be. Both
parties get to know each other better, and it's more inconvenient for such customers to
take their business elsewhere.

Cost Leadership This strategy is based on achieving the lowest costs in an industry.
Low-priced services have particular appeal to customers w h o are on a tight financial
budget. They may also lead purchasers to buy in larger volumes. O n e challenge when
pricing low is to convince customers that they shouldn't equate price with quality—they

Southwest Airlines: Low-Price
Leader with a Low-Cost Culture
By minimizing the amount of time aircraft spend at the
The most consistently profitable airline in North America is Southwest gate, Southwest keeps them in the air more hours per day. Using
Airlines, which emphasizes relatively short-haul, point-to-point routes only one aircraft type, the Boeing 737, in its fleet of some 350
within the United States and has no international service.13 aircraft simplifies the airline's operation and saves further costs.
Southwest's strategy is to price low enough to compete with surface Southwest offers a very basic core service (transportation), with
travel by car, bus, or train, rather than pricing to compete against other few of the supplementary elements found in full-service carriers.
airlines. Whenever it enters a new market, demand increases sub- But it manages customer expectations so that travelers are not
stantially as people shift from other modes of transportation, start to surprised to find no reserved seats, no meals, and no baggage
travel more frequently, or make trips they would not previously have transfer to other airlines. The absence of these supplementary
made before. services contributes to Southwest's record as having the lowest
Supporting Southwest's low-price marketing efforts is a low- costs per seat-mile of any major American carrier. Southwest
cost operational strategy and a culture among the airline's dedi- creates value by saving its customers time and money and by
cated employees of doing everything possible to keep costs low, doing a superb job of delivering basic air transportation safely,
including working very productively. "Thanks to the Culture at reliably, and consistently, with friendly employees providing a
Southwest Airlines," observed a recent annual report, "we do not human touch.
have to motivate our Employees with programs to reduce costs;
rather it is their goal each and every day."

Source: Southwest Airlines Annual Reports (Dallas, 1996-1999).

CHAPTER EIGHT • P R I C I N G S T R A T E G I E S FOR S E R V I C E S 179

must feel they are also getting good value. A second challenge is to ensure that economic
costs are kept low enough to enable the firm to make a profit. Some service businesses
have built their entire strategy around being the cost leader, which enables them to cost leader; a firm that
remain profitable despite rock bottom prices. Southwest Airlines provides a classic case of bases its pricing strategy on
a focused low-cost pricing strategy that continues to be highly successful. T h e airline's achieving the lowest costs in
approach is based on a low-cost culture that competitors find difficult to imitate (see the its industry.
boxed story "Southwest Airlines: Low-Price Leader with a Low-Cost Culture").

PRICING AND DEMAND
In most services, there's an inverse relationship between price levels and demand levels.
Demand tends to fall as price rises. This p h e n o m e n o n has implications for revenue plan-
ning and also for filling capacity in businesses that experience wide swings in demand
over time.

Price Elasticity
The concept of elasticity describes h o w sensitive demand is to changes in price. W h e n
price elasticity is at "unity," sales of a service rise (or fall) by the same percentage that price elasticity: the extent
prices fall (or rise). W h e n a small price change has a big impact on sales, demand for that to which a change in price
product is said to be price elastic. But when a change in price has little effect, demand is leads to a corresponding
described as price inelastic. O n e advantage of Internet-based marketing is that it gives change in demand in the
opposite direction. (Demand
firms the opportunity to test prices continuously to determine customers' responses to
is described as "price
price variations. 14
inelastic" when changes in
Demand can often be segmented according to customers' sensitivity to price or ser- price have little or no impact
vice features. For example, few theaters, concert halls, and stadiums have a single, fixed on demand.)
admission price for performances. Instead, prices vary according to (1) seat locations, (2)
performance times, (3) projected staging costs, and (4) the anticipated appeal of the per-
formance. In establishing prices for different blocks of seats and deciding h o w many
seats to offer within each price block (known as scaling the house), theater managers
need to estimate the demand within each price category. A poor pricing decision may
result in many empty seats in some price categories and immediate sell-outs (and disap-
pointed customers) in other categories.
Management also needs to know theatergoers'preferences for scheduling of perfor-
mances, such as matinees versus evenings, weekends versus weekdays, and even seasonal
variations. In each instance, the goal is to manage demand over time to maximize atten-
dance, revenues, or a combination of the two (e.g., maximizing revenues, subject to a
minimum attendance goal of 70 percent of all seats sold at each performance). A good
reason for seeking to achieve sell-outs is that they encourage people to book and pay in
advance (thus committing themselves) instead of waiting until the last minute w h e n
they might change their minds.
What if the mission statement includes the goal of attracting less-affluent segments,
such as students and senior citizens? In such cases, management may wish to set aside
some seats at a discount for people in those target segments. In a theater context, this
social goal is sometimes addressed by offering unsold tickets at deeply discounted prices
on the day of the performance.

Yield Management
Service organizations often use the percentage of capacity sold as a measure of opera-
tional efficiency. By themselves, however, these percentage figures tell us little about the
relative profitability of the customer base. High utilization rates may be obtained at the
expense of heavy discounting, or even outright give-aways.


yield managements a Yield m a n a g e m e n t pricing strategies are based on maximizing the revenue yield
pricing strategy based on that can be derived from available capacity at any given time. Effective yield manage-
charging different prices to ment models can significantly improve a company's profitability. Airlines, hotels, and car
different users in order to rental firms, in particular, have become adept at varying their prices in response to the
maximize the revenue yield
price sensitivity of different market segments at different times of the day, week, or sea-
that can be derived from a
son. T h e challenge is to capture sufficient customers to fill the organization's perishable
firm's available capacity at
any specific point in time. capacity without selling at lower prices to those customers w h o would have been will-
ing to pay more.
H o w does a firm know what level of demand to expect at different prices in a mar-
ket environment where the factors influencing demand are constantly changing? Many
markets are very dynamic. For instance, the demand for both business and pleasure travel
changes in response to competition and economic conditions. Although business travel-
ers may be less sensitive to price changes, tourists and other pleasure travelers may be so
price sensitive that special promotions involving discounted airfares and hotel room
rates can encourage them to undertake trips that they wouldn't otherwise have made.
Advances in software and computing power have made it possible for managers to
use sophisticated mathematical models to address complicated yield management issues.
In the case of an airline, for example, these models integrate massive historical databases
on past passenger travel with real-time information on current bookings. T h e output
helps analysts predict how many passengers would want to travel between two cities at
a particular fare on a flight leaving at a specified time and date. Airlines use yield man-
price bucket: an allocation agement analysis to allocate seats at different fares (known as price buckets) for a spe-
of service capacity (for cific flight with the objective of improving its yield.
instance, seats) for sale at a T h e use of price buckets illustrates the concept of price customization—that is,
particular price. charging different customers different prices for what is, in effect, the same product. The
basic idea is simple: have people pay prices based on the value they put on the product. As
Simon and Dolan point out, "Obviously you can't just hang out a sign saying 'Pay me
what it's worth to you' or'It's $80 if you value it that much but only $40 if you don't.' You
have to find a way to segment customers by their valuations. In a sense, you have to 'build
a fence' between high-value customers and low-value customers so the 'high' buyers can't
take advantage of the low price." 1 5 Successful yield management strategies require an
understanding of the shape of the demand curve and an ability to relate the size and price
levels of the different "buckets" to different value segments (see Figure 8.5).

Fencing Mechanisms Firms need to be able to separate or "fence off" different
value segments so that customers for w h o m the service offers high value are unable to
rate fences: techniques for purchase it cheaply. R a t e f e n c e s can be either physical or nonphysical and involve
separating customers so that setting qualifications that must be met in order to receive a certain level of discount
segments for whom the from the full price. 1 6 Physical fences include observable characteristics of the customer
service offers high value are (like child versus adult) and service characteristics such as class of travel, type of hotel
unable to take advantage of
room, or inclusion of certain amenities with a higher price (free breakfast at a hotel, free
lower-priced offers.
golf cart at a golf course). Nonphysical fences include penalties for canceling or
changing an inexpensive reservation, requirements for advance purchase, group
membership or affiliation, and time of use (e.g., happy hours in bars before 8:00 P.M.,
travelers must stay over a Saturday night to obtain a cheap airline booking).
auction: a selling procedure
managed by a specialist Customer-Led Pricing: Auctions and Bids
intermediary in which the
price is set by allowing O n e m e t h o d of pricing that has attracted a lot of attention with the advent of the
prospective purchasers to bid Internet is inviting customers to bid the price that they are prepared to pay. T h e Internet
against each other for a provides a good medium for auctions because of its ability to aggregate buyers from all
product offered by a seller. around the world. DoveBid, a long-established auctioneer of capital assets, now

C H A P T E R E I G H T • P R I C I N G S T R A T E G I E S FOR SERVICES 181

FIGURE 8.5
Relating Price Buckets and
Fences to the Shape of the
Demand Curve for a Specific
Flight

Note: Shaded areas denote amount of consumer surplus (goal of segmented pricing is to minimize this).

conducts Webcast business auctions worldwide (Figure 8.6). DoveBid's Webcast auctions
are open-outcry auctions broadcast live via the Internet, allowing remote buyers around
the globe to bid real-time against bidders w h o are on-location at plant auctions. This
type of auction increases the number of auction bidders as well as creating price premi-
ums. Auctions employing the speed and reach of the Internet are particularly useful for
corporate purchasers seeking to identify sellers of such time-sensitive service products as
energy, telecommunications capacity, and advertising space, and then bid competitively
for the amount and type that they need. 1 7
The Web also offers many opportunities for consumers to bid on prices for goods
and services. eBay.com (which describes itself as "the world's online marketplace")


F I G U R E 8.6
In Auctions, the Highest Bidder
Usually Sets the Selling Price

dominates the U.S. market and has plans to expand worldwide. Its unique approach to
helping individual customers sell to each other is reflected in the following statement
from its home page:
Welcome! eBay is the world's first, biggest and best person-to-person online trading com-
munity. It's your place to find the stuff you want, to sell the stuff you have and to make
a few friends while you're at it.I8

Some financial services are sold through auctions. Rather than approaching indi-
vidual financial institutions for a mortgage or other loan, borrowers can enter their
requirements and personal situations at a Web site that solicits bids for the required
loans. And online market makers let buyers decide how much they are willing to offer
for many other types of services. uBid.com recently held an auction for an eight-day
Hawaiian vacation on its site. T h e highest accepted bid was $519, but most successful
bidders ended up paying only $99! 1 9

PUTTING PRICING STRATEGIES INTO PRACTICE
Although the main decision in pricing is usually seen as h o w much to charge, there are
other important decisions to be made. Table 8.1 summarizes the questions that service
marketers need to ask themselves as they design and implement a pricing strategy.

How Much to Charge?
Realistic decisions on pricing are critical for financial solvency. T h e pricing tripod
model (Figure 8.4) provides a useful departure point.The task begins with determining
the relevant financial costs, which set the relevant "floor" price. T h e second step is to


establish a "ceiling" price for specific market segments. This involves assessing market
sensitivity to different prices, which reflects both the overall value of the service to
prospective customers and their ability to pay. Competitive prices provide a third input.
The greater the number of similar alternatives, the greater the pressure to keep prices at
or below those of the competition. T h e situation is particularly challenging w h e n some
competitors choose to compete on the basis of low price and couple this with an oper-
ating strategy designed to achieve low costs, as does Southwest Airlines.
The wider the gap between the floor and ceiling prices, the more room there is for
maneuvering. If a ceiling price is below the floor price, the manager has several choices.
One alternative is to recognize that the service is noncompetitive, in which case it should
be discontinued. The other is to modify it in ways that differentiate it from the competition
and add value for prospective customers. This makes it competitive at a higher price. 2 0
Finally, a specific figure must be set for the price that customers will be asked to pay.
Should the firm price in round numbers or try to create the impression that prices are

1. How much should be charged for this service? TABLE 8.1
a. What costs is the organization attempting to recover? Is the organization trying to achieve a specific profit margin Some Pricing Issues
or return on investment by selling this service?
b. How sensitive are customers to different prices?
c. What prices are charged by competitors?
d. What discount(s) should be offered from basic prices?
e. Are psychological pricing points (e.g., $4.95 versus $5.00) customarily used?
2. What should be the basis of pricing?
a. Execution of a specific task
b. Admission to a service facility
c. Units of time (hour, week, month, year)
d. Percentage commission on the value of the transaction
e. Physical resources consumed
f. Geographic distance covered
g. Weight or size of object serviced
h. Should each service element be billed independently?
i. Should a single price be charged for a bundled package?
3. Who should collect payment?
a. The organization that provides the service
b. A specialist intermediary (travel or ticket agent, bank, retailer, etc.)
c. How should the intermediary be compensated for this work—flat fee or percentage commission?
4. Where should payment be made?
a. The location at which the service is delivered
b. A convenient retail outlet or financial intermediary (e.g., bank)
c. The purchaser's home (by mail or phone)
5. When should payment be made?
a. Before or after delivery of the service
b. At which times of day
c. On which days of the week
6. How should payment be made?
a. Cash (exact change or not?)
b. Token (where can these be purchased?)
c. Stored value card
d. Check (how to verify?)
e. Electronic funds transfer
f. Charge card (credit or debit)
g. Credit account with service provider
h. Vouchers
i. Third-party payment (e.g., insurance company or government agency)?
7. How should prices be communicated to the target market?
a. Through what communication medium? (advertising, signage, electronic display, sales people, customer service
personnel)
b. What message content (how much emphasis should be placed on price?)


slightly lower than they really are? If competitors set prices like $4.95 or $19.95, then
charging $5.00 or $20.00 may make the firm appear uncompetitive. However, most ser-
vices (aside from car rental firms and hotels) tend to avoid odd pricing—perhaps
because this pricing strategy is often associated with a discount or low-quality image. 2 1
An ethical issue concerns the practice of promoting a price that excludes tax, ser-
vice charges, and other extras. This approach is misleading if customers expect the
quoted price to be inclusive. Managers also need to recognize that changes in pricing
policy sometimes result in consumer opposition. For instance, n e w A T M surcharges
have generated numerous complaints about "price gouging" (see box titled "Consumers
Protest A T M Surcharges").

What Should Be the Basis for Pricing?
To set a price, managers must define the unit of service consumption. Should it be based
on completing a specific service task, such as repairing a piece of equipment, cleaning a
jacket, or cutting a customer's hair? Should it be based on admission to a service perfor-
mance, such as an educational program, film, concert, or sports event? Should it be time
based, as in using an hour of a lawyer's time, occupying a hotel room for a night, or rent-
ing a car for a week? Should it be tied to value, as w h e n an insurance company scales its
premiums to reflect the amount of coverage provided or a realtor takes a percentage
commission on the selling price of a house?
Some service prices are tied to consumption of physical resources like food, water,
or natural gas. Rather than charging customers an hourly rate for occupying a table and

Consumers Protest
ATM Surcharges
debit cards to obtain cash when making purchases at grocery
Most banks charge their customers an extra fee when they use a stores, which don't typically charge fees.
"foreign" ATM (that is, one belonging to another bank). This sur- The big winners from surcharges appear to be several dozen
charge is on top of any service charges for account activity, which small companies that install inexpensive ATMs and connect them
might be as much as $1.25 per transaction if the balance falls to a national network. These nonbank ATMs impose a double sur-
below a certain level. The surcharge, initially $1.00, was first imple- charge: first the $1 + fee for use of a "foreign" ATM plus an addi-
mented in 1996 after heavy lobbying by banks to convince the two tional charge that may be as high as $3 for a simple cash with-
largest ATM networks—Visa's "Plus" and MasterCard's "Cirrus"— drawal. To make matters worse, nonbank ATMs often fail to
to withdraw their ban on additional surcharges. The banks argued disclose the extra surcharge. The first that users know about it is
successfully that permitting surcharges would encourage place- when they find it billed to their bank accounts.
ment of ATMs in useful, but out-of-the-way places where volume Despite these drawbacks, many small business owners
would be lower. By 1999,90 percent of all banks were surcharging approve of the nonbanks' approach to doing business. When the
at an average rate of $1.35; in addition, all independently owned owner of a minimart was unable to persuade a bank to put an ATM
ATMs imposed charges, averaging $1.59 per transaction. The result in his store, he leased a machine from a company for about $300 a
was accusations by consumer groups of price gouging, leading to month. Users pay an extra $1.50 surcharge for each transaction, of
growing political pressure in the United States to limit or even ban which $0.80 goes to the minimart owner. He claims that, thanks to
surcharges. Banks responded with claims that making ATMs avail- the machine, his store attracts more customers and sells more
able to noncustomers was a service that offered value and that peo- merchandise, netting him a profit of up to $50 a month after paying
ple were clearly prepared to pay for this convenience. However, data the leasing fee.
showed ATM usage peaking in late 1999 as more people used their

Sources: D. Foust, S, Browden, andG. Smith, "Mad as Hell at the Cash Machine," Business Week, 15 September 1997, 124; "High ATM Fees, Low Profiles," Wall Street Journal A
December 1997, BT, Mike McNamee, "Why ATM Outrage Is So Misplaced," Business Week, 29 November 1999.

CHAPTER EIGHT • P R I C I N G S T R A T E G I E S FOR S E R V I C E S 185

chairs, restaurants put a sizeable mark-up on the food and drink items consumed. Long-
distance p h o n e call pricing reflects a c o m b i n a t i o n of distance and time rates.
Transportation firms have traditionally charged by distance, with freight companies
using a combination of weight or cubic volume and distance to set their rates. Another
straightforward pricing strategy involves charging a flat rate, like postal charges for
domestic letters below a certain weight or a zone rate for packages that groups geo-
graphic distances into broad clusters. These policies have the virtue of consistency, but
they ignore relative market strength on different routes.

Price B u n d l i n g Many services unite a core product with various supplementary
services, such as a cruise ship where the tariff includes meals and bar service. Should such
service packages be priced as a whole (referred to as a "bundle"), or should each element
be priced separately? If people prefer to avoid making many small payments, p r i c e price bundling: the
b u n d l i n g may be preferable—and it's certainly simpler to administer. However, if practice of charging a base
customers dislike being charged for product elements they don't use, itemized pricing price for a core service plus
may be better. Bundled prices offer a guaranteed revenue from each customer, while additional fees for optional
giving users a clear idea in advance of how much the bill will be. By contrast, unbundled supplementary elements.
pricing provides customers with flexibility. Some firms offer an array of choices. Mobile
phone subscribers, for instance, can select from a m o n g several service options. O n e
choice involves paying a small monthly fee for a basic service and then extra for each call.
Another alternative is to pay a higher flat rate in return for several hundred minutes of
calling time. At the top of the pricing scale is the option that provides business users with
unlimited access to long-distance calls over a prescribed area.

D i s c o u n t i n g To attract the attention of prospective buyers or to boost sales during a
period of low demand, firms may discount their prices, often publicizing this price cut
with coupons or an advertising campaign. Marketers of subscription services, such as
cable television, Internet service, cellular telephone service, or credit cards, often employ
a strategy of offering the service at a discount—or even free of charge—for an
introductory period. T h e r e are risks to a d i s c o u n t i n g strategy. It dilutes the discounting! a strategy of
contribution from each sale, may attract customers whose only loyalty is to the firm that reducing the price of an item
can offer the lowest price on the next transaction, and may give a bargain to customers below the normal level.
who would have been willing to pay more. Nevertheless, selective price discounting
targeted at specific market segments can help to fill capacity that would otherwise go
unused. Volume discounts are sometimes used to cement the loyalty of large corporate
customers, w h o might be inclined to spread their purchases among several different
suppliers. Rewarding smaller customers by occasionally offering them a discount off
their next purchase may also build loyalty.

Who Should Collect Payment?
Sometimes firms choose to delegate provision of supplementary services like billing to
an intermediary. Although the original supplier pays a commission, using a third party
may still be cheaper and more efficient than performing those tasks itself. C o m m o n l y
used intermediaries include travel agents w h o make hotel and transportation bookings;
ticket agents w h o sell seats for theaters, concert halls, and sports stadiums; and retailers
who sell services ranging from prepaid phone cards to home and equipment repair.

Where Should Payment Be Made?
Payment for many services is collected at the service facility just before or immediately
following service delivery. W h e n consumers purchase a service well in advance of using it,
there are obvious benefits to using intermediaries that are more conveniently located, or
allowing payment by mail. (Airports, theaters, and stadiums, for instance, are often situated


some distance from where potential customers live or work.) A growing number of ser-
vice providers now accept credit cards for telephone bookings and sales over the Internet.
T h e simplicity and speed with which payment is made may influence the customer's
perceptions of overall service quality. Thus service firms should pay special attention to
providing payment collection procedures that are both efficient and effective from both
the customers' and the companies' perspectives. Poorly designed payment methods may
encourage "jaycustomer" behaviors like delayed payments—or worse yet—no payment
at all. For example, one driver told a journalist that he refuses to pay tolls at N e w Jersey's
automated tollbooths " o n principle, because the toll plazas are badly designed and irritat-
ing—the state set up a system so bad, you have to abuse it.

When Should Payment Be Made?
Two basic options are to ask customers to pay in advance (e.g., an admission charge, air-
line ticket, or postage stamps), or to bill them on completion of service delivery (e.g.,
restaurant bills and repair charges). Occasionally a service provider may ask for an initial
payment in advance of service delivery, with the balance being due later (e.g., manage-
ment consulting).This approach is also quite c o m m o n with expensive repair and main-
tenance jobs, especially w h e n the firm—often a small business with limited working
capital—must buy materials up front. Asking customers to pay in advance means that
the buyer is paying before the benefits are received. But prepayments may be advanta-
geous to the customer as well as to the provider. Advance payment saves time and effort,
especially with frequently purchased services.

How Should Payment Be Made?
Service businesses must decide on the types of payments they will accept. Although cash
is a simple payment method, it raises security problems and is not always convenient for
customers (especially for large purchases). Checks are convenient for customers, but
sellers need to develop controls to discourage invalid payment. A $15 to $20 charge for
returned checks is not u n c o m m o n at retail stores.
Credit cards are convenient and have the advantage of being accepted worldwide,
regardless of currency. Businesses that refuse to accept such cards increasingly find them-
selves at a competitive disadvantage. Prepayment cards simplify the process of paying for
services like road and bridge tolls or telephone calls. Internet service provider World
Online has introduced a new type of prepayment card in the United Kingdom that oper-
ates on the prepaid model popular in the mobile phone industry. British consumers buy
the cards from local retailers and then use a P I N number located on a scratch-off panel on
the back of the card to open an account with World Online. These cards are mainly aimed
at teenagers, but they are also marketed to the 50 percent of British adults w h o don't have
credit cards. World Online plans to roll out the service across the rest of Europe. 2 3
Smart cards store value in a microchip embedded within the card. To accept payment
in this form, however, service firms must first install card readers.This sophisticated payment
option requires partnerships between banks, retailers, and telephone companies. Working
together, these partners can provide a smart card that serves as an "electronic wallet,"
enabling customers to download digital money to their cards from their bank accounts
from an A T M or by telephone, using a special card reader. T h e latest innovation is card
readers that can be attached to an account holder's computer. As a student, you may have
personal experience with this form of payment, since many universities provide students
with personalized smart cards that can be used to buy drinks from vending machines, make
photocopies, pay fines for late return of library books, and many other purposes.
Other payment procedures include directing the bill to a third party for payment
and using vouchers as supplements to (or instead of) cash. Insurance companies often
designate approved garages to inspect and repair customers' vehicles w h e n they are

C H A P T E R E I G H T • P R I C I N G S T R A T E G I E S FOR S E R V I C E S 187

involved in accidents. To make life easier for the customer, the garage bills the insurance
company directly for the work performed. This saves the customer the effort of paying
personally, filing a claim, and waiting for reimbursement. Vouchers are sometimes pro-
vided by social service agencies to elderly or low-income people. Such a policy achieves
the same benefits as discounting but avoids the need to publicize different prices or
require cashiers to check eligibility.
In the business-to-business environment, most suppliers offer credit accounts,
payable monthly, which generate membership relationships with customers. Online
payments are often made through third-party firms like Clareon that specialize in man-
aging electronic transactions between customers and vendors (Figure 8.7).

Communicating Prices to the Target Markets
The final task is to decide h o w the organization's pricing policies can best be c o m m u -
nicated to its target markets. People need to know the price for some product offerings
well in advance of purchase. They may also need to know how, where, and when that
price is payable. This information must be presented in ways that are intelligible and
unambiguous, so that customers will not feel misled. Managers must decide whether or
not to include information on pricing in advertisements for the service or on the c o m -
pany's Web site. Advertising sometimes relates the price to those of competing products
or to alternative ways of spending one's money. Customers expect salespeople and ser-
vice representatives to be able to give prompt, accurate responses to queries about pric-
ing, payment, and credit. Good signage at retail points of sale saves staff members from
having to answer basic questions on prices.
Finally, w h e n the price is presented in the form of an itemized bill, marketers
should ensure that it is both accurate and intelligible. Hospital bills, which may run to
several pages and contain dozens of items, have been much criticized for inaccuracy. 24
Telephone bills, too, used to be confusing. They were often printed on small sheets of

"Suveny, if I'm going to take irvditfiir tins fxtyment jxiiwtigm shift,
lint hud dii/rtti well better teH me what it all means!"

The check's not in the mail.
There's tic faking it m the new economy. Real success requires
something more. Something better. Weteome to Clareon,
the B2B payment solution that makes paper checks viriuaiiy obsolete.
Ctoraon tmabfea internet commerce with cross platform ease.
Global access. State-of-the-art security Breakthrough efficiency.
in otfter words, everyirwno, electronic payment needs !o be.

www.clareoo.net

clareon FIGURE 8.7
the business payment network Clareon Offers Internet-Based
B2B Payment Services


paper, crammed with technical jargon and it was hard to d e t e r m i n e h o w the total
charge due was computed. But many firms have worked to develop n e w and clearer
formats that are easier for consumers to interpret.

Conclusion
Customers pay more to use a service than just the purchase price specified by the sup-
plier. Additional outlays may include related financial costs (such as travel to the service
site), time expenditures, psychological and sensory burdens, and physical effort.
Customers are often willing to pay a higher price w h e n the nonfinancial outlays are
minimized, since the value of a service reflects the benefits that it delivers to the cus-
tomer minus all the associated costs.
Pricing strategy must address the central issue of what price to charge for a given
unit of service at a particular point in time, no matter h o w that unit may be defined. It's
essential that the m o n e t a r y price charged should reflect knowledge of the service
provider's fixed and variable costs, competitor's pricing policies, and the value of the ser-
vice to the customer.

1. Is pricing strategy more difficult to implement in some service industries than in
others? If so, why? Be specific and give examples.
2. Of the various nonfinancial outlays incurred by customers, which are likely to be
the most significant in situations involving: (a) traditional retail banking; (b) h o m e
banking; (c) going to the movies; (d) taking a taxi in an unfamiliar city; (e)
surgery?
3. W h y is cost-based pricing (as it relates to financial costs) particularly problematic
in service industries?
4. In what ways does competition-based pricing work in favor of many service
providers? In what circumstances does it not?
5. Explain the concept of yield management in a service setting. H o w might it be
applied to (a) a professional firm (e.g., consulting); (b) a restaurant; (c) a golf course?
6. Identify three aspects of pricing strategy that might raise ethical considerations. In
each instance, h o w should such abuses be prevented?
7. From a customer perspective, what defines value in the following services: (a) a
nightclub; (b) a hairdressing salon; (c) a legal firm specializing in business and tax
law?
8. Choose a service organization and investigate its pricing policies and methods. In
what respects are they similar to, or different from, what has been discussed in this
chapter?
9. R e v i e w recent bills that you have received from service businesses. Evaluate each
one against the following criteria: (a) general appearance and clarity of
presentation; (b) easily understood terms of payment; (c) avoidance of confusing
terms and definitions; (d) appropriate level of detail; (e) unanticipated ("hidden")
charges; (f) accuracy; (g) ease of access to customer service in case of problems or
disputes.


Endnotes
1. Thomas Eisenmann and Jon K. Rust, "Priceline WebHouse Club," Journal of Interactive
Marketing 14, no. 4 (Autumn 2000): 47-72; Jeff Fischer, "Priceline as Rule Breaker,"
www.fool.com, 26 September 2000; Pamela L. Moore, "Will Priceline Need a Lifeline?'"
Business Week, 24 October 2000; "Priceline Says Fixing Customer Service Problems,"
Reuters News Service (reuters.com), 20 December 2000; and the priceline.com and
marketingguide.com Web sites, December 2000.
2. Paul J. Kraus, "Pricing the Service Offering," in Teresa A. Schwartz and Dawn Iacobucci,
Handbook of Service Marketing and Management (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications,
2000), 191-200.
3. Leonard L. Berry and Manjit S.Yadav, "Capture and Communicate Value in the Pricing of
Services," Sloan Management Review 37 (Summer 1996): 41-51.
4. Richard W. Olshavsky, Andrew B. Aylesworth and DeAnna S. Kempf, "The Price-Choice
Relationship: A Contingent Processing Approach,"_/owm<3/ of Business Research 33(1995):
207-218.
5. "Cellular without the Static," Consumer Reports, February 2001, 12—18.
6. Valarie A. Zeithaml, "Consumer Perceptions of Price, Quality, and Value: A Means-End
Model and Synthesis of Evidence," Journal of Marketing 52 fjuly 1988): 2—21.
7. Adrian Slywotzky and David Morrison, "Off the Grid," The Industry Standard, 23 October
2000, 204—209. See also Jane Tanner, "Everyday Plastic Spun into Gold," nytimes.com, 17
September 2000.
8. H.T.Johnson and Robert S. Kaplan, Relevance Lost:The Rise and Fall of Management
Accounting (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1987).
9. Antonella Card and Antonella Cugini, "Profitability and Customer Satisfaction in
Services: An Integrated Perspective between Marketing and Cost Management Analysis,"
International Journal of Service Industry Management 10, no. 2 (1999): 132-156.
10. Robin Cooper and Robert S. Kaplan, "Profit Priorities from Activity-Based Costing,"
Harvard Business Review, May-June 1991.
11. Hermann Simon, "Pricing Opportunities and How to Exploit Them," Sloan Management
Review 33 (Winter 1992): 71-84.
12. Frederick F Reichheld, The Loyalty Effect (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1996),
82-84.
13. Christopher Lovelock, Product Plus (NewYork: McGraw-Hill, 1994), Chapter 6;
Southwest Airlines, 1995 Annual Report (Dallas,Texas, 1996), 8.
14. Wilter Baker, Mike Marn, and Craig Zawada, "Price Smarter on the Net," Harvard
Business Review, 79, February 2001, 122—127.
15. Hermann Simon and Robert J. Dolan, "Price Customization," Marketing Management (Fall
1998): 11-17.
16. Sheryl E. Kimes and Richard B. Chase, "The Strategic Levers of Yield Management,"
Journal of Service Research 1, no. 2 (November 1998): 156-166.
17. Amy E. Cortese and Marcia Stepanek, "Good-bye to Fixed Pricing?" Business Week, 4 May
1999,71-84.
18. From the eBay Web site, www.eBay.com, December 2000.
19. From the uBid Web site, www.uBid.com, December 2000.
20. Cristopher C. Eugster, Jatin N. Kakkar, and Eric V Roegner, "Bringing Discipline to
Pricing," The McKinsey Quarterly no. 1 (2000): 132-139.
21. K. Douglas Hoffman, Lou W.Turley, and Scott W Kelley, "Pricing Retail Services,"Journal
of Business Research, forthcoming 2001.
22. "The Cheater Principle," The Wall Street Journal, 25 August 2000, W l .
23. Wendy McAuliffe, "Pre-paid 'Credit' Card for the Web," from the zdnet.co.uk/news/2000
site, 4 September 2000.
24. See, for example, Anita Sharpe, "The Operation Was a Success; The Bill Was Quite a
Mess," Wall Street Journal, 17 September 1997, 1.

Promotion and Education
Enterprise Rent-a-Car Courts Insurance
Companies as Well as Consumers
Although most people probably think of vacation travel when associated with airport space rental, not replacing its fleet as often,
Enterprise Rent-a-Car comes to mind, the company's roots are in the renting cars for longer periods of time, and experiencing more stability
business-to-business arena.1 Founder Jack Taylor started Enterprise in demand (in contrast to fluctuations in business and pleasure travel,
as an auto-leasing service in 1957 out of the Cadillac shop where he car accidents and breakdowns happen more consistently). And, as Jon
worked. But business didn't really take off until the early 1980s when LeSage, editor of Auto Rental News, observed, "repairs always take
he switched his primary focus from the highly competitive consumer longer than they are supposed to."
market into the less-crowded replacement rental market, taking The company is devoted to effective salesmanship and good
advantage of new legislation requiring insurance companies to provide customer service. In particular, it employs direct-marketing strategies
their customers with rental cars while their own vehicles were being to court the insurance companies that provide their policyholders with
repaired or replaced following accidents or theft. With this focus, replacement vehicles when their own are stolen, under repair, or dam-
Enterprise grew quickly and the company now holds a majority share aged beyond repair. Professionally trained telemarketers contact
of the U.S. replacement market. But it also targets customers in the insurance agents to persuade them to set up accounts with
business and leisure travel markets and is expanding abroad. Ninety Enterprise. They offer discounted rates and a direct billing option so
percent of its 4,400 offices and its fleet of half a million cars are based that the insurance companies' customers will never have to pay per-
in the United States, with the balance in Canada, Britain, Ireland, and sonally for their Enterprise car rentals. The direct billing option makes
Germany. Enterprise is now one of the world's largest car rental com- it easier for the companies to handle financial transactions. Thanks to
panies. these attractive benefits and the skills of the highly trained telemar-
In addition to exploiting the replacement niche, what else makes keters, Enterprise continues to capture a large percentage of the
Enterprise so successful? One reason is the company's location strat- replacement market. Once an account is established, the company
egy, which emphasizes convenient access from people's homes and maintains the relationship by sending employees to make weekly
workplaces, placing 90 percent of the American population within 15 sales calls and deliver gifts like food and plants to help foster goodwill
minutes of an Enterprise office. Its largest offices are limited to a max- and ensure that the insurance provider remains a loyal Enterprise cus-
imum of 300 vehicles—in sharp contrast to some of its competitors, tomer.
which may locate several thousand cars at a major airport. The company also reaches out directly to individual customers
Enterprise enjoys many advantages not found in the traditional who need to rent a car for business or pleasure. Its mass media adver-
model of car rental firms. They include avoiding the heavy expenses tising in 2000 was designed to draw attention to a distinctive aspect of

its service—picking people up at their homes or place of employment.
The ads featured a car wrapped like a package speeding along the
road with the name Enterprise emblazoned on the side (an advertising After reading this chapter, you should
icon for almost a decade) and promoted the slogan: "Pick Enterprise. be able to
We'll Pick You Up." Complementing other marketing communications =£> explain what is distinctive about
is the company's Web site, www.enterprise.com, which provides addi- marketing communications strategy
tional information about Enterprise (including job opportunities), and for services
enables customers to search online for the nearest location, check
=£> understand how the level of
prices, and then make a booking.
customer contact affects
communication strategy

=£> list common educational and
promotional objectives for services

=£> describe the marketing
communications mix for services

==%> discuss potential uses of the Internet
as a communication channel

191


THE ROLE OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION
Marketing c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , in one form or another, are essential to a company's
success. Enterprise R e n t - a - C a r could not have built its business w i t h o u t personal
selling and advertising. W i t h o u t effective communications, few prospects would ever
have learned of Enterprise's existence, what it had to offer them, and h o w to use its
services. In the absence of follow-up sales calls, a user-friendly Web site, and good
signage, customers might be more easily lured away by competitors and competitive
offerings, and there would be no proactive m a n a g e m e n t and control of the firm's
identity. So managers need to debate the question: How should we communicate what
our service has to offer?
M u c h confusion s u r r o u n d s the scope of m a r k e t i n g c o m m u n i c a t i o n . Some
people still define it narrowly as the use of paid media advertising, public relations,
and professional salespeople. But this view doesn't recognize the many other ways
that a firm can communicate with its customers. T h e location and atmosphere of a
service delivery facility, corporate design features like the consistent use of colors and
graphic elements, the appearance and behavior of employees, Web site design—all of
these factors contribute to an impression in the customer's mind.

Communicating with Customers
Communication efforts serve not only to attract new users but also to maintain contact
with an organization's existing customers and build relationships with them. As we
emphasized in Chapter 5, reinforcing loyalty and securing repeat sales are usually central
to a firm's long-term profitability. N u r t u r i n g customer relationships depends on a c o m -
prehensive and up-to-date customer database, and the ability to make use of this in a
personalized way.
Techniques for keeping in touch with customers and building their loyalty include
direct mail and contacts by telephone or other forms of telecommunication, including

"...YOU ARE NOW FREE TO
HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY!"

From everyone at
Southwest Airlines.

FIGURE 9.1
A Birthday Card from
Southwest Airlines

CHAPTER NINE . PROMOTION AND EDUCATION 193

faxes, e-mail, and Web sites. Doctors, dentists, and household maintenance services often
post annual checkup reminders to their customers. Some businesses even send birthday
and anniversary cards to valued customers (Figure 9.1). Banks and utility companies
often include a brief newsletter with their account statements or print customized
information on each statement in an effort to cross-sell additional services.

Internal Communications
Marketing communications can be used to communicate with service employees as
well as with external customers. Internal c o m m u n i c a t i o n s from senior managers internal
to their employees play a vital role in maintaining and n u r t u r i n g a corporate culture communications: all forms
founded on specific service values. Well-planned internal marketing efforts are espe- of communication from
cially necessary in large service businesses that operate in widely dispersed sites, management to employees in
sometimes around the world. Even w h e n employees are working far from the head a service organization.
office in the h o m e country, they still need to be kept informed of n e w policies,
changes in service features, and n e w quality initiatives. C o m m u n i c a t i o n s may also be
needed to nurture team spirit and support c o m m o n corporate goals. Consider the
challenge of maintaining a unified sense of purpose at the overseas offices of c o m p a -
nies such as Citibank, Air Canada, Marriott, or McDonalds, where people from dif-
ferent cultures w h o speak different languages must work together to create consis-
tent levels of service.
Effective internal communications can help ensure efficient and satisfactory service
delivery, achieve productive and harmonious working relationships, and build employee
trust, respect, and loyalty. C o m m o n l y used media include internal newsletters and mag-
azines, videotapes, private corporate television networks like those owned by FedEx and
Merrill Lynch, Intranets (private networks ofWeb sites and e-mail that are inaccessible
to the general public), face-to-face briefings, and promotional campaigns using displays,
prizes, and recognition programs.

COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR SERVICES
Several of the differences distinguishing services from goods have important marketing
communications implications.Thus communication strategies need to reflect the special
characteristics of services. 2

Intangible Nature of Service Performances
Since services are performances rather than objects, their benefits can be difficult to
communicate to customers. Service providers should use tangible cues whenever pos-
sible in their advertising campaigns, especially for low-contact services that involve
few tangible elements. 3 It is also helpful to include "vivid information" that will p r o -
duce a strong, clear impression on the senses, especially for services that are complex
and highly intangible. 4 For example, an ad by a large law firm showed a picture of
empty jurors' chairs to draw attention to its trial lawyers' skills in presenting complex
cases to juries, which must then withdraw from the courtroom to deliberate on the
verdict (Figure 9.2). Similarly, MasterCard television and print advertisements empha-
size the tangible things that can be purchased with its credit card—complete with a
listing of the price of each item. In each ad, all of the items purchased with the card
lead to a priceless experience (a clever and memorable reference to the concept of
intangibility).
At a very basic level, some companies have succeeded in creating tangible, recog-
nizable symbols to associate with their corporate brand names. Animal motifs are c o m -
mon physical symbols for services. Examples include the eagle of the U.S. Postal Service


FIGURE 9.2
Advertising by Robins, Kaplan,
Miller & Ciresi in The Wall Street
Journal, Fall 2000

(also used by A e r o M e x i c o and Eagle Star Insurance), the black horse of Norfolk
Southern Railroad and Britain's Lloyd's Bank, Merrill Lynch's bull, the lion of Dreyfus
Funds and Royal Bank of Canada, and the Chinese dragon of H o n g Kong's Dragonair.
Easily recognizable corporate symbols are especially important for international compa-
nies w h e n services are offered in markets w h e r e the local language is not written
in R o m a n script or where a significant proportion of the population is functionally
illiterate.
Some companies have created metaphors that are tangible in nature to help com-
municate the benefits of their service offerings. Insurance companies often use this
approach to market their highly intangible products.Thus Allstate advertises that "You're
in G o o d Hands," Traveler's umbrella motif suggests protection, and Prudential uses the
R o c k of Gibraltar as a symbol of corporate strength.
W h e n possible, advertising metaphors should also include some information about
how service benefits are actually provided. 5 Consider Trend Micro's problem in adver-
tising its new antivirus m o n i t o r i n g service for corporate Internets. Most advertise-
ments for antivirus protection feature devils or evil-looking insects (remember the
Millennium Bug used to highlight t h e Y 2 K problem?).That approach may capture the
reader's interest, but it doesn't show h o w virus protection actually works or how dev-
astating its effects might be. In a technical context like this, explaining the problem and
its solution in ways that senior management will understand is not always possible.
Trend Micro's clever solution was to use the easily grasped metaphor of airport secu-
rity guarding against terrorism. A picture of an aircraft was captioned "this is your
company," a briefcase containing a b o m b was labeled "this is a virus," and two security
officers checking that bag on an X-ray machine were captioned, "This is Trend Micro."

CHAPTER NINE • PROMOTION AND EDUCATION 195

Prudential's marketing
communications seek to educate as
well as sell; its advertising encourages
prospective clients to obtain a free
guide to estate planning and to
discuss their situations with a
Prudential professional.

Customer Involvement in Production
In high-contact services, customers are often concerned about the risks associated with
service delivery and consumption. Sometimes these risks are financial or psychological in
nature, but there can also be physical risks—as in many outdoor sports and organized
adventure activities like rock-climbing, skiing, and white-water rafting. T h e providers of
such services have both a legal and a moral responsibility to educate their clients. T h e
better informed customers are of potential dangers, and what to do in the event of, say, a
raft tipping its occupants into a stretch of foaming rapids, the more likely they are to
remain safe and have an enjoyable experience. Basic information on signs and in instruc-
tional brochures may need to be reinforced by personal briefings from employees.
W h e n customers are actively involved in service production, they need training to
help them perform well—-just as employees do. Improving productivity often involves
innovations in service delivery. But the desired benefits won't be achieved if customers
resist new, technologically based systems or avoid self-service alternatives. So, service
marketers need to b e c o m e educators. O n e approach r e c o m m e n d e d by advertising
experts is to show service delivery in action. 6 Television is a good medium, because of
its ability to engage the viewer as it displays a seamless sequence of events in visual form.
Some dentists show their patients videos of surgical procedures before the surgery takes
place. This educational technique helps patients prepare mentally for the experience and
shows them what role they should play during service delivery.
Advertising and publicity can make customers aware of changes in service features
and delivery systems. Marketers often use sales promotions to motivate customers, offer-
ing them incentives to make the necessary changes in their behavior. Publicizing price
discounts is one way to encourage self-service on an ongoing basis. At self-service gas
pumps, for instance, the price difference from full-service is often substantial. O t h e r


incentives to change include promotions that offer a chance to win a reward. And if
necessary, well-trained customer-contact personnel can provide one-to-one tutoring to
help customers adapt to new procedures.

Evaluating Service Offerings
Even if you understand what a service is supposed to do, you may have difficulty distin-
guishing one firm from another and knowing what level of performance to expect from
a particular supplier. What can a service business do to attract your attention and your
patronage? Possible solutions include: providing tangible clues related to service perfor-
mance; highlighting the quality of equipment and facilities; and emphasizing employee
characteristics such as their qualifications, experience, commitment, and professionalism.
Some performance attributes lend themselves better to advertising than others.
W h e n an airline wants to boast about its punctuality, reporting favorable statistics col-
lected by a government agency offers credible support for this claim. However, airlines
don't like to talk overtly about safety, because even the admission that things might go
wrong makes many passengers nervous. Instead, they approach this ongoing customer
concern indirectly, advertising the expertise of their pilots, the newness of their aircraft,
and the skills and training of their mechanics.
In low-contact services "where much of the firm's expertise is hidden, firms may need
to illustrate equipment, procedures, and employee activities that are taking place backstage.
For instance, how do prospective buyers know if they are getting the best value from insur-
ance services? O n e approach is to show how the firm is trying to reduce losses due to acci-
dents or to cut costs. Liberty Mutual has run ads using attention-getting headlines like

F I G U R E 9.3
Liberty Mutual Advertising
Promotes the Firm's Efforts to
Counter Insurance Fraud


"Wake up, you're dead," which shows a grim-looking auto safety expert with a Ph.D. who
is researching how to prevent highway accidents caused by driver fatigue.The company's "I
love dissecting humans" ad includes an amusing photo of one of the company's field inves-
tigators, who describes her work in detecting and preventing insurance fraud (Figure 9.3).
The fraud prevention ad shows just how serious the problem of jaycustomers is for the
insurance industry, where fraudulent claims amount to an estimated $25 billion a year!

Supply-and-Demand Management
Many live service performances—like a seat at the Metropolitan Opera for Friday
evening's performance of Carmen, a room at the Marriott on Monday, or a haircut at
Supercuts on Tuesday morning—are time-specific and can't be stored for resale at a later
date. Advertising and sales promotions can help to change the timing of customer use
and thus help to match demand with the capacity available at a given time. D e m a n d
management strategies include reducing usage during peak demand periods and stimu-
lating it during off-peak periods. Low demand outside peak periods poses a serious
problem for service industries with high fixed costs, like hotels. O n e strategy is to run
promotions that offer extra value—such as a room upgrade and a free breakfast, in an
attempt to stimulate demand without decreasing price. W h e n demand increases, the
number of promotions can be reduced or eliminated.

Importance of Contact Personnel
In high-contact services, service personnel are central to service delivery.Their presence
makes the service more tangible and, in many cases, more personalized. An ad that
shows employees at work helps prospective customers understand the nature of the ser-
vice encounter and implies a promise of the personalized attention that they can expect
to receive (Figure 9.4). Advertisers must be realistic, since these messages help set cus-

FIGURE 9.4
A Uniformed Hotel Employee
Leads a Guest Through the Check-
in Script; Her Warmth Humanizes
the Experience for Him


tomers' expectations. If a firm's brochures and ads show friendly, smiling workers but, in
reality, most employees turn out to be glum, frazzled, or rude, customers will most cer-
tainly be disappointed. Advertising can also be effective in showing employees what cus-
tomers are being promised. At a minimum, service personnel should be informed about
the content of new advertising campaigns or brochures.

Reduced Role for Intermediaries
Intermediaries like retailers often play a key role in promoting products and teaching
customers about their characteristics. Services are less likely than goods to be sold
through channel intermediaries. Many service providers (such as universities, lawn care
specialists, banks, restaurants, health clubs, and professional firms) sell directly to cus-
tomers. But some service providers do rely on intermediaries for help in selling their
products. Firms in the travel and insurance industries, which make extensive use of
independent agents and brokers, must compete with other brands not only for physical
display space but also for "top-of-mind" recall if they are to obtain adequate push from
intermediaries in the distribution channels. Internal communication, personal selling,
motivational promotions, and effective public relations can be critical in maintaining
successful working relationships between intermediaries and service firms.

Setting Communication Objectives
W h e n planning a campaign, marketers need to formulate specific communications objec-
tives and select the most appropriate messages and tools to achieve them (see Table 9.1 for
a list of common educational and promotional objectives for service businesses). To illus-
trate this point, let's assume that a rental car agency has defined the need to increase repeat
purchase rates among business travelers as one of its key strategic objectives. In pursuit of
this objective, the firm decides to implement an automatic upgrade program and an
express delivery and drop-off system. For this plan to succeed, customers must be
informed about these new features and educated on how to take advantage of them.
A specific set of communications objectives might be: (1) to create awareness of the
new offering among all existing customers; (2) to attract the attention of prospective
customers in the business traveler segment, inform them of the new features, and teach
t h e m h o w to use the new procedures effectively; (3) to stimulate inquiries and increase
pre-bookings; and (4) to generate an increase in repeat patronage of 20 percent after six
months.
Planning a marketing communications campaign should reflect a good understanding
of the service product and the ability of prospective buyers to evaluate its characteristics in
advance of purchase. It's also essential to understand target market segments and their
exposure to different media, as well as consumer awareness of the product and attitudes
toward it. Decisions include determining the content, structure, and style of the message

TABLE 9.1 • Create memorable images of specific companies and their brands
Common Educational • Build awareness of and interest in an unfamiliar service or brand
and Promotional Objectives • Build preference by communicating the strengths and benefits of a specific brand
• Compare a service with competitors' offerings and counter competitive claims
in Service Settings
• Reposition a service relative to competing offerings
• Stimulate demand in low-demand periods and discourage demand during peak periods
• Encourage trial by offering promotional incentives
• Reduce uncertainty and perceived risk by providing useful information and advice
• Provide reassurance (e.g., by promoting service guarantees)
• Familiarize customers with service processes in advance of use
• Teach customers how to use a service to their own best advantage
• Recognize and reward valued customers and employees


to be communicated, its manner of presentation, and the media most suited to reaching marketing
the intended audience. Additional considerations include: the budget available for execu- communications mix: the
tion; time frames (as defined by such factors as seasonality, market opportunities, and antic- full set of communication
ipated competitive activities); and methods of measuring and evaluating performance. tools (both paid and unpaid)
available to marketers.

THE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS MIX retail displays:
presentations in store
Most service marketers have access to numerous forms of communication, referred to windows and other locations
collectively as the marketing c o m m u n i c a t i o n s m i x . Different communication ele- of merchandise, service
ments have distinctive capabilities relative to the types of messages that they can convey experiences, and benefits.
and the market segments most likely to be exposed to them. As shown in Figure 9.5, the
mix includes personal contact, advertising, publicity and public relations, sales p r o m o - personal
tion, instructional materials, and corporate design. communications: direct
H o w should service marketers approach the task of selecting communication ele- communications between
marketers and individual
ments to convey the desired messages efficiently and effectively to the target audience?
customers that involve two-
In well-planned campaigns, several different communication elements may be used in way dialog (including face-to-
ways that mutually reinforce each other. Effective sequencing of communications is face conversations, phone
important, since one element often paves the way for others. For example, advertising calls, and e-mail).
may encourage prospects to visit aWeb site, request further information by mail, or shop
in a specific store w h e r e they will be exposed to retail displays and can interact impersonal
directly with a salesperson. communications: one-way
Communication experts draw a broad division between personal c o m m u n i c a - communications directed at
tions, involving personalized messages that move in both directions between two par- target audiences who are not
ties, and impersonal c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , in which messages move in only one direc- in personal contact with the
message source (including
tion and are generally targeted at a large group of customers and prospects rather than
advertising, promotions, and
at a single individual. However, technology has created a gray area between the two. It's public relations).
now very easy for a firm to combine word-processing technology with information
from a database to create an impression of personalization. Think about the direct mail FIGURE 9.5
and e-mail messages that you have received, containing a personal salutation and per-
The Marketing
haps some reference to your specific situation or past use of a particular product.
Communications Mix for
Services


Personal Communications
As shown in Figure 9.5, personal communications include personal selling, telemarket-
ing, customer training, customer service, and word of mouth.

personal selling: two-way P e r s o n a l Selling Interpersonal encounters in w h i c h efforts are made to educate
communications between customers and promote preference for a particular brand or product are referred to as
service employees and personal selling. For infrequently purchased services like property, insurance, and funeral
customers designed to services, the firm's representative may act as a consultant to help buyers make their
directly influence the
selections. Because face-to-face selling is usually expensive, it's most often used in
purchase process.
business-to-business markets. A lower-cost alternative is telemarketing, involving use
of the telephone to reach prospective customers. It's used by about 75 percent of all
telemarketing: personal
industrial companies. 7
selling to prospective
customers through the Relationship marketing strategies are often based on account management pro-
medium of the telephone. grams, where customers are assigned a designated account manager w h o acts as an
interface between the customer and the supplier. Account management is most com-
monly practiced in industrial and professional firms that sell relatively complex services,
resulting in an o n g o i n g need for advice, education, and consultation. Examples of
account management for individual consumers can be found in insurance, investment
management, and medical services.

customer service: the C u s t o m e r Service Employees in customer service positions are often responsible for
provision of supplementary delivery of a variety of supplementary services, including providing information, taking
service elements by reservations, receiving payments, and problem solving. N e w customers, in particular,
employees who are not often rely on customer service personnel for assistance in learning how to use a service
specifically engaged in selling effectively and h o w to resolve problems.
activities.
W h e n several different products are available from the same supplier, firms
encourage their customer service staff to cross-sell additional services. However, this
approach is likely to fail if strategies are not properly planned and executed. 8 In
the banking industry, for example, a highly competitive marketplace and n e w tech-
nologies have forced banks to add m o r e services in an attempt to increase their
profitability. In many banks, tellers w h o traditionally provided customer service are
n o w expected to p r o m o t e n e w services to their customers as well. Despite training,
many employees feel uncomfortable in this role and don't perform effectively as
salespeople.

customer training: formal C u s t o m e r Training Some companies, especially those selling complex business-to-
training courses offered by business services, offer formal training courses to familiarize their customers with the
service firms to teach service product and teach them how to use it to their best advantage.
customers about complex
service products.
Word of M o u t h R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s from other customers can have a powerful
influence on people's decisions to use a service, but word of m o u t h is a difficult form of
word of mouth: positive or
c o m m u n i c a t i o n for firms to control. Some advertisers try to encourage positive
negative comments about a
service made by one comments from customers w h o have already used a service since positive word of
individual (usually a current m o u t h can act as a powerful and highly credible selling agent. 9 In an effort to extend
or former customer) to the reach of word of mouth, advertising and brochures sometimes feature comments
another. from satisfied customers.
Research in the U n i t e d States and Sweden shows that the extent and content
of word of m o u t h is related to satisfaction levels. Customers holding strong views are
likely to tell m o r e people about their experiences than those w i t h milder views.
And extremely dissatisfied customers tell more people than those w h o are highly
satisfied. 10


Advertising
As the most dominant form of communication in consumer marketing, advertising is advertising: any form of
often the first point of contact between service marketers and their customers, serving nonpersonal communication
to build awareness, inform, persuade, and remind. It plays a vital role in providing factual by a marketer to inform,
information about services and educating customers about product features and capa- educate, or persuade
bilities. To demonstrate this point, Grove, Pickett, and Laband carried out a study c o m - members of target audiences.
paring newspaper and television advertising for goods and services 11 . Based on a review
of 11,543 television advertisements over a 10-month period and of 30,940 newspaper
display advertisements that appeared over a 12-month period, they found that ads for
services were significantly more likely than those for goods to contain factual informa-
tion on price; guarantees/warranties; documentation of performance; and availability
(where, when, and how to acquire products).
O n e of the challenges fiicing advertisers is h o w to get their messages noticed.
Television and radio broadcasts are cluttered with commercials, while newspapers and
magazines sometimes seem to contain more ads than news and features. H o w can a firm
hope to stand out from the crowd? Longer, louder commercials and bigger format ads
are not necessarily the answer. Some advertisers stand out by using a sharply different
format. For its ads in Business Week, where most advertising includes color photography
and occupies one or two full pages, Williams Communications employs black-and-
white cartoons occupying approximately half a page (Figure 9.6).
A broad array of paid advertising media is available, including broadcast (TV and
radio), print (magazines and newspapers), movie theaters, and many types of outdoor

FIGURE 9.6
Advertising by Williams
Communications Uses Black-and-
White Cartoons to Catch the
Reader's Attention


media (posters, billboards, electronic message boards, and the exteriors of buses or bicy-
cles). Some media are more focused than others, targeting specific geographic areas or
audiences with a particular interest. Advertising messages delivered through mass media
are often reinforced by direct marketing tools like mailings, telemarketing, faxes, or e-
mail. Direct marketing, which offers the potential to send personalized messages to
highly targeted micro-segments, is most likely to be successful w h e n marketers possess a
detailed database of information about customers and prospects.

Sales Promotion
sales promotion: a short- A few years ago, SAS International Hotels devised an interesting sales p r o m o t i o n tar-
term incentive offered to geted at older customers. If a hotel had vacant rooms, guests over 65 years of age could
customers and intermediaries get a discount equivalent to their years (e.g., a 75-year-old could save 75 percent of the
to stimulate product normal room price). All went well until a Swedish guest checked into one of the SAS
purchase.
chain's hotels in Vienna, announced his age as 102, and asked to be paid 2 percent of the
room rate in return for staying the night. This request was granted, whereupon the spry
centenarian challenged the general manager to a game of tennis—and got that, too.
(The results of the game, however, were not disclosed!) Events like these are the stuff of
dreams for PR people. In this case, a clever p r o m o t i o n led to a h u m o r o u s , widely
reported story that placed the hotel chain in a favorable light.
A useful way of looking at sales promotions is as a communication attached to an
incentive. Sales promotions are usually specific to a time period, price, or customer
group—sometimes all three, as in the SAS example.Typically, the objective is to acceler-
ate the purchasing decision or motivate customers to use a specific service sooner, in
greater volume with each purchase, or more frequently. Sales promotions for service
firms may take such forms as samples, coupons and other discounts, gifts, and competi-
tions with prizes. Used in these forms, sales promotions add value, provide a competitive
edge, boost sales during periods w h e n demand would otherwise be weak, speed the
introduction and acceptance of new services, and generally get customers to act faster
than they would in the absence of any promotional incentive. 1 2 T h e Cleanrite coupon

F I G U R E 9.7
Cleanrite Coupon
Encourages Repeat Usage


shown in Figure 9.7 is a simple example of a sales promotion designed to encourage
past customers to become repeat customers.
Some promotional campaigns are very creative in their appeals to customers. For
example, some international airlines provide passengers in first and business classes with
free gifts including toiletries, pens, stationery, and playing cards. Gifts are sometimes
offered simply to amuse customers and create a friendly environment. T h e Conrad
Hotel in H o n g Kong places a small teddy bear on each guest's bed and a yellow rubber
duck in the bathroom; it reports that many guests take these items home with them.

Publicity and Public Relations
Public relations (PR) involves efforts to stimulate positive interest in an organization public relations; efForts to
and its products by sending out news releases, holding press conferences, staging special stimulate positive interest in
events, and sponsoring newsworthy activities put on by third parties. A basic element in a company and its products
public relations strategy is the preparation and distribution of press releases (including by sending out news releases,
holding press conferences,
photos a n d / o r videos) that feature stories about the company, its products, and its
staging special events, and
employees. PR executives also arrange press conferences and distribute press kits w h e n
sponsoring newsworthy
they feel a story is especially newsworthy. A key task performed by corporate PR spe- activities put on by third
cialists is to teach senior managers h o w to present themselves well at news conferences parties.
or in radio and television interviews.
O t h e r widely used PR techniques include recognition and reward programs,
obtaining testimonials from public figures, community involvement and support, fund-
raising, and obtaining favorable publicity for the organization through special events and
pro bono work.These tools can help a service organization build its reputation and cred-
ibility; form strong relationships with its employees, customers, and the community; and
secure an image conducive to business success.
Firms can also win wide exposure through sponsorship of sporting events and
other high-profile activities where banners, decals, and other visual displays provide
continuing repetition of the corporate name and symbol. For example, the U.S. Postal
Service (USPS) was a major sponsor of the U.S. cycling team in the 2000 Tour de
France. This provided many PR and advertising opportunities for the Postal Service
including stamps, print articles, television news clips, and photos of the team members
with "U.S. Postal Service" prominently displayed on their jerseys. USPS gained world-
wide attention when team member Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France after a
near-fatal battle with cancer.
Unusual activities can present an opportunity to promote a company's expertise.
FedEx gained significant favorable publicity in December 2000 when it safely trans-
ported two giant pandas from Chengdu, China, to the National Z o o in Washington,
D.C. T h e pandas flew in specially designed containers aboard an MD 11 aircraft
renamed "FedEx PandaOne." In addition to press releases, the company also featured
information about the unusual shipment on a special page in its Web site (Figure 9.8).
In the business-to-business marketplace, trade shows are a popular form of public-
ity.13 They are not usually open to the public, and there is no entry fee. In many indus-
tries, trade shows are a great opportunity for business customers to find out about the
latest products in their fields. Service vendors provide physical evidence in the form of
exhibits, samples and demonstrations, and brochures to educate and impress these
potential customers. For example, cosmetic surgeons from around the world attended
trade shows to learn about advances in technology and equipment that will allow them
to perform highly effective nonsurgical treatments with mysterious names like "botox,"
"vein sclerotherapy," and "collagen replacement therapy."
Trade shows can be very profitable promotional tools. Fifty percent of the sales
leads generated at these shows can be closed with just one sales call—a much higher

204 PART THREE • SERVICE MA RKETING STRATEGY

FIGURE 9.8 I ** .»- Q j) fl~a JS J ^ jj £> -I 3
"Absolutely, Positively . . .
Pandas!" FedEx Promotes Its
Role in an Unusual Shipment
(FedEx service marks used by
permission.)

percentage than for leads generated in any other way. And a sales representative who
usually reaches four to five prospective clients per day can average five qualified leads
per hour at a show.

Instructional Materials
Promotion and education often go hand in hand. There's little point in promoting a
new service (or service feature) if people are unsure of the benefits or don't know how
to proceed. Service personnel are often called upon to play teaching roles, but they are
not always available to help in the locations where customers need them.To remedy this
problem, some firms offer free telephone calls to expert personnel or provide printed
materials, video or audio instructions, or informative Web sites. Newspaper advertising
by the CVS pharmacy chain encourages customers to use their telephones to access
recorded information about prescription medications for a variety of different diseases.
Nowadays, many instructional media are technology based. Supermarkets and
department stores sometimes feature a touch-screen store directory. Airlines show films
to illustrate aircraft safety procedures and make customers aware of government regula-
tions. Some banks install computerized displays that customers can use to learn about
new financial products. Through access to Web sites, customers can access needed infor-
mation from their homes or offices.

Corporate Design and Physical Evidence
Many service firms employ a unified and distinctive visual appearance for all tangible
corporate design: the elements to facilitate recognition and reinforce a desired image. C o r p o r a t e design
consistent application of strategies are usually created by external consulting firms and include such features as
distinctive colors, symbols, stationery and promotional literature, retail signage, uniforms, and color schemes for
and lettering to give a firm an painting vehicles, equipment, and building interiors.The objective is to provide a unify-
easily recognizable identity.
ing and recognizable theme linking all of the firm's operations in a branded service


experience through the strategic use of physical evidence. T h e American Automobile
Association has made good use of corporate design in solidifying its brand identity. T h e
bright red AAA logo is recognized worldwide as a reliable source of travel information
and assistance.
Corporate design is particularly important for companies operating in competitive
markets where it's necessary to stand out from the crowd and to be instantly recogniz-
able in different locations. For example, gasoline retailing provides striking contrasts in
corporate designs, from BP's bright green and yellow service stations to Texaco's red,
black, and white, and Sunoco's blue, maroon, and yellow.
Companies in the highly competitive express delivery industry tend to use their
names as a central element in their corporate designs. W h e n Federal Express changed its
trading name to the snappier and more multilingual "FedEx," it also changed its logo to
feature the new name in a distinctive typeface. Consistent applications of this design
were developed for use in settings ranging from business cards to boxes and from
employee caps to aircraft exteriors.
Some companies use a trademarked symbol, rather than a name, as their primary
logo. 14 Shell makes a pun of its English name by displaying a yellow scallop shell on a
red background, which has the advantage of making its vehicles and service stations
instantly recognizable even in parts of the world that do not use the R o m a n alphabet.
McDonald's "Golden Arches" is said to be the most widely recognized corporate sym-
bol in the world. (However, international companies operating in many countries need
to select their designs carefully to avoid conveying a culturally inappropriate message
through unfortunate choices of names, colors, or images.)
Merrill Lynch, the global financial services company, used its famous slogan, "We're
Bullish on America" as the basis for its corporate symbol—a bull. A recent advertising
campaign by the company developed some intriguing variations of this highly recog-
nizable symbol (an example is shown in Figure 9.9).

FIGURE 9.9
Corporate Advertising by Merrill
Lynch


servicescape; the design of S e r v i c e s c a p e D i m e n s i o n s T h e t e r m servicescape describes the design of any
any physical location where physical location where customers come to place orders and obtain service delivery.15 It
customers come to place consists of four dimensions: the physical facility; the location; ambient conditions (like
orders and obtain service temperature or lighting); and personnel. Each of these elements is a critical form of physical
delivery. evidence, since the appearance of a firm's service facilities and personnel affects customers'
perceptions of service quality. Corporate design consukants are sometimes asked to advise
on servicescape design, to coordinate the visual elements of both interiors and exteriors—
such as signage, decor, carpeting, furnishings, and uniforms—so that they may complement
and reinforce the other design elements. We can think of the servicescape concept in terms
of the design of the stage on which the service drama is enacted. A good set and costumes
can't save a bad play but they can greatly enhance the audience's enjoyment of a good one.
Conversely, a bad stage set can create a poor initial impression. Physical evidence and
servicescape design are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 11.

Ethical Issues in Communication
Few aspects of marketing lend themselves so easily to misuse (and even abuse) as adver-
tising, selling, and sales promotion.The fact that customers often find it hard to evaluate
services makes t h e m more dependent on marketing communication for information
and advice. Communication messages often include promises about the benefits that
customers will receive and the quality of service delivery. W h e n promises are made and
then broken, customers are disappointed because their expectations have not been
met. 1 6 Their disappointment and even anger will be even greater if they have wasted
money, time, and effort and have no benefits to show in return or have actually suffered
a negative impact. Employees, too, may feel disappointed and frustrated as they listen to
customers' complaints about unfulfilled expectations.
Some unrealistic service promises result from p o o r internal communications
between operations and marketing personnel concerning the level of service perfor-
mance that customers can reasonably expect. In other instances, unethical advertisers
and salespeople deliberately make exaggerated promises about the benefits that cus-
tomers can hope to receive. Finally, there are deceptive promotions that lead people to
think that they have a much higher chance of winning prizes or awards than is really the
case. Fortunately, there are many consumer watchdogs on the lookout for these decep-
tive marketing practices. They include consumer protection agencies, trade associations

Can You Recognize a Service
Company from These Clues?~
2. Which international airline has a flying kangaroo for its sym-
How easy to recognize are the facilities, vehicles, and personnel bol? Which one uses a maple leaf?
of your own bank, favorite fast-food restaurant, taxi service, and
local public transport system? Try the quiz below to see how 3. Which stockbroker displays a ram's head as its corporate
many internationally used symbols and design elements you symbol?
recognize. 4. How many companies can you name that use a globelike
1. With which rental car companies are the colors yellow, red, symbol?
and green associated?
5. Which international financial services company uses a symbol
of three crossed keys?

Note: The answers to this quiz can be found at the end of the chapter, before the Endnotes.


within specific industries, and journalists w h o investigate customer complaints and seek
to expose fraud and misrepresentation.
A different type of ethical issue concerns unwanted intrusion into people's personal
lives—including, perhaps, your own. You can, of course, simply turn the page if you
don't want to look at an advertisement in a newspaper or magazine. Perhaps you ignore
television advertising by pressing the mute button on your remote and by talking to
friends or family members while the commercials are on. However, the increase in tele-
marketing and direct mail is frustrating for those w h o receive unwanted sales c o m m u -
nications. H o w do you feel if your evening meal at h o m e is interrupted by a telephone
call from a stranger trying to interest you in buying services in which you have no inter-
est? Even if you are interested, you may feel, as many do, that your privacy has been vio-
lated and see the call as an u n w a n t e d intrusion. Trade associations like the Direct
Marketing Association offer ways for consumers to remove their names from telemar-
keting and direct-mail lists in an attempt to address the growing hostility toward these
types of direct-marketing techniques.

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
AND THE INTERNET
The Internet is playing an increasingly important role in marketing communication.
Few companies of any size are now without a Web site and a substantial industry has
sprung up to support the design and implementation of Internet-based marketing activ-
ities. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Internet is its ubiquity: A Web site
hosted in one country can be accessed from almost anywhere in the world, offering the
simplest form of international market entry available—in fact, as Christian Gronroos
points out, "the firm cannot avoid creating interest in its offerings outside its local or
national market." 17 However, creating international access and developing an interna-
tional strategy are two very different things!

Internet Applications
Marketers use the Internet for a variety of communications tasks. These include pro-
moting consumer awareness and interest, providing information and consultation, facil-
itating two-way communications with customers through e-mail and chat rooms, stim-
ulating product trial, enabling customers to place orders, and measuring the
); effectiveness of specific advertising or promotional campaigns. 1 8 Firms can market
through their own Web sites and place advertising on other sites. Advertising on the
Web allows companies to supplement conventional communications channels at a rea-
sonable cost. But like any of the elements of the marketing communications mix,
Internet advertising should be part of an integrated, well-designed communications
strategy.
Many early Web sites were little more than electronic brochures, featuring attractive
graphics that took too long to download. By contrast, interactive Web sites allow cus-
tomers to engage in dialog with a database and come up with customized information.
Transportation firms like airlines and railroads offer interactive sites that allow travelers
to evaluate alternative routes and schedules for specific dates, download printed infor-
mation, and make reservations online. Some sites offer discounts on hotels and airfare if
reservations are made over the Internet—a tactic designed to draw customers away from
intermediaries like travel agents.
T h e interactive nature of the Internet has the potential to increase customer
involvement dramatically, since it enables "self-service" marketing in which individual

208 PART T H R E E . SERVICE M A R K E T I N G S T R A T E G Y

customers control the nature and extent of their contact with the Web sites they visit.
M a n y banks allow customers to pay bills electronically, apply for loans over the
Internet, and check their account balances online. Whistler/Blackholm ski resort in
British Columbia uses its Web site to promote advance online purchase of lift tickets at
a discount. T h e site also offers instructions on h o w the online ticket window works,
describes w h e r e to pick up the tickets, and provides responses to frequently asked
questions.
Enabling marketers to communicate and establish a rapport with individual cus-
tomers is one of the Web's greatest strengths. These characteristics lend themselves to a
permission marketing: a new communication strategy called "permission marketing," 1 9 which is based on the
marketing communication idea that traditional advertising doesn't work as well any m o r e because it fights for
strategy that encourages attention by interrupting people. For example, a 30-second television spot interrupts a
customers to voluntarily viewer's favorite program, a telemarketing call interrupts a meal, and a print ad inter-
learn more about a rupts the flow of a magazine or newspaper article.
company's products because
In the permission marketing model, the goal is to persuade consumers to volunteer
they anticipate receiving
information or something their attention. In essence, customers are encouraged to "raise their hands" and agree to
else of value in return. learn more about a company and its products in anticipation of receiving something of
value to them. This means that customers self-select into the target segment. Consider
the approach used by the Health Communication Research Institute, which issues pre-
paid phone cards to patients in doctors' offices or hospitals as a way to measure patient
satisfaction. To activate the card, the patient uses it to call an automated service that
records responses to questions about the individual's recent experience with medical
care. As a reward, the caller gets 30 minutes of free long-distance calling. 20 For an illus-
tration of how H & R Block used a promotional contest to get customers to volunteer to
learn about a new tax preparation service, see the boxed story "Permission Marketing at
H & R Block."

Permission Marketing
at H&R Block
included a promotional message about Premium Tax. Not everyone
When H&R Block wanted to introduce a new service called responded to every message—on average, about 40 percent did
Premium Tax, aimed at upper-income customers, it hired a firm so. But over the life of the promotion, 97 percent of those people
called Yoyodyne to create a contest. This promotional event was who entered the game stayed in.
announced using banner ads on selected Web sites that said, "H&R At the end of 10 weeks, surveys were conducted of: (1) those
Block: We'll pay your taxes sweepstakes." Through the action of who had participated actively in the game; (2) those who had par-
clicking on these banners, more than 50,000 people voluntarily ticipated, but less actively; and (3) a control group of nonpartici-
provided their e-mail addresses and said "tell me more about this pants. Among nonparticipants, knowledge of Premium Tax was
promotion." essentially nonexistent. Among less-active participants, 34 percent
In return for the chance to have their taxes paid by somebody had a good understanding of Premium Tax, and for active partici-
else, these people became players in a contest. Every week for 10 pants, the figure was 54 percent. By creatively applying the con-
weeks, they received three e-mails, inviting them to answer trivia cept of permission marketing, H&R Block acquired a database of
questions about taxes, H&R Block, and other relevant topics. They prospects that had already received some information and educa-
were given fun facts about the history of taxes or sent to H&R tion about its new service offering.
Block's Web site to find answers to questions. Each e-mail also

Source: William C. Taylor, "Permission Marketing" (interview with Seth Godin), Fast Company, April-May 1998, 198-212.


Web Site Design Considerations
From a communication standpoint, a Web site should contain information that a c o m -
pany's target customers will find useful and interesting. 21 Internet users expect speedy
access, easy navigation, and content that is both relevant and up-to-date.
Service firms should set explicit communication goals for their Web sites. Is the site
to be a promotional channel; a self-service option that diverts customers away from
contact with service personnel; an automated news room that disseminates information
about the company and its products, as well as offering an archive of past press releases;
or even all of these? Some firms choose to emphasize promotional content, seeking to
present the firm and its products in a favorable light and to stimulate purchase; others
view their sites as educational and encourage visitors to search for needed information,
even providing links to related sites.
Innovative companies are continually looking for ways to improve the appeal and
usefulness of their sites. T h e appropriate communication content varies widely from
one type of service to another. A b2b site may offer visitors access to a library of techni-
cal information; by contrast, a resort hotel may include attractive photographs featuring
the location, the buildings and the guest rooms, and even short videos depicting recre-
ational options. Meantime, a radio station may display profiles and photos of key staff
members, schedules of its broadcasts, background information about its programs, and
access to its broadcasts via Web radio.
stickiness: a Web site's
Marketers must also address other attributes, like downloading speed, that affect
ability to encourage repeat
Web site "stickiness.""" A sticky site is one that encourages repeat visits and purchases visits and purchases by
by keeping its audience engaged with interactive c o m m u n i c a t i o n presented in an keeping its audience engaged
appealing fashion. Online service providers like EasyAsk have exploited a profitable with interactive
niche in helping other companies design sticky W e b sites that make information communication presented in
searches and site navigation easy for their customers. an appealing fashion.

PSI Net's print advertising reinforces
its television campaign, which shows
individuals in different global settings
knocking on a window to gain the
audience's attention.


A memorable Web address helps to attract visitors to a site. Unlike p h o n e or fax
numbers, it's often possible to guess a firm's Web address, especially if it's a simple one
that relates to the firm's n a m e or business. However, firms that c o m e late to the
Internet often find that their preferred name has already been taken. For instance,
m a n y industries i n c l u d e a c o m p a n y called Delta, b u t there can only be one
delta.com. This site name belongs to Delta Financial C o r p o r a t i o n (the U.S. airline
had to use the longer address, deltaairlines.com). Web addresses must be actively pro-
m o t e d if they are to play an integral role in the firm's overall communication and
service delivery strategy. This means displaying the address prominently on business
cards, letterhead stationery, catalogs, advertising, p r o m o t i o n a l materials, and even
vehicles.

Internet Advertising
T h e Internet has b e c o m e a new advertising m e d i u m . Many firms pay to place adver-
tising banners and buttons on portals like Yahoo or Netscape, as well as on other
firms'Web sites. T h e usual goal is to draw online traffic to the advertiser's own site.
In many instances, Web sites include advertising messages from other marketers with
related but n o n c o m p e t i n g services.Yahoo's stock quotes page, for example, features a
sequence of advertisements for various financial service providers. Similarly, many
Web pages devoted to a specific topic feature a small message from Amazon.com,
inviting the reader to identify books on these same topics by clicking the accompa-
nying hyperlink button to the Internet retailer's b o o k site. In such instances, it's easy
for the advertiser to measure h o w many visits to its o w n site are generated by click-
throughs.
However, the Internet has not proved to be as effective an advertising medium as
many marketers originally anticipated. Experience shows that simply obtaining a large
number of exposures ("eyeballs") to a banner ad or button doesn't necessarily lead to
increases in awareness, preference, or sales for the advertiser. O n e consequence is that
the practice of paying a flat monthly rate for banner advertising is falling out of favor.
Even w h e n visitors click through to the advertiser's site, this action doesn't necessarily
result in sales. Consequently, there's now more emphasis on advertising contracts that tie
fees to marketing-relevant behavior by these visitors, such as providing the advertiser
with some information about themselves or making a purchase.
reciprocal marketing: a Some companies use reciprocal marketing, where an online retailer allows its
marketing communication paying customers to receive promotions for another online retailer and vice-versa, at no
tactic in which an online upfront cost to either party. 23 For example, RedEnvelope.com customers received an
retailer allows its paying online coupon offer from Starbucks w h e n they logged onto the RedEnvelope site. In
customers to receive exchange, RedEnvelope had a promotional link on Starbucks.com, enabling both com-
promotions for another
panies to capture a percentage of the other site's customer base.
online retailer and vice-versa,
at no upfront cost to either
party.

Conclusion
T h e marketing c o m m u n i c a t i o n strategy for services requires a somewhat different
emphasis from that used to market goods.The communication tasks facing service mar-
keters include emphasizing tangible clues for services that are difficult to evaluate, clar-
ifying the nature and sequence of the service performance, highlighting the perfor-
mance of customer-contact personnel, and educating the customer about h o w to
effectively participate in service delivery.
Many different communication elements are available to help companies create a
distinctive position in the market and reach prospective customers. T h e options in the


marketing communication mix include personal communications like personal selling
and customer service, as well as impersonal communications like advertising, sales
promotions, public relations, corporate design, and the physical evidence offered by
the servicescape of the service delivery site. Instructional materials, from brochures to
Web sites, often play an important role in educating customers on h o w to make good
choices and obtain the best use from the services they have purchased. Developments
in technology, especially the Internet, are changing the face of marketing c o m m u n i -
cations. We will explore the strategic implications of technology for service marketers
in greater detail in Chapter 16.

Answers to Symbol Quiz on Page 206
1. Hertz (yellow), Avis (red), National or Enterprise (both green)
2. Qantas (kangaroo), Air Canada (maple leaf). N o t e : Some regional Canadian
airlines also display a maple leaf.
3. T. R o w e Price (ram)
4. AT&T and Cable & Wireless are both quite well known; aircraft of
Continental Airlines have a partial golden globe on their tailfins, while those of
the now-defunct airline Pan Am featured a complete blue and white globe; UPS
paints a golden globe on all its trucks to emphasize its worldwide delivery
capabilities.
5. UBS and subsidiaries, e.g., UBS PaineWebber (three crossed keys).

1. Describe four c o m m o n educational and promotional objectives in
service settings and provide a specific example for each of the objectives
you list.
2. Which elements of the marketing communications mix would you use for each
of the following scenarios? Explain your answers.
• A newly established hair salon in a suburban shopping center
• An established restaurant facing declining patronage because of new
competitors
• A large, single-office accounting firm in a major city that serves primarily
business clients
3. What roles do personal selling, advertising, and public relations play in (a)
attracting new customers to a service business and (b) retaining existing
customers?
4. Describe the role of personal selling in service communications. Give examples
of three different situations where you have encountered this approach.
5. Find examples of service promotional efforts in your local area and evaluate their
strengths and weaknesses as effective communication tools.
6. Provide several current examples of public relations efforts made by service
companies.
7. Discuss the relative effectiveness of brochures and Web sites for promoting (a) a
ski resort, (b) a hotel, (c) a fitness center, and (d) a bank.


8. Explore the Web sites of an airline, a bank, and an Internet retailer. Critique them
for ease of navigation, content, and visual design. What, if anything, would you
change about each site?

Endnotes
1. Enterprise Rent-a-Car Web site, enterprise.com, February 2001 and research by Karen
Sunblad.
2. For a useful review of research on this topic, see Kathleen Mortimer and Brian P.
Mathews, "The Advertising of Services: Consumer Views v. Normative Dimensions," The
Service Industries Journal 18 (July 1998): 14-19.
3. William R. George and Leonard L. Berry, "Guidelines for the Advertising of Services,"
Business Horizons, July-August 1981.
4. Donna Legg and Julie Baker, "Advertising Strategies for Service Firms," in C. Surprenant
(ed.), Add Value toYour Service (Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association, 1987),
163-168.
5. Banwari Mittal, "The Advertising of Services: Meeting the Challenge of Intangibility,"
Journal of Service Research 2 (August 1999): 98-116.
6. Legg and Baker,"Advertising Strategies"; D.J. Hill and N. Gandhi,"Services
Advertising: A Framework for Effectiveness," Journal of Services Marketing 6 (Fall 1992):
63-76.
7. Victor L. Hunter and DavidTietyen, Business to Business Marketing: Creating a Community
of Customers (Lincolnwood, IL: N T C Business Books, 1997).
8. David H. Maister,"Why Cross Selling Hasn't Worked," True Professionalism (New York: The
Free Press, 1997), 178-184.
9. K. M. Haywood, "Managing Word of Mouth Communications," Journal of Services
Marketing 3 (Spring 1989): 55-67.
10. Eugene W.Anderson, "Customer Satisfaction and Word of Mouth," Journal of Service
Research 1 (August 1998): 5-17; Magnus Soderlund,"Customer Satisfaction and Its
Consequences on Customer Behaviour Revisited: The Impact of Different Levels of
Satisfaction on Word of Mouth, Feedback to the Supplier, and Loyalty," International
Journal of Service Industry Management 9, no. 2 (1998): 169—188.
11. Stephen J. Grove, Gregory M. Pickett, and David N. Laband,"An Empirical Examination
of Factual Information Content among Service Advertisements," The Service Industries
Journal 15 (April 1995): 216-233.
12. Ken Peattie and Sue Peattie, "Sales Promotion—a Missed Opportunity for Service
Marketers," International Journal of Service Industry Management 5, no. 1 (1995): 6—21. See
also Paul W Farris and John A. Quelch,"In Defense of Price Promotion," Sloan
Management Review (Fall 1987): 63-69.
13. Dana James, "Move Cautiously in Trade Show Launch," Marketing News, 20 November
2000, 4 & 6; Elizabeth Light, "Tradeshows and Expos—Putting Your Business on Show,"
Her Business, March-April 1998, 14-18; and Susan Greco, "Trade Shows versus Face-to-
Face Selling," Inc. (May 1992): 142.
14. Abbie Griffith, "Product Decisions and Marketing's Role in New Product Development,"
in Marketing Best Practices (Orlando, FL:The Dryden Press, 2000), 253.
15. Mary Jo Bitner,"Servicescapes:The Impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and
Employees," Journal of Marketing 56 (April 1992): 57—71.
16. Louis Fabien, "Making Promises: The Power of Engagement," Journal of Services Marketing
l l , n o . 3 (1997): 206-214.
17. Christian Gronroos, "Internationalization Strategies for Services," The Journal of Services
Marketing 13, no. 4/5 (1999): 290-297.
18. J.William Gurley,"How the Web Will Warp Advertising," Fortune, 9 November 1998,
119-120.
19. Seth Godin and Don Peppers, Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and
Friends into Customers (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999).


20. Kathleen V. Schmidt, "Prepaid Phone Cards Present More Info at Much Less Cost,"
Marketing News, 14 February 2000, 4.
21. Donald Emerick, Kim Round, and Susan Joyce, Web Marketing and Project Management
(Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000), 27-54.
22. Gary A. Poole, "The Riddle of the Abandoned Shopping Cart," grok, December 2000-
January 2001, 76—82. See also Donald Emerick, Kim Round, and Susan Joyce, Web
Marketing and Project Management (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000), 212-213.
23. Dana James, "Don't Wait—Reciprocate," Marketing News, 20 November 2000, 13 & 17.

Service Positioning and Design

Desperately Seeking Service Strategies
The basics of a travel agency's business have traditionally been quite quickly to create totally new service strategies. Here are three service
straightforward. Customers call for flight, train, hotel, or cruise reser- revolutionaries—see what you think of their innovative approaches to
vations.1 The agent finds out what's available, maybe provides a bit of establishing a secure competitive position!
advice, books the transaction, and delivers the tickets. For decades,
commissions on airline tickets provided about 60 percent of a typical THE MERCHANDISER
agency's revenues. But that situation changed when Delta Airlines
Company: Travelfest
announced that it would no longer pay a 10-percent commission on
every ticket sold. Regardless of the purchase price, there would be Service Strategy: Revamp the way travel is sold
caps of $25 one-way and $50 round-trip for all domestic tickets. Gary Hoover likes to call his Austin, Texas-based travel agency the
Other major airlines soon followed suit. Home Depot of the travel industry. His goal was to "yank travel out of
These commission caps were only the start of trouble for the the retail Stone Age" by designing a travel superstore where cus-
travel agent industry. Other marketplace changes began to impact the tomers could shop for tickets and travel-related products in an enter-
roles that travel agents filled as information brokers and distributors of taining and educational environment. Fourteen monitors play travel
other companies' services. Travel agents are like stockbrokers, real videos simultaneously in Travelfest stores, and backlit walls show
estate agents, or consultants—their value is in what they know and slides from around the world. Customers can browse for travel infor-
what they can find out for customers. But access to information is mation in the Europe room, the Africa room, the Asia room, and kids
being completely reshaped these days by computers and Web-based have their own special room to explore. Visa and passport applications
technologies. Customers can access travel information directly on the are available, and customers can check out the Hotel and Travel Index
Internet at any time, and can handle their own bookings, too—either (a resource used by most travel agents but rarely available to their
through a carrier's own Web site or through such Internet-based ser- clients). There are also 10,000 travel-related items for sale, including
vices as Travelocity or Priceline. books, videos, maps, luggage and clothing, water purifiers, and lan-
So what's a travel agent to do in this challenging new world? guage guides. Oh yes—the store is also open from 9 A.M. to 11 P.M.
Many have closed, others are trying to survive by cutting costs or seven days a week, and it accepts mail, Internet, and telephone
seeking to add value by doing the same things better. But a few moved orders.

THE CONTRACTOR © Learning Objectives
Company: Capital Prestige Travel After reading this chapter, you should
be able to
Service Strategy: Change the service-delivery model
Derek Messenger, owner of Capital Prestige Travel, spends $1 mil- =^> describe the four different focus
lion a year on statewide travel ads and infomercials about discount approaches
cruise sailings. His biggest challenge is having enough trained peo-
=£> explain the elements of competitive
ple to take all those calls his advertising generates. Messenger has
positioning strategy
solved this problem creatively by using independent contractors who
work out of their homes and pay for the privilege of affiliating with a =£> discuss how perceptual maps help
well-known travel agency, which routes calls to them. Each home- identify competitors' positions in a
based contractor pays $7800 to Capital Prestige. In return, contrac- specific market
tors get a computer, software that connects them to Sabre (a =£> understand how branding relates to
national computerized reservations system), a hookup to Capital individual offerings within a product
Prestige phone lines, and eight days of training. They also get paid line
35 to 70 percent of the agency's ticket commissions. Capital
Prestige takes care of all of the marketing and backup services like =4^ define the different types of service
handling tickets, collecting money, and providing a help line for innovation
home agents who run into problems. With its innovative home-agent
system, the company has turned fixed costs into variable costs—
which saves enough money to generate more business by doing
large-scale promotions and advertising.
(continues)

215

216 PART T H R E E . SERVICE M A R K E T I N G STRATEGY

THE NICHE PLAYER trips to other locations. Owners Randle Feagin and Andy Spiegel had
discovered the perfect niche—and today they do 85 percent of their
Company: Aspen Travel business with production companies from Los Angeles, New York,
Service Strategy: Specialize in one service-intensive and Miami. Word of mouth in the tightly knit film production industry
market niche takes care of Aspen's marketing, while faxes, e-mail, and remote
Aspen Travel started out as a traditional travel agency. Its customer ticket printers allow the agency to operate from Jackson Hole.
base was largely limited to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, whose isolated Aspen's specialized knowledge helps it outperform would-be com-
mountain location seemed an unlikely spot for building a large cor- petitors. After all, how many travel agents know how to get an AT&T
porate clientele. Then a film production company from Los Angeles phone booth to a film site in Belize or transport penguins to the
shot a movie in Jackson Hole, and Aspen did such a great job of deserts of Moab, Utah, without having them collapse from heat-
handling its travel that the company retained Aspen's services for stroke?

THE NEED FOR FOCUS
If you ask a group of managers from different service businesses how they compete,
many will simply say, " o n service." Press them a little further, and they may add "value
for money," "convenience," or "our people are the key." Some may even respond to the
question "What makes your service different?" by saying "Truthfully, nothing. We're all
pretty m u c h the same." But no two services are ever exactly alike. It would be impossi-
ble for companies to be identical in the design of their servicescapes, the employees they
attract, the personalities of their leaders, or the cultures they create. As competition
intensifies for many businesses in the service sector, cultivating and communicating
meaningful differences is becoming increasingly important for long-term profitability.
In this chapter, we show how to find answers to the questions: How can we differentiate
our service product from the competition's? and How should we go about designing new services'?

Four Focus Strategies
It's not usually realistic for a firm to try to appeal to all actual or potential buyers in a
market, because customers are too numerous, too widely scattered, and too varied in
their needs, purchasing behavior, and consumption patterns. Firms themselves vary
widely in their abilities to serve different types of customers. So rather than attempting
to compete in an entire market, each company needs to focus its efforts on those cus-
focus: the provision of a tomers it can serve best. In marketing terms, focus means providing a relatively narrow
relatively narrow product product mix for a particular market segment—a group of customers w h o share com-
mix for a particular market m o n characteristics, needs, purchasing behavior, or consumption patterns. Successful
segment. implementation of this concept requires firms to identify the strategically important
elements in their service operations and concentrate their resources on these factors.
market focus: the extent to The extent of a company's focus can be described on two different dimensions—mar-
which a firm serves few or
ket focus and service focus. Market focus is the extent to which a firm serves few or many
many markets.
markets, while service focus describes the extent to which a firm offers few or many ser-
vices.These dimensions define the four basic focus strategies shown in Figure 10.1.
service focus: the extent to
which a firm offers few or A fully focused organization provides a very limited range of services (perhaps just a
many services. single core product) to a narrow and specific market segment. For example, Aspen Travel
serves the specific needs of the film production industry. A market-focused company con-
centrates on a narrow market segment but has a wide range of services. Each Travelfest
store serves a limited geographic market, appealing to families and individuals planning
vacation trips rather than to business travelers, but offers a broad array of services.
Service-focused firms offer a narrow range of services to a fairly broad market. Thus,
Capital Prestige Travel specializes in the narrow field of discount cruise sailings, but
reaches customers across a broad geographic market through a telephone-based delivery

C H A P T E R TEN • SERVICE P O S I T I O N I N G AND DESIGN 217

FIGURE 10.1
Basic Focus Strategies for
Service Organizations

Source: Adapted from Robert Johnston, "Achieving Focus in Service Organizations," The Service Industries Journal 16 (January 1996):
10-20.

system. Finally, many service providers fall into the unfocused category because they try
to serve broad markets and provide a wide range of services.
As you can see from Figure 10.1, focusing requires a company to identify the mar-
ket segments that it can serve best with the services it offers. Effective market segmen-
tation should group customers in ways that result in similarity within each segment and
dissimilarity between each segment on relevant characteristics.

CREATING A DISTINCTIVE SERVICE STRATEGY
Once a company has decided which market segment(s) to target, the next task is to
establish an overall strategic direction—a service strategy—in order to achieve and
maintain a distinctive competitive position. Leonard Berry emphasizes the importance
of these service strategies:
All great service companies have a clear, compelling service strategy. They have a "reason
for being" that energizes the organization and defines the word "service. "A service strat-
egy captures what gives the service value to customers. To forge a path to great service, a
company's leaders must define correctly that which makes the service compelling. They
must set in motion and sustain a vision of service excellence, a set ofguideposts that point
to the future and show the way.s

A company's service strategy can usually be expressed in a few sentences or words
that guide and energize its employees. T h e best service strategies address basic human
needs that don't change much over time. For example, Taco Bell's service strategy is to
offer the best value fast meal whenever and wherever customers are hungry. While this
statement sounds simple enough, it actually symbolizes a major change in the way the
company defines itself and its operations. Club Med's basic service concept could be
described as "a fully paid vacation package where you make your arrangements and pay
the bill in advance in return for a well-managed program in which you don't need to
worry much about money, transportation, food, activities or clothes."
Dial-a-Mattress appeals to its target market's need for both convenience and risk
reduction by selling brand-name bedding like Sealy, Serta, or Simmons over the tele-
phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Orders are delivered as soon as the customer wants
them, and old mattresses are removed at no extra cost. T h e company's core service strat-
egy makes buying a mattress so simple that new customers are often amazed. Founder


and C E O Napoleon Barragan explains, "Buying a mattress is not a pleasurable experi-
ence; it's a chore. If you can make it easy for the customers, if you give them what they
want, the way they want it, and when they want it, you can do business." 7

Creating a Sustainable Competitive Advantage
T h e first step in establishing a service strategy is to focus on customers' needs. Important
service needs that are not being met by competitors provide opportunities for a company
to move into an "open" position in the marketplace.Two questions should be asked about
the needs and expectations of a target market relative to a specific service offering: What
attributes are absolutely essential to this group of customers? And what attributes will
delight them? T h e service strategy can then be designed to include both the essential
attributes and those features that have the potential to exceed customer expectations.
sustainable competitive T h e best service strategies provide organizations with a sustainable competitive
advantage: a position in the advantage—a way of meeting customer needs in a specific market segment better than
marketplace that can't be other competitors. (By sustainable, we mean a position in the marketplace that can't be
taken away or minimized by taken away or minimized by competitors in the short run.) Obtaining and keeping such
competitors in the short run.
an advantage presents a significant challenge, because it's hard for a firm to protect inno-
vations legally and competitors can quickly copy many service attributes. Consider how
Amtrak positions its high-speed rail service in the Boston-Washington corridor against
competing air service.

Transporting Business Travelers
Into the Twenty-First Century
travel times between city centers competitive with the airlines,
Amtrak, America's national passenger railroad, illustrates a service once ground travel from airport to city center is included.
strategy based on customers' needs related to travel in the 500 While seeking to match the airlines on essential attributes like
mile (800 km) Northeast Corridor that links Boston, Providence, convenience, reliability, and travel time, Amtrak plans to beat them
New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. on such features as customer service, spaciousness, and comfort.
Over the years, air shuttles departing at 30-minute intervals on the The company has extended its definition of the "Amtrak travel expe-
Boston-New York and New York-Washington routes, as well as rience" beyond the core product of transportation to include ele-
commuter flights serving other airports, had severely eroded the ments that have the potential to delight its customers—including the
railroad's position in the business traveler segment of the market. service provided by on-board staff, the reservations and ticketing
The problem was particularly challenging between Boston and New processes, and the train station environment. While waiting at the
York, where rail service was slow and not very reliable. But station, first-class passengers are entitled to use of a special lounge.
Amtrak's market research showed that in addition to speed, busi- The trains' interior decor reflects customer preferences for
ness travelers wanted both convenience and comfort at levels not attractive modern design, appealing colors, and more space than
currently available on most flights. the cramped conditions found on air shuttles. The windows of the
To address these unmet needs, Amtrak obtained funds to cars are large and the seats in first and business class are bigger
upgrade the track on the Northeast Corridor and electrify the line all and more comfortable than those on short-haul aircraft. There's
the way to Boston. In December 2000, it introduced a new, high- plenty of space for stowing baggage and even the toilets are large
speed rail service, named Acela Express. Acela—a new brand and attractively designed. Lighting is bright enough to work by but
name that suggests both acceleration and excellence—promises still soft and unobtrusive. Acela Express also offers passengers the
fast, comfortable, reliable, and safe transportation. Amtrak's futur- chance to stretch their legs and obtain food and drink in a new,
istic-looking, Canadian-built electric trains can transport passen- upscale "bistro" car; those traveling in first class can dine at their
gers at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h), making seats, enjoying meals served on chinaware.

Source: Based on Ian R Murphy, "Amtrak Enlists Customers' Help to Bring Service Up to Speed," Marketing News, 27 October 1997, 14; information from the Amtrak corporate Web site,
www.amtrak.com, February 2001, and news reports.

CHAPTER TEN • SERVICE P O S I T I O N I N G AND DESIGN 219

SERVICE POSITIONING
After a service strategy has been identified, a company must decide how to position its
product most effectively. T h e concept of positioning involves establishing a distinctive positioning: establishing a
place in the minds of target customers relative to competing products. In The New distinctive place in the minds
Positioning:The Latest on the World's #1 Business Strategy, Jack Trout distills the essence of posi- of customers relative to
tioning into the following four principles: 8 competing products.

1. A company must establish a position in the minds of its targeted customers.
2. T h e position should be singular, providing one simple and consistent message.
3. The position must set a company apart from its competitors.
4. A company cannot be all things to all people—it must focus its efforts.
Cirque du Soleil is an example of a company that has taken these four principles to
heart. Most Americans can't even pronounce the name (which is French for "circus of
the sun"), and fewer than one in five know what Cirque offers. But the goal of the
Quebec-based founders is to b e c o m e a worldwide brand—a Circus W i t h o u t
Boundaries. Cirque provides a mystical mixture of stunningly choreographed dance,
original music, exotic costumes, and amazing acrobatics that is more art than traditional
circus entertainment. And the atmosphere is intimate, since the audience for most per-
formances is limited to a few thousand people compared to crowds of ten thousand or
more at typical circus events. Cirque's extravagant shows—with ticket prices of $60 to
$100 per seat—are produced at multimillion dollar theaters on three different conti-
nents. T h e company is extremely profitable, and its long-term strategy is to become a
megabrand targeted at the wealthy. Cirque has already cashed in on its brand equity
with a licensed wallpaper line (a top seller in the United States), a Cirque du Soleil
watch marketed by Swatch, and a $12 million I M A X film about the company that
recently debuted in Berlin.

Positioning and Marketing Strategy
Companies use positioning strategies to distinguish their services from competitors and
to design communications that convey their desired position to customers and prospects
in the chosen market segments. There are a n u m b e r of different dimensions around
which positioning strategies can be developed, including:
1. Product attributes—America Online's e-mail service is "so easy to use, no wonder
it's # 1 " (see Figure 10.2)
2. Price I'quality relationship—Supercuts sells good haircuts at a "reasonable" price
3. Reference to competitors—"You'd better take your Visa card, because they don't
take American Express"
4. Usage occasions—Ski resorts offer downhill and cross-country skiing in the w i n -
ter; hiking and mountain biking in the summer
5. User characteristics—Cheap Ticket's online ticketing service is for travelers w h o are
comfortable with both Internet usage and self-service
6. Product class—Blue Cross provides a variety of different health insurance pack-
ages for its corporate customers to choose from in putting together their
employee benefit plans
Marketers often use a combination of these positioning approaches. Whatever strat-
egy a firm chooses, the primary goal is to differentiate itself from competitors by
emphasizing the distinctive advantages of its service offerings. If the core benefits are
similar to those of the competition, the company may decide to stress different advan-


FIGURE 10.2
AOL E-Mail Emphasizes Ease of Use and
Its Market Leadership

TABLE 10.1 Provide a useful diagnostic tool for defining and understanding the relationships between products and markets:
Principal Uses of Positioning a. How does the product compare with competitive offerings on specific attributes?
in Marketing Management b. How well does product performance meet consumer needs and expectations on specific performance criteria?
c. What is the predicted consumption level for a product with a given set of performance characteristics offered at a
given price?
Identify market opportunities:
a. Introduce new products
• What segments should be targeted?
• What attributes should be offered relative to the competition?
b. Redesign (reposition) existing products
• Should we appeal to the same segments or to new ones?
• What attributes should be added, dropped, or changed?
• What attributes should be emphasized in advertising?
c. Eliminate products that
• Do not satisfy consumer needs
• Face excessive competition
Make other marketing mix decisions to preempt or respond to competitive moves:
a. Distribution strategies
• Where should the product be offered (locations and types of outlet)?
• When should the product be available?
b. Pricing strategies
• How much should be charged?
• What billing and payment procedures should be used?
c. Communication strategies
• What target audience(s) are most easily convinced that the product offers a competitive advantage on attributes
that are important to them?
• What message and attributes should be emphasized and which competitors, if any, should be mentioned as the
basis for comparison on those attributes?
• Which communication channels should be used, personal selling or different advertising media (selected not
only for their ability to convey the chosen message to the target audience but also for their ability to reinforce
the desired image of the product)?


tages in its promotional efforts. For example, at one point Sprint was stressing the price
and value of its long-distance services, while A T & T emphasized reliability and exper-
tise.Table 10.1 summarizes how positioning strategies relate to critical marketing issues
like service development and delivery, pricing, and communications.

Service Repositioning
Market positions are rarely permanent. Competitive activity, n e w technologies, and
internal changes may cause a company to reposition itself and its services.
R e p o s i t i o n i n g involves changing the position a firm holds in a consumer's mind rela- repositioning: changing
tive to competing services.This may be necessary to counter competitive attacks, remain the position a firm holds in a
attractive and appealing to current customers, or target new and additional segments. consumers mind relative to
Repositioning can involve adding new services or abandoning certain offerings and competing services.
withdrawing completely from some markets. In response to major changes in its busi-
ness environment, Andersen Consulting recently repositioned itself and changed its
name to Accenture to reflect its "accent on the future" (see the boxed story
"Repositioning a Consulting Firm").

PERCEPTUAL MAPS AS POSITIONING TOOLS
Many companies use perceptual mapping to help finalize their positioning strategies.
Perceptual maps—also called positioning maps—help managers identify the most perceptual map: a visual
critical attributes of their own and competing services, as viewed by customers. These illustration of how customers
maps provide a visual picture of a service's distinctive characteristics, identify the nature perceive competing services.
of competitive threats and opportunities, and highlight gaps between customer and
management perceptions about competing services (as the Palace Hotel example in the
next section illustrates).

Repositioning
a Consulting Firm
tures that will help us provide our traditional consulting
Andersen Consulting, a management consulting firm whose clients clients and the market with the latest technological innova-
include more than 5,000 companies worldwide, recently reposi- tions. We are also investing in emerging technology
tioned itself to reflect a new business strategy with an emphasis on providers with applications that will benefit our clients. We
are moving beyond a traditional consulting firm, delivering
cutting-edge technologies. On January 1, 2001, the company was
innovations that improve the way the world lives and
officially "Renamed. Redefined. Reborn as Accenture." The com- works.
pany's name change reflects the new brand identity and reposition-
ing strategy that it had been working on since early in 2000. To create awareness of its new name and its extended capa-
According to Dave Seibel, the Canadian Managing Partner for bilities, Accenture implemented an integrated marketing commu-
Accenture: nications program in 48 different countries at an estimated cost
of $175 million. The campaign included four 30-second Super
We are repositioning our firm in the marketplace to better
Bowl spots in addition to 6,000 other television commercials,
reflect our new vision and strategy for becoming part of the
fabric of the new economy and our strategy for getting print ads in newspapers and business journals, and extensive
there. We are creating new businesses through joint ven- online advertising.

Source: Scotty Fletcher, "Accenture Buys Four Super Bowl Spots," localbusiness.com, 20 November 2000; Larry Greenemeier, "Andersen Consulting Changing Name to Accenture," infor-
mationweek.com, 26 October 2000; the company's Web sites www.ac.com and www.ac.ca, December 2000 and www.accenture.com, January 2001; and conversations with Accenture
consultants.


To create a perceptual map, researchers first identify attributes that are important to
customers and then measure h o w the firm and its competitors are performing on each
attribute. T h e results can then be plotted on a chart, using the horizontal axis for
measures of one attribute and the vertical axis for a second. Since charts are two-
dimensional, perceptual maps are usually limited to two attributes. Sometimes,
three-dimensional models are built so that a third dimension can be included. When
marketers need to feature more than three dimensions to describe service positioning,
they can create a series of two-dimensional maps or use computerized models to han-
dle numerous attributes simultaneously. Some commonly used attributes include:
>• Convenience
>- Industry-specific characteristics that offer a unique benefit
>- Level of personal service
*- Price
>• Quality of physical elements
>- Reliability
>» Speed
>- Trustworthiness
In most cases, an attribute can be delivered at several different levels. Some of these
variations are easy to measure. For instance, travel times can be faster or slower and
prices can be higher or lower. Reliability—a key element in service quality—can be
measured by h o w often a service fails to perform against predefined standards (for
instance, errors in posting banking deposits or late arrival of flights). Evaluation of other
attributes may be more subjective. For instance, researchers may ask customers to evalu-
ate the level of convenience, comfort, or quality of personal service they encounter in a
specific context.
A perceptual map is only as good as the quality of the information used in con-
structing it. Dynamic markets require that research be repeated periodically and percep-
tual maps redrawn to reflect significant changes in the competitive environment. New
market entrants and repositioning of existing competitors may result in the disappear-
ance of a formerly distinctive positioning advantage. Separate maps will have to be
drawn for different market segments if research shows that there are sharp variations
between segments. In the case of airlines, for instance, vacationers and business travelers
may have different service priorities and vary in their willingness to pay extra for higher
classes of service.

Using Perceptual Maps to Evaluate Positioning Strategies
To demonstrate the value of perceptual mapping, let's look at h o w the Palace—a suc-
cessful four-star hotel in a large city that we'll call Belleville—used perceptual maps to
develop a better understanding of potential threats to their established market posi-
tion. T h e Palace was an elegant old hotel located on the edge of Belleville's booming
financial district. Its competitors included 8 four-star establishments and the Grand
Hotel, which had a five-star rating. T h e Palace had been very profitable for its owners
in recent years and boasted an above-average occupancy rate. It was sold out on
weekdays most of the year, reflecting its strong appeal to business travelers (who were
very attractive customers because of their willingness to pay higher room rates than
vacationers or convention participants). But the general manager and his staff saw
problems on the horizon. Permission had recently been granted for four large new
hotels in the city, and the Grand Hotel had just started a major renovation and expan-
sion project.

CHAPTER TEN • SERVICE POSITIONING AND DESIGN 223

To better understand these competitive threats, the hotel's m a n a g e m e n t team
worked with a consultant to prepare perceptual maps that displayed the Palace's position
in the business traveler market both before and after the arrival of new competition.
Four attributes were selected: room price; level of physical luxury; level of personal ser-
vice; and location. Information on competing hotels was not difficult to obtain. T h e
locations were known, the physical structures were relatively easy to visit and evaluate,
and the sales staff kept informed on competitors' pricing policies and discounts. T h e
ratio of rooms per employee was a convenient surrogate measure for service level; this
was easily calculated from the published number of rooms and employment data filed
with city authorities. Data from travel agents provided additional insights about the
quality of personal service at each of the competing hotels.
T h e Palace's management team created scales for each attribute. Price was simple,
since the average price charged to business travelers for a standard single room at each
hotel was already k n o w n . T h e rooms per employee ratio formed the basis for a service-
level scale, with low ratios indicating high service. This scale was then modified slightly
to reflect what was known about the level of service actually delivered by each major
competitor. T h e level of physical luxury was more subjective. T h e management team
identified the Grand Hotel as the most luxurious hotel and decided that the Airport
Plaza was the four-star hotel with the least luxurious physical facilities. T h e other four-
star hotels were then rated relative to these two benchmarks.
T h e location scale was based on each hotel's distance from the stock exchange
(which was in the heart of the financial district), since past research had shown that a
majority of the Palace's business guests were visiting destinations in this vicinity. T h e set
of 10 hotels lay within an area that extended from the stock exchange through the city's
principal retail area (where the convention center was also located) to the inner suburbs
and the nearby metropolitan airport.
Two positioning maps were created to portray the existing competitive situation.
The first (Figure 10.3) showed the hotels on the dimensions of price and service level;
the second (Figure 10.4) displayed them on location and degree of physical luxury.
A quick glance at Figure 10.3 shows a clear correlation between price and service.
That's no surprise: Hotels offering higher levels of service can command higher prices.
The shaded bar running from the upper left to the lower right highlights this relation-
ship, and we would expect it to continue diagonally downward for three-star and lesser-
rated establishments. Further analysis indicates that there appear to be three clusters of
hotels within what is already an upscale market category. At the top end, the four-star
Regency is close to the five-star Grand. In the middle, the Palace is clustered with four
other hotels. Another set of three hotels is positioned at the lower end. O n e surprising
insight from this map is that the Palace appears to be charging significantly more (on a
relative basis) than its service level seems to justify. But since its occupancy rate is very
high, guests are evidently willing to pay the present rate. What's the secret of its success?
In Figure 10.4, we see how the Palace is positioned relative to the competition on
location and physical luxury. We would not expect these two variables to be directly
related and they don't appear to be so. A key insight here is that the Palace occupies a
relatively empty portion of the map. It's the only hotel located in the financial district—
a fact that probably explains its ability to charge more than its service level (or degree of
physical luxury) would normally command. There are two clusters of hotels in the
vicinity of the shopping district and convention center: a relatively luxurious group of
three, and a second group of two offering a moderate level of luxury.
After mapping the current situation, the Palace's management team turned to the
future. Their next task was to predict the positions of the four new hotels being con-
structed in Belleville, as well as the probable repositioning of the Grand (see Figures
10.5 and 10.6). T h e construction sites were already k n o w n . Two w o u l d be in the


FIGURE 10.3
Belleville's Principal Business
Hotels: Positioning Map of
Service Level Versus Price
Level

financial district and the other two in the vicinity of the c o n v e n t i o n center.
Predicting the positions of the four new hotels was not difficult since preliminary
details had already been released. T h e owners of two of the hotels intended to aim for
five-star status, although they admitted that this goal m i g h t take a few years to
achieve. Three of the newcomers would be affiliated with international chains. Their
strategies could be guessed by e x a m i n i n g hotels these same chains had o p e n e d
recently in other cities. Press releases distributed by the Grand had already declared

FIGURE 10.4
Hotels: Positioning Map of
Location Versus Physical
Luxury


FIGURE 10.5
Hotels, Following N e w
Construction: Positioning
M a p of Service Level Versus
Price Level

FIGURE 10.6
Hotels after N e w
Construction: Positioning
Map of Location Versus
Physical Luxury

226 PART THREE . SERVICE MARKETING STRATEG1

that the " N e w G r a n d " would be larger and even more luxurious, and its management
planned to add new service features.
Pricing was easy to project because new hotels use a formula for setting posted
room prices (the prices typically charged to individuals staying on a weekday in high
season).This price is linked to the average construction cost per room at the rate of $1
per night for every $1000 of construction costs. Thus, a 500-room hotel that costs $100
million to build (including land costs) would have an average room cost of $200,000
and would need to set a price of $200 per room night. Using this formula, Palace man-
agers concluded that the four new hotels would have to charge significantly more than
the Grand or the Regency. This would have the effect of establishing what marketers
call a "price umbrella" above existing price levels and would give other competitors the
option of raising their prices. To justify the high prices, the new hotels would have to
offer customers very high standards of service and luxury. At the same time, the New
Grand would need to increase its prices to recover the costs of renovations, new con-
struction, and enhanced service offerings.
Assuming that no changes "were made by either the Palace or the other existing
hotels, the impact of the n e w competition clearly posed a significant threat to the
Palace. It would lose its unique locational advantage and become one of three hotels in
the immediate vicinity of the financial district (see Figure 10.6). T h e sales staff believed
that many of the Palace's existing business customers would be attracted to the
Continental and the Mandarin and would be willing to pay higher rates in order to
obtain superior benefits. T h e other two newcomers were seen as more of a threat to the
Shangri-La, Sheraton, and N e w Grand in the shopping district/convention center clus-
ter. T h e N e w Grand and the other entrants would create a high price/high service and
luxury cluster at the top end of the market, leaving the Regency in what might prove
to be a distinctive—and therefore defensible—space of its own.
W h a t action should the Palace take under these circumstances? O n e option would
be to do nothing in terms of service enhancements or physical improvements. But the
loss of its locational advantage would probably destroy the hotel's ability to charge a
price premium, leading to lower prices and profits. Some of the best staff might be
enticed away by the new hotels, leading to a decline in service quality. And without ren-
ovations, there would be a gradual decline in physical luxury, too. T h e net result over
time might be to shift the Palace into a new cluster with the Castle, serving guests who
want to visit destinations in the financial district but are unable (or unwilling) to pay the
high prices charged at the Mandarin and Continental. As you can see, doing nothing
would have significant strategic implications! If other existing hotels decided to upgrade
and the Palace did nothing, it would eventually slide even further down the scales on
luxury and service, risking reclassification as a three-star hotel.
An alternative strategy would be to implement renovations, service improvements,
and programs to reinforce the loyalty of current guests before the new hotels are com-
pleted. T h e price umbrella these hotels create would allow the Palace to raise its rates to
cover the additional costs. T h e hotel might then move to a new position where it is
clustered with the Regency on the dimensions of price and service. On the dimensions
of luxury and location, it would be clustered with the Mandarin and Continental but
with slightly lower prices than either competitor.
So what did the Palace actually do? Management selected the second option, con-
cluding that the future profitability of the hotel lay in c o m p e t i n g against the
Continental (and to a lesser extent against the Mandarin) for the growing number of
business travelers visiting Belleville's financial district.The Palace also tried to retain the
loyalty of frequent guests by recording their preferences and special needs on the hotel
database so that staff could provide more personalized service. Advertising and selling
efforts promoted these improvements, and frequent guests were sent personalized direct


mailings from the general manager. Despite the entrance of new and formidable c o m -
petition, the Palace's occupancy levels and profits have held up very well.

CREATING AND PROMOTING
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Creating a competitive advantage presents special challenges for service providers, w h o
are often forced to compete with goods and customers' self-service options in addition
to other service providers. Since customers seek to satisfy specific needs, they often eval-
uate reasonable alternatives that offer broadly similar benefits. For example, if your lawn
desperately needs mowing, you could buy a lawn mower and do it yourself—or you
could hire a lawn maintenance service to take care of the chore for you.
Customers may make choices between competing alternatives based on their skill
levels or physical capabilities and their time availability, as well as on factors like cost
comparisons between purchase and use, storage space for purchased products, and antic-
ipated frequency of need. As you can see, direct competition between goods and ser-
vices is often inevitable in situations where they can provide the same basic benefits.
This concept is illustrated in Figure 10.7, which shows four possible delivery alterna-
tives for both car travel and word processing. These alternatives are based on choices
between ownership or rental of physical goods and self-service or hiring other people
to perform the tasks.
Of course, many businesses rely on a mixture of both goods and services to satisfy
customer needs. "Quasi-manufacturing" operations like fast-food restaurants sell goods
supplemented by value-added service. At each site, customers can view a m e n u
describing the restaurant's products, which are highly tangible and easily distinguish-
able from those of competitors. T h e service comes from speedy delivery of freshly pre-
pared food items, the ability to order and pick up food from a drive-in location with-
out leaving the car, and the opportunity to sit down and eat a meal at a table in a clean
environment.
Providers of less tangible services also offer a " m e n u " of products, representing a
bundle of carefully selected elements built around a core benefit. For instance, universi-
ties provide many types of undergraduate education, ranging from two-year certifica-
tion programs to the completion of bachelors' degrees, and from full-time residency to
evening extension programs. Most also offer graduate studies and nondegree continuing
education classes. T h e supplementary service elements include advising, library and
computer resources, entertainment opportunities like theater and sports events, food
and health care services, and a safe, pleasant campus environment.

FIGURE 10.7
Services as Substitutes for
Owning and/or Using Goods


The Power of Service Brands
Because of the difficult competitive challenges faced by service providers, especially the
problem of differentiating an intangible performance, branding plays a special role in
defining and positioning a company's service offerings. As Leonard Berry states:
Strong brands enable customers to better visualize and understand intangible products.
They reduce customers' perceived monetary, social or safety risk in buying services, which
are difficult to evaluate prior to purchase. Strong brands are the surrogate when the com-
brand: a name, phrase, pany offers no fabric to touch, no trousers to try on, no watermelons or apples to scruti-
design, symbol, or some nize, no automobile to test-drive.'"
combination of these
elements that identifies a While the product is the primary brand for packaged goods, the company itself serves
company's services and as the brand for services. B u t what is a brand? Harry Beckwith argues in his book
differentiates it from Selling the Invisible that for a service, a brand is more than a name or a symbol. It is an
competitors. implicit promise that a service provider will perform consistently up to customer

FIGURE 10.8
AARP Promotes a Fit, Fun
Image to Attract New Members
in Their Fifties 96 MODERN MATURITY KKMM8t»-i)»:< £>«!? XO0

C H A P T E R TEN • SERVICE P O S I T I O N I N G AND DESIGN 229

expectations over time. Brands are very important to service customers, because few
services have warranties—in part because they are typically difficult to guarantee. For
example, h o w do you guarantee that a doctor's diagnosis will be accurate? That a p r o -
fessor's class will be educational? That a tax accountant will find every legal d e d u c -
tion? Customers can't experience service quality in advance of purchase, so most of
the time they have to rely on the service provider's brand image as a promise of future
satisfaction.
Ritz-Carlton promises a particular type of luxury hotel experience; Motel 6 stands
for something simpler and more affordable. Similarly, Southwest Airlines and Singapore
Airlines, both respected as leaders in their industry, offer very different air travel experi-
ences. Brands that offer good value on a consistent basis gain the trust and respect of
their customers. In fact, w h e n traveling on business or vacation, people w h o value con-
sistency often seek out the same service providers that they patronize at home. Perhaps
you're among them.
Advertising and other marketing communications play an important role in creat-
ing a positive brand image and establishing expectations. Even nonprofit organizations
like A A R P have developed brand image campaigns. Figure 10.8 shows an advertisement
from a campaign designed, in part, to dispel misperceptions that the A A R P (formerly
the American Association of Retired Persons) consisted only of inactive, elderly individ-
uals—in fact, membership is open to anyone over the age of 50. And the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra experienced a 10-percent increase in donations following a com-
munications program that introduced a modernized logo and sought to create a consis-
tent, upbeat image for the orchestra.
To maintain a well-defined brand identity, a firm must reinforce key brand
attributes in all of its communications—from service encounters to television adver-
tising. Marketing messages may vary by target audience, but there should be a c o n -
sistent theme. This includes Web sites, w h i c h can be powerful communication links
with customers if managed effectively. Companies like FedEx, U P S , Kinko's, and Sir
Speedy use the Internet to provide online information and delivery options for their
customers. These value-added services help to e n h a n c e customers' overall brand
experiences.

The "Branded Customer Experience"
Customer satisfaction—the deep kind of satisfaction that builds loyalty—doesn't result
from any one thing. A customer's decision to stay with a particular supplier or defect to
another is often the result of many small encounters. Successful firms recognize this and
design distinctive service strategies to ensure that ordinary events will be perceived as
extraordinary. T h e Forum Corp., a consulting and training group in Boston, calls this
creating a "branded customer experience." 1 2 According to the Forum, the promise of
the service brand should be reinforced at every point of contact between a company
and its customers. Forum senior vice president Scott Timmins says: " T h e question is,
what is our brand of customer delight—what are we known for, what do customers
expect us to deliver reliably, where's our wow?"
Southwest Airlines has mastered the branded service experience—with a twist.
Its brand stands for the opposite of extravagant treatment, but passengers are not
expecting that. Instead, the airline delights its customers by making and keeping a
promise to provide simple, convenient, inexpensive service, with a little h u m o r on
the side. Southwest's positioning strategy is designed to reinforce its image as the
" N o Frills" carrier. This t h e m e is emphasized in its clever advertising campaigns, the
reusable plastic boarding passes, and the casual appearance and demeanor of its flight
attendants.


Changing Brand Perceptions
Customers'perceptions about specific brands often reflect the cumulative impact of dif-
halo effect: the tendency ferent service encounters. These experiences can result in a halo effect—either positive
for consumer ratings of one or negative—that makes it difficult for customers to assess the specific strengths and
prominent product weaknesses of competing services. 13 For instance, reported customer dissatisfaction with
characteristic to influence one attribute of a particular service may be real (and thus need corrective action) or
ratings for many other could be the result of a negative halo effect caused by a high dissatisfaction with a sec-
attributes of that same
ond attribute or even by a high overall dissatisfaction with the brand.
product.
O n e problem in consumer satisfaction research is that respondents often complete
survey questionnaires quickly, w i t h o u t carefully considering each of the different
dimensions on which they are rating a service firm's performance. If they are unhappy
with a service in general, they may rate all attributes poorly rather than identifying those
that are actually dissatisfying. In-depth personal interviews usually offer a more reliable
way to probe customers' evaluations and obtain more carefully considered responses.
However, this type of research is time consuming and more expensive to administer.
Improving negative brand perceptions may require extensive redesign of the core
product a n d / o r supplementary services. However, weaknesses are sometimes perceptual
rather than real. Ries and Trout describe the case of Long Island Trust, historically the
leading bank serving this large suburban area to the east of N e w York City. 14
After laws were passed to permit unrestricted branch banking throughout N e w
York State, many of the big banks from neighboring Manhattan began invading Long
Island. Research showed that Long Island Trust was rated below banks like
Chase Manhattan and Citibank on such key selection criteria as branch availability, full
range of services offered, service quality, and capital resources. However,
Long Island Trust ranked first on helping Long Island residents and the Long Island
economy.
T h e bank's advertising agency developed a campaign promoting the "Long Island
position," playing to its perceived strengths rather than seeking to improve perceptions
on attributes where it was perceived less favorably. T h e tenor of the campaign can be
gauged from the following extract from a print ad:
Why send your money to the city if you live on the Island? It makes sense to keep your
money close to home. Not at a city bank but at Long Island Trust. Where it can work for
Long Island. After all, we concentrate on developing Long Island. Not Manhattan Island
or some island off Kuwait—
O t h e r advertisements in the campaign promoted similar themes, such as, " T h e city is a
great place to visit, but would you want to bank there?"
W h e n identical research was repeated 15 months later, Long Island Trust's position
had improved on every attribute. T h e campaign had succeeded in reframing its brand
image by changing its customers' frame of reference from a global to a local perspective.
Although the firm had not changed any of its core or supplementary services, the per-
ceived strength of being a Long Island bank for Long Islanders now had a strongly pos-
itive halo effect on all other attributes.

NEW SERVICE DEVELOPMENT
Competitive intensity and customer expectations are increasing in nearly all service
industries.Thus success lies not only in providing existing services well, but also in cre-
ating new approaches to service. Because the outcome and process aspects of a service
often combine to create the experience and benefits obtained by customers, both
aspects must be addressed in new service development.


A Hierarchy of Service Innovation
The word " n e w " is popular in marketing because it's a good way to attract people's
attention. However, there are different degrees of "newness" in n e w service develop-
ment. In fact, we can identify seven categories of new services, ranging from major
innovations to simple style changes.
1. Major service innovations are n e w core products for markets that have not been
previously defined. They usually include both new service characteristics and
radical new processes. Examples include FedEx's introduction of overnight,
nationwide, express package delivery in 1971, the advent of global news service
from C N N , and eBay's launch of online auction services.
2. Major process innovations consist of using new processes to deliver existing core
products in new ways with additional benefits. For example, the University of
P h o e n i x competes w i t h other universities by delivering undergraduate and
graduate degree programs in a nontraditional way. It has no permanent campus;
instead its courses are offered online or at night in rented facilities. Its students
get most of the core benefits of a college degree in half the time and at a much
lower price than other universities. 15 T h e existence of the Internet has led to the
creation of many start-up businesses employing n e w retailing models that
exclude the use of traditional stores, saving customers time and travel costs.
Often, these models add new, information-based benefits such as greater cus-
tomization, the opportunity to visit chat rooms with fellow customers, and sug-
gestions for additional products that complement what has already been pur-
chased.
3. Product line extensions are additions to current product lines by existing firms.The
first company in a market to offer such a product may be seen as an innovator,
but the others are merely followers w h o are often acting defensively.These new
services may be targeted at existing customers to serve a broader array of needs,
designed to attract n e w customers with different needs, or both. Starbucks,
k n o w n for its coffee shops, has extended its offerings to include light lunches
(Figure 10.9).
Major computer manufacturers like Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM
are going beyond their traditional business definitions to offer integrated
"e-solutions" based on consulting and customized service. Telephone compa-
nies have introduced numerous value-added services such as caller ID, call wait-
ing, and call forwarding. Cable television providers are starting to offer broad-
band Internet access. Many banks sell insurance products in the h o p e of
increasing the n u m b e r of profitable relationships w i t h existing customers.
American Express, too, offers a full range of insurance products, including auto,
home, and umbrella policies. And at least one insurance company—State Farm
Insurance—has gone into the banking business, relying on its well-established
brand name to help draw customers.
4. Process line extensions are less innovative than process innovations. But they do
often represent distinctive new ways of delivering existing products, either with
the intent of offering more convenience and a different experience for existing
customers or of attracting n e w customers w h o find the traditional approach
unappealing. Most commonly, they involve adding a lower-contact distribution
channel to an existing high-contact channel, as w h e n a financial service firm
develops telephone-based or Internet-based services or a bricks-and-mortar
retailer adds catalog sales or a Web site. For example, Barnes and Noble, the lead-
ing bookstore chain in the U n i t e d States, added a n e w Internet subsidiary,


FIGURE 10.9
Starbucks Promotes Its Expanded
Service Offering

BarnesandNoble.com, to help it compete against Amazon.com. Creating self-
service options for customers to complement delivery by service employees is
another form of process line extension.
5. Supplementary service innovations involve adding new facilitating or enhancing ser-
vice elements to an existing core service, or significantly improving an existing
supplementary service. Low-tech innovations for an existing service can be as
simple as adding parking at a retail site or agreeing to accept credit cards for pay-
ment. Multiple improvements may have the effect of creating what customers
perceive as an altogether new experience, even though it is built around the
same core. T h e m e restaurants like the Rainforest Cafe are examples of enhanc-
ing the core with new experiences. T h e cafes are designed to keep customers
entertained with aquariums, live parrots, waterfalls, fiberglass monkeys, talking
trees that spout environmentally related information, and regularly timed thun-
derstorms, complete with lightning. 1 7
6. Service improvements are the most c o m m o n type of innovation. T h e y involve
modest changes in the performance of current products, including improve-
ments to either the core product or to existing supplementary services. For
instance, a movie theater might renovate its interior, adding ergonomically
designed seats with built-in cup holders to increase both comfort and conve-
nience for customers during the show or an airline might add power sockets for
laptops in its business-class cabins.
7. Style changes represent the simplest type of innovation, typically involving no
changes in either processes or performance. However they are often highly visi-
ble, create excitement, and may serve to motivate employees. Examples include


repainting retail branches and vehicles in new color schemes, outfitting service
employees in n e w uniforms, introducing a new bank check design, or making
minor changes in service scripts for employees.
As you can see, service innovation can occur at many different levels. It's important
to recognize that not every type of innovation has an impact on the characteristics of
the core product or results in a significant change in the customer's experience.

Creating a New Service to Fill an Empty Market Position
As we noted earlier, positioning research sometimes reveals new opportunities in the
marketplace. Perceptual maps can highlight positions where there is expressed or latent
demand for a certain type of service but none of the existing offerings have attributes
that closely meet potential customers' requirements. W h e n a firm uncovers such an
opportunity, the only way to take advantage of it is to develop a new service with the
desired characteristics.
Service design is not typically a simple task. Most n e w services involve c o m p r o -
mises, because there are usually limits to what most prospective customers are will-
ing to pay. And service providers must be careful not to lose control of their costs in
coming up with superior performance levels on the product characteristics that cus-
tomers desire. So h o w can product planners d e t e r m i n e what features and price will
create the best value for target customers? It's hard to k n o w w i t h o u t asking prospec-
tive u s e r s — h e n c e the n e e d for research. Let's e x a m i n e h o w the M a r r i o t t
Corporation employed market research to help develop a n e w service concept in the
lodging industry.
Marriott had identified a niche in the business travel market between full-service
hotels and inexpensive motels. T h e opportunities were seen as especially attractive in
locations where demand was not high e n o u g h to justify a large full-service hotel.
Having confirmed the presence of a niche where there was u n m e t market demand,
Marriott executives set out to develop a product to fill that gap. As a first step, the c o m -
pany hired marketing research experts to help establish an optimal design concept. 1 8
Since there are limits to h o w much service and h o w many amenities can be offered at
any given price, Marriott needed to know how customers would make trade-offs in
order to arrive at the most satisfactory compromise in terms of value for money. T h e
intent of the research was to get respondents to trade off different hotel service features
to see which ones they valued most.
A sample of 601 consumers (who were part of the business travel market) from
four metropolitan areas participated in the study. Researchers used a sophisticated
technique k n o w n as conjoint analysis that asks survey respondents to make trade-offs
between different groupings of attributes. T h e objective is to determine which mix of
attributes at specific prices offers the highest degree of utility. T h e 50 attributes in the
Marriott study were divided into the following seven factors (or sets of attributes),
each containing a variety of different features based on detailed studies of competing
offerings:
1. External factors—building shape, landscaping, pool type and location, hotel size
2. Room features—room size and decor, climate control, location and type of bath-
room, entertainment systems, other amenities
3. Food-related services—type and location of restaurants, menus, room service, vend-
ing machines, guest shop, in-room kitchen
4. Lounge facilities—location, atmosphere, type of guests
5. Services—reservations, registration, check-out, airport limo, bell desk, message
center, secretarial services, car rental, laundry, valet

FIGURE 10.10 W l ^ a H l i H H M B M M H H a a i M a H M I H
Sample Description of a ROOM PRICE PER NIGHT IS $44.85
Hotel Offering BUILDING SIZE, BAR/LOUNGE
Large (600 rooms), 12-story hotel with:
• Quiet bar/lounge
• Enclosed central corridors and elevators
• All rooms have very large windows
LANDSCAPING/COURT
Building forms a spacious outdoor courtyard
• View from rooms of moderately landscaped courtyard with:
—many trees and shrubs
—the swimming pool plus a fountain
—terraced areas for sunning, sitting, eating
FOOD
Small, moderately priced lounge and restaurant for hotel guests/friends
• Limited breakfast with juices, fruit, Danish, cereal, bacon and eggs
• Lunch—soup and sandwiches only
• Evening meal—salad, soup, sandwiches, six hot entrees including steak
HOTEL/MOTEL ROOM QUALITY
Quality of room furnishings, carpet, etc. is similar to:
• Hyatt Regency Hotels
• Westin "Plaza" Hotels
ROOM SIZE AND FUNCTION
Room one foot longer than typical hotel/motel room
• Space for comfortable sofa-bed and 2 chairs
• Large desk
• Coffee table
• Coffee maker and small refrigerator
SERVICE STANDARDS
Full service including:
• Rapid check in/check out systems
• Reliable message service
• Valet (laundry pick up/deliver)
• Bellman
• Someone (concierge) arranges reservations, tickets, and generally
at no cost
• Cleanliness, upkeep, management similar to:
—Hyatts
—Marriotts
LEISURE
• Combination indoor-outdoor pool
• Enclosed whirlpool (Jacuzzi)
• Well-equipped playroom/playground for kids
SECURITY
• Night guard on duty 7 P.M. to 7 A.M.
• Fire/water sprinklers throughout hotel

Source: Jerry Wind et al., "Courtyard by Marriott: Designing a Hotel Facility with Customer-Based Marketing Models," Interfaces,
January/February 1989, 25-47.

C H A P T E R TEN - SERVICE P O S I T I O N I N G AND DESIGN 235

6. Leisure facilities—sauna, whirlpool, exercise room, racquetball and tennis courts,
game room, children's playground
7. Security—guards, smoke detectors, 24-hour video camera
For each of these seven factors, respondents were presented with a series of stimu-
lus cards displaying different levels of performance for each attribute. For instance, the
"Rooms" stimulus card displayed nine attributes, each of which had three to five differ-
ent levels. Thus, amenities ranged from "small bar of soap" to "large soap, shampoo
packet, shoeshine mitt" to "large soap, bath gel, shower cap, sewing kit, shampoo, special
soap" and then to the highest level, "large soap, bath gel, shower cap, sewing kit, special
soap, toothpaste, etc."
In the second phase of the analysis, respondents were shown cards depicting a n u m -
ber of alternative hotel profiles, each featuring different levels of performance on the
various attributes contained in the seven factors.They were asked to indicate on a five-
point scale how likely they would be to stay at a hotel with these features, given a spe-
cific room price per night. Figure 10.10 shows one of the 50 cards that were developed
for this research. Each respondent received five cards.
The research yielded detailed guidelines for the selection of almost 200 features and
service elements, representing those attributes that provided customers in the target seg-
ment with the highest utility for the prices they were willing to pay. An important
aspect of the study was that it focused not only on what travelers wanted, but also iden-
tified what they liked but weren't prepared to pay for. (There's a difference, after all,
between wanting something and being willing to pay for it!) Using these inputs, the
design team was able to meet the specified price while retaining the features most
desired by the study participants, w h o represented the desired business traveler market.
Marriott was sufficiently encouraged by the findings to build three prototype hotels
that were given the brand name, "Courtyard by Marriott." After testing the concept
under real-world conditions and making some refinements, the company developed a
large chain whose advertising slogan became " C o u r t y a r d by M a r r i o t t — t h e hotel
designed by business travelers." T h e new hotel concept filled a gap in the market with a
product that represented the best balance between the price customers were prepared to
pay and the physical and service features they most desired. T h e success of this project
subsequently led Marriott to develop additional customer-driven products—Fairfield
Inn and Marriott Suites—using the same research methodology.

Conclusion
Service companies must find ways to create meaningful competitive advantages for their
products by responding to specific customer needs and developing a distinctive service
strategy that responds to those needs better than any competing product. Successful
positioning strategies are based on relating the opportunities (and threats) uncovered by
market and competitive analysis to the firm's own strengths and weaknesses.
In this chapter, we introduced perceptual mapping, an important tool that compa-
nies can use to help define their competitive positions. Perceptual maps present a visual
display of how competing firms perform relative to each other on key service attributes.
This technique can be used to analyze opportunities for developing new services or
repositioning existing ones so that companies can establish and maintain a sustainable
competitive advantage by effectively addressing the needs and expectations of their tar-
get markets.
Because of the difficult challenge faced by service providers in differentiating intan-
gible performances, branding plays a special role in defining and positioning a c o m -


pany s service offerings. Creating a distinctive branded service experience for customers
requires consistency at all stages of the service delivery process. In designing services,
managers should be aware of the importance of selecting the right mix of supplemen-
tary service elements—no more and no less than needed—and creating synergy to
ensure that they contribute to a consistent, positive brand image.

1. Give examples of companies in other industries that are facing challenges similar
to those of the travel agents in the opening story. Describe what service strategies
these companies might use to compete effectively.
2. W h y should service firms focus their efforts? W h a t options do they have for
doing so?
3. In a sentence or two, describe Amtrak's service strategy for its new Acela Express
service (refer to the boxed example on page 218).
4. Describe what is meant by the term "positioning." Choose an industry you are
familiar with (like fast-food restaurants or movie theaters) and create a perceptual
map showing the competitive positions of different companies in the industry.
5. Explain why branding is particularly important for services. W h i c h service brands
are you familiar with? What do they tell you about the companies they are
associated with?
6. Discuss how a company's product attributes (including the core and
supplementary services), price, and marketing communications all work together
to create a branded customer experience. Provide an example of a service firm
that you think has integrated these elements particularly well.
7. Define the seven categories of new services. Provide your own example for each
category.

Endnotes
1. From J. Case and J. Useem, "Six Characters in Search of a Strategy," Inc. Magazine, March
1996,46-55.
2. George S. Day, Market Driven Strategy (NewYork:The Free Press, 1990), 164.
3. See R. H. Hayes and S. C. Wheelwright, Restoring Our Competitive Edge (New York: Wiley
and Sons, 1984);J. L. Heskett, Managing in the Service Economy (Boston, MA: Harvard
Business School Press, 1986); and J. L. Heskett,W E. Sasser, and C.W. L. Hart, Service
Breakthroughs: Changing the Rules of the Game (NewYork:The Free Press, 1990).
4. Robert Johnston, "Achieving Focus in Service Organizations," The Service Industries
Journal 16 (January 1996): 10-20.
5. Leonard L. Berry, On Great Service (NewYork:The Free Press, 1995), 62-63.
6. Graham Clark, Robert Johnston, and Michael Shulver, "Exploiting the Service Concept
for Service Design and Development," in New Service Development: Creating Memorable
Experiences (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2000), 71—91.
7. Leonard L. Berry, "Cultivating Service Brand Equity," Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science 28, no. 1(2000): 132.
8. Jack Trout, The New Positioning:The Latest on the World's #1 Business Strategy (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1997). See also Al Ries and Jack Trout, Positioning: The Battle jorYour Mind,
reissue ed. (NewYork: Warner Books, 1993).
9. Information from William G. Zikmund and Michael d'Amico, Marketing: Creating and
Keeping Customers in an E-Commerce World (Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College


Publishing, 2001), 275—276; and Bruce Horovitz, "Dreaming Big Top: Cirque de Soleil
Aims to Be Worldwide Brand," USA Today, 18 March 1999.
10. Berry,"Cultivating Service Brand Equity," p. 128.
11. Laura Koss Feder, "Branding Culture: Nonprofits Turn to Marketing to Improve Image
and Bring in the Bucks," Marketing News, 1 January 1998, 1.
12. Thomas A. Stewart,"A Satisfied Customer Isn't Enough," Fortune, 21 July 1997,112-113.
13. Jochen Wirtz and John E. G. Bateson,"An Experimental Investigation of Halo Effects in
Satisfaction Measures of Service Attributes," International Journal of Service Industry
Management 6, no. 3 (1995): 84-102.
14. Al Ries and Jack Trout, Positioning :The Battle jorYour Mind, 1st ed., rev. (New York: Warner
Books, 1986).
15. See James Traub, "Drive-Thru U.," The NewYorker, 20 and 27 October 1997; and Joshua
Macht, "Virtual You," Inc. Magazine, January 1998, 84-87.
16. Mark Boslet and Elinor Abreu, "The New HP Way," The Industry Standard, 25 September
2000,58-61.
17. Chad Rubel,"New Menu for Restaurants: Talking Trees and Blackjack, Marketing News,
29 July 1996,1.
18. Jerry Wind, Paul E. Green, Douglas Shifflet, and Marsha Scarbrough, "Courtyard by
Marriott: Designing a Hotel Facility with Consumer-Based Marketing Models," Interfaces
(January-February 1989); 25-47.

Service Delivery Issues

In Part IV, we address the task of how to deliver service products Another key service delivery consideration is: When and
to the customer. As shown in Figure IV. 1, managers face three where should our service be available? Success in services
key questions: What are the options for delivering our ser- increasingly depends on offering customers convenience.
vice? How can we balance productivity and quality con- Electronic delivery through the Internet has the advantage of being
cerns? How should we match demand and productive accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from a location of the
capacity? Service delivery issues have been dominated tradi- customer's choosing. Finally, managers need to address the issue
tionally by operations. But progressive service organizations also of What options exist for using third-party intermediaries? Often a
include their marketing and human resource managers in these case can be made for subcontracting some aspects of service
types of decisions. delivery to intermediaries who possess special expertise and may
Before they can make decisions on service delivery (the topic have better access to customers.
of Chapter 11), managers need to ask, What physical and electronic The challenge of balancing productivity and quality presents an
channels can we use? Service delivery is closely linked to the ongoing headache for businesses. It can lead to conflict between
choice of service process—whether the service involves the physi- marketers—who are advocates of customer satisfaction—and
cal person of the customer, a tangible possession, or some form of operations managers, who are concerned with efficiency and cost
information. In high-contact services customers encounter employ- control. As we note in earlier chapters, customers' perceptions of
ees and physical evidence of facilities. Even when physical chan- service quality tend to be linked to their expectations of the service,
nels are necessary to deliver the core service, information-based raising the questions: What quality improvements are needed to
supplementary services may be delivered electronically. It's possi- meet or exceed customer expectations ? How can we reduce operat-
ble to deliver some information-based services entirely through ing costs without spoiling the appeal of our service? We address
automated, low-contact systems. Is it feasible to shift from high- these and other quality and productivity issues in Chapter 12.
contact to low-contact delivery? If so, Should we offer customers a Making optimal use of available capacity is one way to improve
choice? Abandoning existing high-contact delivery options is not productivity. However, many service businesses face wide swings in
necessarily a viable strategy. Some customers may not like the demand that result in wasted capacity when demand is low and lost
low-contact delivery alternatives, others may prefer having access business when it's too high. Chapter 13 addresses the question,
to both physical and electronic delivery channels. What strategies can we employ to match demand and capacity?'To

FIGURE IV. 1
Decisions Involving Service
Delivery

resolve this challenge, strategists need to understand both the of balancing demand against available capacity, since they allow
nature of productive capacity and the factors that underlie periodic customers to obtain a commitment for service delivery at a specific
variations in demand. Both marketing and operational strategies time in the future. Another approach is to develop a strategy for
can be employed. Issues relating to waiting lines and reservations managing waiting lines, designing them with reference to the antic-
are discussed in Chapter 14. Reservations systems provide one way ipated volume of business and the customer mix.

239

Creating Delivery Systems in Place,
Cyberspace, and Time
Kinko's: From Local Copyshop to Global
Business Service Provider
In 1970, 22-year-old Paul Orfalea, just out of college, borrowed rentals of conference rooms, notary public service, and sale of office
enough money to open a photocopy shop in Isla Vista, near the cam- supplies.
pus of the University of California at Santa Barbara.1 Covering just 100 Kinko's now describes itself as "the world's leading provider of
square feet (less than 10 square meters), the tiny store contained one visual communications services and document copying." The firm
copy machine and also sold film processing and felt-tip highlighter has created a global online network, employing broadband technol-
pens. Orfalea, the son of Lebanese immigrants, called the store ogy to link all its locations. Using Kinkonet, the firm's online service,
Kinko's after the nickname given to him by his college buddies customers can order supplies or submit files for printing. Thanks to
because of his curly reddish hair. Thirty years later, Kinko's boasted a digital file transmission, customers can compose reports in, say,
chain of almost one thousand printing and copying stores, operating Minneapolis and transmit them electronically to, say, Montreal
24 hours a day from coast to coast in the United States, plus branches where they can be printed and bound for a meeting. This procedure
in Canada, Britain, the Netherlands, Australia, United Arab Emirates, is an alternative to the traditional approach of first creating docu-
and three Asian countries. ments and graphics, then printing and binding them, and finally,
Kinko's offers ways to change companies' existing working pro- shipping them physically to another location. Through a partnership
cedures through services that include productivity consultation and with FedEx, couriers can deliver reports to local addresses in some
outsourcing of document management. It also appeals to business 55 markets within only four hours.Recognizing that not all cus-
travelers who may need to develop and deliver presentations, reports, tomers are in a position to transfer document files by modem and
and proposals far from their home offices. (A few years ago, Kinko's that printed materials may need to be delivered physically to their
even ran a national advertising campaign positioning the firm as "Your final destination, Kinko's has worked with FedEx to install "World
Branch Office.") Service Centers" at selected branches. These centers offer a full
Technological innovations in IT and printing have revolutionized complement of express shipping solutions and provide access to
Kinko's business model and created new methods of working for late pickups.
both the company and its customers. At its stores, Kinko's cus- In 2000, the firm announced creation of a separate company,
tomers can print in color in almost any size, bind their documents in Kinkos.com, combining its existing Internet-based activities with
many different ways, send faxes, and work on in-house computers. newly acquired e-business expertise, online design tools, and pro-
Many locations also offer videoconferencing technology. The com- prietary technology. Kinkos.com aimed to become a leading online
pany provides an array of other services and products, including resource for the small office/home office (SOHO) market, offering

customers 24/7 access to expert advice, powerful online tools, and
the worldwide Kinkos' network—all from their own desktops.
Kinkos.com has a clicks-and-mortar relationship with the store- After reading this chapter, you should
based company, using the latter's physical locations for in-store be able to
marketing, customer acquisition, and physical distribution. £> distinguish between physical and
electronic channels of delivery

£> recognize that delivery systems must
address issues of where, when, and
how service is to be delivered to
customers

^> define the three different types of
service delivery channels
£> understand the role of physical
evidence and servicescapes in service
delivery
^> explain the role of technology in
enhancing the speed, convenience,
and productivity of service delivery
systems

£> describe the role of intermediaries in
service delivery

241

242 PART FOUR • SERVICE DELIVERY ISSUES

EVALUATING ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY CHANNELS
This is both an exciting and challenging time for managers w h o are responsible for ser-
vice delivery. Customers are demanding more convenience, and they expect services to
be delivered where and w h e n they want them.- As the Kinko's example shows, new
technologies allow information-based services (and informational processes related to
supplementary services) to be delivered almost anywhere through electronic channels.
This chapter explores a key question in service management: What are the options
for delivering our service? In many cases, customers are no longer obliged to visit service
factories as the concept of going to a physical place for service delivery gives way to
delivery in cyberspace for information-based services.
In addition to moving from factory- to electronic-based delivery, progressive firms
are coming up with different formats for face-to-face delivery in new locations. Such
innovations include services like massage clinics on airport concourses and Wells Fargo's
tiny bank branches occupying booths at the end of supermarket aisles.

Physical versus Electronic Delivery
As service managers consider the options for delivering their services, two key questions
are, What physical and electronic channels can we use? and Is it feasible to switch from high-contact
to low-contact delivery? While goods require physical distribution, those services that are
information based can be delivered through either electronic or physical channels. Many
of the supplementary services surrounding both intangible and tangible core products
can now be delivered electronically. Even service businesses that involve physical core
products—like retailing and repair—are shifting delivery of many supplementary services
to the Web, closing some of their physical branches, and moving to low-contact strategies
for interacting with customers. As you can see in Figure 11.1, five of the eight petals of

FIGURE 11.1
Information and Physical
Processes Within the
Augmented Service Product

C H A P T E R ELEVEN • CREATING DELIVERY SYSTEMS IN PLACE, CYBERSPACE, AND TIME 243

the augmented service product are information-based processes that can be delivered
either physically or electronically. Consultation, order taking, billing, payment, and infor-
mation can all be transmitted in the digital code of computers.
T h e growth of electronic channels is creating a fundamental change in the nature
of marketing. Customers are moving from face-to-face contacts with suppliers in fixed
locations that only operate during fixed hours to remote contacts in cyberspace, "any- cyberspace: a term used to
where, anytime." describe the absence of a
More and more services n o w fall into the category of arm's length relationships definable physical location
rather than face-to-face interactions. As Rayport and Sviokla note: where electronic transactions
or communications occur.
Tiie traditional marketplace interaction between physical seller and physical buyer has
been eliminated. In fact, everything about this new type of transaction—what we call a
marketspace transaction—is different from what happens in the marketplace.

The Marketplace Companies doing business in the marketplace need a physical marketplace: a physical
environment in which customers can get together with suppliers to inspect location where suppliers and
merchandise or conduct service-related business. We can't get rid of the marketplace for customers meet to do
people-processing services, because these services require customers to enter the business.
physical environment of a service factory. In some instances, customers don't want to
get rid of the marketplace because it is the physical and social environment that attracts
them, like in destination resorts.

The Marketspace Companies doing business in the marketspace may be able to marketspace: a virtual
replace contact with physical objects with information about those objects (as in a paper location in cyberspace, made
or electronic catalog). For information-based services the context in which the possible by telephone and
transaction occurs is also different, with on-screen (or on-telephone) contact replacing Internet linkages, where
physical contact; customers may also have the option to replace service from contact customers and suppliers
conduct business
personnel by self-service through intelligent interactive systems.
electronically.
A desire to save time has been one of the driving forces behind these trends, reflecting
customer preferences for ever faster and more convenient service. A second factor has been
interest on the part of some customers in obtaining easily accessible information about the
goods and services that they buy. Ironically, electronic contacts may bring customers
"closer" to manufacturers and service suppliers. Managers are beginning to realize that the
opportunity to develop increased knowledge of customers may be as important a reason for
doing business in the marketspace as seeking cost savings by eliminating physical contact.
Conducting dialog with customers about their needs and preferences (information that can
be stored in databases for future reference) can lead to delivery of better and more cus-
tomized service—which may create greater value and therefore command higher prices.

Designing the Service Delivery Process
The nature of the service both influences and is shaped by distribution strategy. In high-
contact services, the design of the physical environment and the way in w h i c h
customer-contact personnel perform their tasks help create a distinctive identity for a
service firm, shape the nature of customers' experiences, and enhance both productivity
and quality. However, low-contact services are often designed specifically with
improved productivity in mind. More and more frequently, customers deliver these ser-
vices themselves through self-service technologies rather than interacting directly with
service employees.
T h e design of service delivery systems should start with the core product and then
be expanded to include the delivery of each of the supplementary services. Managers

244 PART F O U R • SERVICE DELIVERY ISSUES

responsible for developing service delivery strategy will need to address the following
marketing and operations issues:
*- What should be the nature of contact between the service provider and its customers!
Should customers come to the provider or the other way around? Or should the
two parties deal at arm's length, using mail and telecommunications (ranging
from telephone to the Web)?
>- What should be the sequencing of the various steps in the service delivery process! Both
operational and customer preferences need to be taken into account in making
this decision. T h e blueprinting methods we discussed in Chapter 7 can be used
in exploring alternative delivery sequences.
>- Wliere (location) and when (scheduling) should these steps take place! T h e choice today
is not only between different physical locations but also between physical space
and cyberspace.
>- Wliat should be the nature of customer involvement at each step! If customers are
required to be present, should they be served in batches or individually?
Alternatively, should they serve themselves?
>- Wliat imagery and atmosphere should the service delivery environment (or servicescape)
try to create? For a high-contact service, this concerns decisions on: facility design
and layout; staff uniforms, appearance, and attitudes; the type of furnishings and
equipment installed; and the use of music, lighting, and decor.
^Should a service firm take responsibility for the entire delivery process or delegate
some steps to intermediaries? S o m e supplementary services, like information
and reservations, can be h a n d l e d very efficiently and cost-effectively by
intermediaries.
»- What should be the serving protocol? Should the firm operate a reservations system
or work on a first-come, first-served basis, using queuing when necessary? Or
should a priority system be established for certain types of customers (like many
firms do for their larger industrial accounts or airlines do for their gold card fre-
quent flyers)?

OPTIONS FOR SERVICE DELIVERY
D e l i v e r i n g a service to customers involves answering the questions " w h e r e ? "
" w h e n ? " and " h o w ? " Service marketing strategy must address place and time, paying
at least as m u c h attention to speed, scheduling, and the potential for electronic access
in cyberspace issues as to the more traditional notion of physical location. T h e nature
of the delivery system has a powerful impact on the customer's experience with the
service product.
Service delivery strategy is shaped by several factors, including the nature of the
business, the service processes employed, the types of customers targeted, and produc-
tivity and quality concerns. A key question is whether the nature of the service or the
firm's positioning strategy requires customers to be in direct physical contact with its
personnel, equipment, and facilities. If so, do customers need to visit the service organi-
zation's facilities or should personnel and equipment be sent to the customer's site?
Alternatively, can transactions between provider and customer be completed at arm's
length through either telecommunications or modern physical channels of distribution?
A second issue concerns the firm's strategy in terms of distribution sites. Should it main-
tain just a single outlet or serve customers through multiple outlets at different loca-
tions? T h e possible options, combining both type of contact and number of sites, can be
seen in Table 11.1.

C H A P T E R E L E V E N • C R E A T I N G DELIVERY S Y S T E M S I N PLACE, CYBERSPACE, A N D T I M E 245

T A B L E 11.1
Method of Service Delivery

Should we offer customers a choice? Just because a service can be delivered through
low-contact channels doesn't necessarily mean it should be. Astute marketers recog-
nize that preferences may vary from one customer to another and even from one sit-
uation to another for the same customer. Like Kinko's, many companies offer their
customers a choice of delivery c h a n n e l s . D e p e n d i n g on the nature of the service, delivery channels: the
options may include serving a customer at a firm's o w n retail sites, delegating service means by which a service
delivery to an intermediary or franchisee, coming to the customer's house or place of firm (sometimes assisted by
business, and (in certain types of services) serving the customer at a distance through intermediaries) delivers one
physical or electronic channels. or more product elements to
its customers.

Customers Visit the Service Site
The convenience of service factory locations and operational schedules becomes an
important marketing issue w h e n customers are required to be physically present
throughout service delivery—or even just to initiate and terminate the transaction.
Retail gravity m o d e l s and other elaborate statistical techniques are sometimes used to retail gravity model: a
help decide h o w to locate businesses relative to where prospective customers live or mathematical approach to
work. Traffic and pedestrian counts are used to establish h o w many prospective cus- retail site selection that
tomers pass certain locations each day. Construction of a new highway or the introduc- involves calculating the
tion of new rail or bus service may have a significant effect on travel patterns and, in geographic center of gravity
for the target population and
turn, determine which sites are now more desirable and which, less so.
then locating a facility to
optimize customers' ease of
Providers Come to the Customer access.

For some types of services, the supplier visits the customer. This is, of course, essential
when the target of the service is some immovable physical object like a building that
needs cleaning, a large machine that needs repair, a house that requires pest-control
treatment, or a garden that needs landscaping. Since it's more expensive and time con-
suming for service personnel and their equipment to travel to the customer than vice
versa, the trend has been away from this approach where possible (few doctors make
house calls nowadays!).
There may still be a profitable niche in serving customers w h o are willing to pay
a p r e m i u m price for the convenience of receiving personal visits from service
providers. O n e young veterinarian has built her business around house calls to sick
pets. She found that customers were glad to pay extra for a service that not only saves
them time but is also less stressful for the pet than waiting in a crowded veterinary
clinic, full of other animals and their worried owners. In remote areas such as Alaska
or Canada's Northwest Territory, service providers may have to fly to their customers.

246 PART F O U R • S E R V I C E D E L I V E R Y I S S U E S

Australia is famous for its Royal Flying D o c t o r Service, in which physicians fly to
make house calls at remote farms and stations. O t h e r more recently established ser-
vices that travel to the customer include mobile car washing and windshield repair,
office and i n - h o m e catering, and m a d e - t o - m e a s u r e tailoring services for business
people. Some Web-based businesses were developed around the concept of home
delivery of retail goods in markets where this type of service delivery had not previ-
ously been a viable option. b

Aggreko: A Different Kind
of Rental Company
from needs that are foreseen far in advance—such as the
You probably think of electricity as coming from a distant power sta- Olympics and other major events, backup operations during factory
tion and of air conditioning and heating as fixed installations. So how maintenance, or a package of services during the filming of a
would you deal with the following challenges? Luciano Pavarotti is James Bond movie—the firm is also poised to resolve problems
giving an open-air concert in Miinster, Germany, and the organizers arising unexpectedly from emergencies.
require an uninterruptible source of electrical power for the duration Much of the firm's rental equipment is contained in sound-
of the concert, independent of the local electricity supply. A tropical proofed, boxlike structures that can be shipped anywhere in the
cyclone has devastated the small mining town of Pannawonica in world and coupled together to create the specific type and level of
Western Australia, destroying everything in its path, including power electrical power output or climate-control capability required by
lines, and it's urgent that electrical power be restored as soon as pos- the client. Consultation, installation, and ongoing technical support
sible so that the town and its infrastructure can be rebuilt. In add value to the core service. Says a company brochure
Amsterdam, organizers of the World Championship Indoor Wind- "Emphasis is placed on solving customer problems rather than
surfing competition need power for 27 wind turbines to create strong just renting equipment." Some customers have a clear idea in
winds across a huge indoor pool. A U.S. Navy submarine needs a advance of their needs, others require advice on how to develop
shore-based source of power when it spends time in a remote innovative, cost-effective solutions to what may be unique prob-
Norwegian port. Sri Lanka faces an acute shortage of electricity- lems, and still others are desperate to restore power that has been
generating capability when water levels fall dangerously low at the lost due to an emergency. In the last-mentioned instance, speed is
country's major hydroelectric dams due to insufficient monsoon rains of the essence since downtime can be extremely expensive and in
two years in a row. A large, power-generating plant in Oklahoma some cases lives may depend on the promptness of Aggreko's
urgently seeks temporary capacity to replace one of its cooling tow- response.
ers, destroyed yesterday in a tornado. And the organizers of the 2002 Delivering service requires that Aggreko ship its equipment to
Winter Olympics outside Salt Lake City need a temporary, portable the customer's site, so that the needed power or temperature con-
electricity generating and distribution system with a capacity equiva- trol can be available at the right place and time. Following the
lent to that required to power a city of two million people. Pannawonica cyclone, Aggreko's Western Australia team swung
These are all challenges faced and met by a company called into action, rapidly organizing the dispatch of some 30 generators
Aggreko, which describes itself as "The World Leader in Utility ranging in size from 60 to 750 kVA, plus cabling, refueling tankers,
Rental Solutions." Aggreko operates from more than 110 depots in and other equipment. The generators were transported by means
20 countries around the world. It rents a "fleet" of mobile electricity of four "road trains," each comprising a giant tractor unit hauling
generators, oil-free air compressors, and temperature control three 40-foot (13m) trailers. A full infrastructure team of techni-
devices ranging from water chillers and industrial air conditioners cians and additional equipment were flown in on two Hercules air-
to giant heaters and dehumidifiers. craft. The Aggreko technicians remained on site for six weeks, pro-
Aggreko's customer base is dominated by large companies viding 24-hour service while the town was being rebuilt.
and government agencies. Although a lot of its business comes

Source: Aggreko's "International Magazine," 1997, Web site www.aggreko.com, January 2001.

CHAPTER ELEVEN . CREATING DELIVERY SYSTEMS IN PLACE, CYBERSPACE, AND TIME 247

Service providers are more likely to visit corporate customers at their premises
than individuals in their homes, reflecting the greater volume of business purchased
and the trend toward outsourcing of activities such as cleaning and security. Many
organizations need s h o r t - t e r m rentals of equipment and labor for special purposes or
to boost productive capacity during busy periods. Aggreko, an international c o m -
pany that rents generating and cooling equipment, is prepared to go anywhere in the
world—and often at very short notice (see the box, "Aggreko: A Different Kind of
Rental C o m p a n y " ) .

Arm's Length Transactions
Dealing with a service organization through arm's l e n g t h transactions may mean arm's length transactions:
that a customer never sees the service facilities or meets service personnel. As a result, interactions between
service encounters tend to be fewer in number and involve telephone, mail, fax, Web customers and service
sites, or e-mail. 6 T h e outcome of using the service remains very important to the cus- suppliers in which mail or
telecommunications
tomer, but much of the service delivery process is hidden. Credit cards and insurance are
minimize the need to meet
examples of services that can be requested and delivered by mail or telecommunica-
face-to-face.
tions. Small equipment repair can often be handled by shipping the item to a mainte-
nance facility. Companies like Stamps.com sell software, and Web-based services enable
business customers to send first-class, priority, and express mail right from their office
computers. Mailing and shipping histories can be tracked online.
Any information-based product can be delivered almost instantaneously through
telecommunication channels to any point in the globe where a suitable reception ter-
minal exists. As a result, physical logistics services, such as FedEx, UPS, and national
postal services, n o w find themselves c o m p e t i n g with telecommunications services.
W h e n we were writing this book, for instance, we had a choice of mail or courier ser-
vices for physical shipments of the chapters in either paper or disk form. We could also
fax the materials, feeding in the pages one sheet at a time. But by using e-mail, we were
able to transmit chapters electronically from one computer to another, with the option
of printing them out at the receiving end. In fact, we used all three methods, depending
on the nature of the page (hand-drawn images and ads were faxed or mailed), time pres-
sures, and the need for backup in the form of files saved on disks.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE AND THE SERVICESCAPE
W h e n customers visit a service facility, they expect it to be user friendly—easy to find,
simple to use, and staffed by helpful personnel. Operations specialists tend to focus on the
functional aspects of facility design, with an emphasis on productive use of resources and
safe, efficient delivery of services. But marketers also care about the impression that ser-
vice facilities and personnel make on customers and how they contribute to the overall
service experience. In many instances, it's the nature of that experience that differentiates
one service provider from its competitors. So marketers must address the question: What
physical evidence should our facilities present? W h e n you go to a service factory and interact
directly with employees, you're exposed to more compelling evidence than when service
is delivered at your h o m e (or work locations) or through electronic channels.
Physical evidence—one of the 8Ps of integrated service management—refers, first,
to the tangible elements encountered by customers in the service delivery environment
and, second, to the tangible metaphors used in symbols, slogans, or advertising messages.
For example, the clean streets, colorful signage, and costumed employees of theme parks
like Disneyland and Legoland contribute to the sense of fun and excitement that
visitors encounter on arrival and throughout the service experience. Alternatively, con-
sider the office of a successful professional business—an investment bank or a law

248 PART FOUR • SERVICE DELIVERY I S S U E S

firm—where wood-paneled walls, leather-bound books, and antique furnishings are
used to create an elegant and impressive atmosphere. Marketers use strategically man-
aged physical evidence in three ways:
1. As an attention-creating medium, differentiating their company's services from
those of competitors and attracting customers from target segments
2. As a message-creating medium, using symbolic cues to communicate with the
intended audience about the distinctive nature and quality of the service experi-
ence
3. As an effect-creating medium, employing colors, textures, sounds, scents, and
spatial design to create or heighten an appetite for certain goods, services, or
experiences

FIGURE 11.2
Distinctive Servicescapes,
from Table Settings to
Furniture and Room Design,
Create Different Customer
Expectations of These Two
Restaurants

CHAPTER ELEVEN • CREATING DELIVERY SYSTEMS IN PLACE, CYBERSPACE, AND TIME 249

Antique stores provide a nice example of how carefully crafted physical evidence
can become an important effect-creating medium. As Philip Kotler noted:

Many antique dealers also make use of "organizational chaos" as an atmospheric
principle for selling their wares. The buyer enters the store and sees a few nice pieces
and a considerable amount of junk. The nice pieces are randomly scattered in different
parts of the store. The dealer gives the impression, through his prices and his talk, that
he doesn't really know values. The buyer therefore browses quite systematically, hop-
ing to spot an undiscovered Old Master hidden among the dusty canvases of third-
rate artists. He ends up buying something that he regards as value. Little does
he know that the whole atmosphere has been arranged to create a sense of hidden
treasures.1

Take a look at Figure 11.2, which shows the interiors of two restaurants. Imagine
that you have just entered one of these two dining rooms and examine the physical evi-
dence each picture provides. H o w is each establishment positioning itself within the
restaurant industry? What sort of meal experience can you expect? W h i c h clues do you
use in making your judgments?
Resort hotels provide another illustration of h o w physical evidence can be used as
both an attention-creating and an effect-creating m e d i u m . C l u b Med's villages,
designed to create a totally carefree atmosphere, may have provided the original inspira-
tion for "get-away" holiday environments. T h e new destination resorts are not only far
more luxurious than Club M e d but also draw inspiration from theme park approaches
to creating fantasy environments both inside and outside. Perhaps the most extreme
examples come from Las Vegas. Facing competition from numerous casinos in other
locations, Las Vegas has been trying to reposition itself from a purely adult destination,
once described in a London newspaper as "the electric Sodom and Gomorrah," to a
somewhat more wholesome resort appealing to families and convention organizers as
well. The gambling is still there, of course, but many of the recently built (or rebuilt)
hotels have been transformed into visually striking entertainment centers that feature
such attractions as erupting "volcanoes," m o c k sea battles, and even reproductions of
Venice and its canals.

Servicescape Design
The term servicescape describes the style and appearance of the physical surroundings
where customers and service providers interact. 8 Since servicescapes can create power-
ful positive or negative impressions, it is important to manage them effectively (espe-
cially in high-contact environments). Consider these examples:
>• Airlines employ corporate design consultants to help t h e m differentiate the
appearance of their aircraft and employees from those of competitors. Although
the flight attendants from many airlines look interchangeable in their black or
navy blue outfits, some have distinctive uniforms that identify them as employ-
ees of uniquely positioned carriers like Singapore Airlines or Southwest
Airlines. And most airlines have specific color combinations and logos that
appear consistently in the interior decor of the plane, the napkins, the snack
food packaging, etc.
>- Restaurants often seem to pay more attention to design than to the food they
offer. Furnishings, pictures, real or fake antiques, carpeting, lighting, and choice
of live or background music all seek to reinforce a desired look and style that
may or may not be related to the cuisine. Some restaurants follow themes in
both decor and food service. For example, the menus for the O u t b a c k

250 PART FOUR • SERVICE D E L I V E R Y I S S U E S

Steakhouse chain list hearty foods and beverages with distinctive names, and the
settings are designed to make guests feel like they have just taken a journey
"down under" to Australia for a meal.
*- Many expensive hotels have b e c o m e architectural statements. Some occupy
classic buildings, lovingly restored at huge expense to a far higher level of lux-
ury than ever k n o w n in the past, and using antique furnishings and rugs to
reinforce their "old world" style. M o d e r n hotels sometimes feature dramatic
atriums in which w a l l - m o u n t e d elevators splash d o w n in fountains. Resort
hotels invest e n o r m o u s sums to plant and maintain exotic gardens on their
grounds.
As in a theater, servicescape elements like scenery, lighting, music and other sounds,
special effects, and the appearance of the actors (employees) and audience members
(customers) all serve to create an atmosphere in which the service performance takes
place. In certain types of businesses, servicescapes are enhanced by judicious use of
sounds, smells, and the textures of physical surfaces. W h e r e food and drink are served, of
course, taste is also highly relevant.
For first-time customers in particular, the servicescape plays an important role in
helping frame expectations about both the style and quality of service to be provided.
Because it's hard to evaluate many service performances in advance (or even after ser-
vice delivery), customers seek pre-purchase clues about service quality. Hence, first
impressions are important. But as customers move beyond the initial contact point, con-

Let's Go Shopping
(Maybe at Your Store)
shopping experience. The Internet, in-store pharmacy, cleaners,
5 CART [RATING]: wine store, bank machine, etc. prove to be successful additions to
•f Personnel the store's business. Everything is done on a larger scale. This is
evident in the large aisles and large signage throughout the store
Pf Store Services
and increased SKUs. To enhance the mood of the environment;
Pf Creativity
music, lighting, and odors circulate to create customer comfort.
Pf Selection/Inventory
There were 14 cash registers in front of the store, five of
•f Overall Store Atmosphere which were open. The registers were completely computerized
"Let's Go Shopping" is a regular feature filed by "mystery shop- visual systems with scanning. Cashiers provide a choice between
pers" who visit grocery stores across the country to report on how paper and plastic bags for those customers who are concerned
stores measure up in terms of personnel, services, merchandise, with recycling. Shopping carts are clean and accessible at the store
selection, and overall store atmosphere. front with a dollar deposit. There were sufficient cart locations out-
side the store to attain/dispose of carts.
Loblaws, #029 The pricing on the shelf after a random audit was accurate
650 Dupont St. & Christie, Toronto and highly visible. The overall impression of the shelves was that
they were well stocked and faced with a large variety of SKUs.
This chain-operated store's entrance was filled with tantalizing
President's Choice, the store's private label products, are aggres-
aromas from Movenpick: one of the many kiosks lining the store.
sively promoted with signage at shelf and throughout the store.
The store's most unique asset is its one-stop, "under one roof"

Source: Reprinted from Canadian Grocer, November 1997, 38.


tinued exposure and experiences c o m b i n e to create a more detailed impression.
Consider the impressions recorded by a mystery shopper appraising a Toronto super-
market for a grocery trade magazine—see the boxed story "Let's Go Shopping (Maybe
at Your Store)."
Many servicescapes are purely functional. Firms that seek to convey the impres-
sion of cut-price service do so by locating in inexpensive neighborhoods, occupying
buildings with a simple (even warehouse-like) appearance, minimizing wasteful use of
space, and dressing their employees in practical, inexpensive uniforms like the bright
red aprons worn at H o m e Depot. However, servicescapes don't always shape customer
perceptions and behavior in ways intended by their creators, because customers often
make creative use of physical spaces and objects to suit their o w n purposes. 9 For
instance, business people (or college students) may appropriate a restaurant table for
use as a temporary desk, with papers spread around and even a laptop computer and
mobile p h o n e competing for space with food and beverages. Smart designers keep an
eye open for such trends, which often underlie creation of a new service concept like
the cyber cafe.

PLACE, CYBERSPACE, AND TIME DECISIONS
H o w should service managers make decisions in response to the question: When and
where should our service be available? T h e answer is likely to reflect customer needs and
expectations, competitive activity, and the nature of the service operation. Some distribu-
tion strategies may be more appropriate for supplementary service elements than for the

In-Store Marketing uniforms. The knowledge of store staff when asked about an item
The promotional weekly flyers, store signs, and in-store features was good. The shopper was directed to the appropriate location but
were promoted with large signage throughout the store. There was not taken directly over.
was no loyalty card program or coupon clipping here, but there Full of color, the produce section was clean and well main-
are store coupons available on the shelf. Similar to most stores tained. The deli section was also clean and the meat/salads were
they did accept manufacturers coupons. The primary displays well stocked. The seafood section filled with the catch of the day
included a variety of feature/advertised items, which are looked fresh and inviting. The meat/butcher counter was accept-
promoted on well-stocked displays throughout the store. The able. The staff was knowledgeable and helpful in all depart-
incremental displays were attractively done and promoted ments.
impulse purchases while the aisles are still clear and shoppable.
While taking advantage of some good displays to cross promote, General Impressions
there were some obvious missed opportunities. The store has
The store's biggest strength is its one-stop shopping benefits. For a
special racking for promoting some products, especially in the
taste of international flair one must definitely shop the aisles. The
seasonal aisle. Overall the impression of in-store promotion was
one disappointment of the store was the meat department. The
strong.
labels indicating specific meats were stained and the overall
appearance of the department was unclean.
Staff This store's overall ranking is outstanding. Shopping should
Customer service is definitely not a thing of the past in this store. be an excellent experience thus endorsing future loyalty to a store.
The staff was extremely customer-focused and seemed to enjoy OVERALL (RATING): S ' l f H ' S f
the work environment. They were well groomed with clean/pressed


core product itself. Perhaps you're willing to go to a particular location at a specific time
to attend a sporting or entertainment event. But you probably want greater flexibility and
convenience when making an advance reservation. If so, you may expect the reservations
service to be open for extended hours, to offer booking and credit card payment by
phone, and to deliver tickets by mail, fax, or e-mail.

Locational Issues in Service Delivery
Although customer convenience is important, operational requirements set tight con-
straints for some services. Airports, for instance, are often inconveniently located relative
to travelers' homes, offices, or destinations. Because of noise and environmental factors,
finding suitable sites for new airports is a very difficult task. (A governor of Massachusetts
was once asked what would be an acceptable location for construction of a second air-
port to serve Boston. He thought for a m o m e n t and then responded: "Nebraska!") As a
result, airport sites are often far from the city centers to which many passengers wish to
travel, and the only way to make them less inconvenient is to install high-speed rail links
like the rail service to H o n g Kong's new airport. A different type of location constraint is
imposed by other geographic factors like terrain and climate. Obviously, ski resorts are
limited to mountain environments while ocean beach resorts must be on the coast.
T h e need for economies of scale may also restrict choice of locations. Major hospi-
tals consolidate many different health-care services—even a medical school—at a single,
very large facility. Customers requiring complex, in-patient treatment must come to this
service factory rather than being treated at home—although an ambulance (or even a
helicopter) can be sent to pick them up if they are seriously ill or injured.
Some multi-site service firms have the option of creating service factories on a
very small scale at locations that are close to where prospective customers live or
work. For example,Taco Bell has become famous for its innovative K-Minus strategy,
which involves creating restaurants without kitchens. All food preparation is done in a
central commissary, with prepared meals then being shipped to restaurants and mobile
food carts, where they are reheated prior to serving. 1 0
Self-service electronic kiosks can deliver a variety of information-based services
from many different locations (see box).The number of Internet kiosks is projected to
increase from 151,000 worldwide in 2001 to 446,000 by 2006; over the same period,
sales through kiosks are forecast to rise from $200 million to $6.5 billion. 1 1
Another service delivery trend involves locating retail and other services close to
gas stations and public transportation stops or in bus, rail, and air terminals. Major oil
companies are developing chains of retail stores to complement the fuel pumps at their
service stations, thus offering customers the convenience of one-stop shopping for fuel,
auto supplies, food, and household products. Truck stops on intercity highways include
laundromats, bathrooms, ATMs, fax machines, Internet access, and restaurants in addi-
tion to a variety of vehicle maintenance and repair services.
In one of the most interesting new retailing developments, airport terminals are
being transformed from nondescript ticketing and waiting areas into vibrant shopping
malls. Two pioneers of this trend were London's H e a t h r o w and Gatwick airports.
Seeking to capitalize on its expertise, the airport operator, a company called BAA
(which operates seven British airports), established a U.S. subsidiary and w o n a 15-
year master-developer contract to design, build, lease, and manage the Pittsburgh
Airmail, the nation's first c u s t o m - b u i l t airport retail c o m p l e x . Pittsburgh is U.S.
Airways' major h u b and most of its passengers are domestic travelers. Goods and ser-
vices available at the Airmail range from tasty take-out sandwiches for passengers w h o
don't expect a meal on their flight to $15 massages for tired travelers with aching
backs. Sales per passenger at Pittsburgh increased from $2.40 in 1992 to $8.10 in

C H A P T E R ELEVEN . CREATING DELIVERY SYSTEMS IN PLACE, CYBERSPACE, AND TIME 253

2000; sales per square foot of retailing space are n o w four to five times those of typi-
cal U.S. regional shopping centers. 1 2 BAA also has operating contracts at Harrisburg,
Indianapolis, Newark, and Boston, as well as at Mauritius, Naples (Italy), and two
Australian airports.
T h e underlying theme of m o d e r n service delivery is one of offering customers
more choices in terms of where service is delivered. Some people want face-to-face
contact, others like telephone contact with a human being, and still others prefer the
greater anonymity and control offered by more impersonal options like self-service
equipment and the Internet. Many customers also want the ability to switch between
delivery alternatives depending on the specific situation at hand.

Electronic Kiosks Deliver Both
Commercial and Government Services'
offices and other public locations in an attempt to provide
The Internet is everywhere when it comes to service delivery. affordable access and encourage Web usage in a nation
Electronic kiosks are turning up in such locations as amusement where computer ownership remains far lower than in affluent,
parks, campgrounds, bars, car washes, shopping centers, universi- industrialized countries.
ties, libraries, and health clubs—all offering self-service options to
4. Government agencies see electronic kiosks as a way to cut
new users and technology-savvy customers alike. Consider the fol-
administrative budgets and provide 24-hour service in con-
lowing examples:
venient locations. From using kiosks to dispense information
1. Simple health checks can be administered through self- about public services, tourist attractions, and transit routes
service equipment. In the United States, Web-enabled kiosks and schedules, some public agencies are now moving to
that measure blood pressure, heart rate, weight, and body automate a variety of transactions that previously required
mass have been installed in Kmart stores across the country. intervention by a public employee. Consumers touch the
They can also provide useful health information. And in screen to choose from a menu of services, which can be
Britain, the National Health Service has purchased 153 inter- programmed in multiple languages. They can pay parking
active touchscreen kiosks and monitoring services for instal- tickets, speeding fines, and property taxes, obtain dog
lation in pharmacies, supermarkets, post offices, shopping licenses and copies of birth certificates, and order license
malls, and holiday resorts. plates for their cars. In Utah, five "Quickcourt" kiosks assist
2. Electronic kiosks offering Internet access are becoming people in filling out paperwork for no-fault divorces—a
common in airports, shopping malls, and other public loca- process that takes about 45 minutes, requires no lawyer,
tions. Some provide a combination of services, including an and costs only $10.Quickcourt also computes child support
ATM for banking services, a pre-paid phone card dispenser, payments. In San Antonio, Texas, kiosks sell permits to hold
and access to the Web. Some communication technology garage sales and print out information on property taxes and
vendors believe that Internet terminals will eventually city job openings. Users can also view pictures of animals
become as ubiquitous as conventional ATM machines are available for adoption at the city pound. In New York, cus-
now. tomers can look up certain kinds of records (like landlords'
3. Several countries have installed kiosks as a way to ensure histories of building code violations) and swipe their credit
that the Internet is more widely accessible to their citizens. cards through a slot to pay municipal taxes, license fees, or
For example, Jamaica has installed Internet kiosks in post speeding fines.

Source: "Lifeclinic Announces Rollout of Web-Enabled Blood Pressure Kiosks to Kmart Stores Across the Country," www.spacelabs.com, 13 November 2000; "Action MultiMedia Secures
NHS Direct Contract," www.kiosks.org, 1 November 2000; Yukari Iwatani, "From Bars to Car Washes Internet is Everywhere," YahoolNews, 11 September 2000; "Internet Kiosks to be
Placed in Post Offices and Other Public Areas Throughout Jamaica," www.atcominfo.com, 17 May 2000; "Kiosks Could Make Public Access Common," www.usatoday.com, 28 February
1999; and Carol Jouzaitis, "Step Right Up and Pay Your Taxes and Tickets," USA Today, 2 October 1997, 4A.


Delivering Services in Cyberspace
Technological developments during the last 20 years have had a remarkable impact
on the methods by which services are produced and delivered. Advances in telecom-
munications and c o m p u t e r technology in particular c o n t i n u e to result in service
delivery innovations. For example, personal computers and the Internet are changing
the way people shop for b o t h goods and services. In addition to placing catalog
orders by mail or t e l e p h o n e , many p e o p l e n o w also shop in cyberspace. The
Internet's 2 4 - h o u r service is particularly appealing to customers whose busy lives
leave t h e m short of time. Forrester Research says that customers are attracted to vir-
tual stores by four factors in the following order of importance: convenience, ease of
research (obtaining information and searching for desired items or services), better
prices, and broad selection. 1 3
Web sites have b e c o m e an i m p o r t a n t competitive tool for service marketers.
W h i l e some firms only view t h e m as an alternative to paper brochures, others use
t h e m in more creative ways ranging from order-taking channels to electronic deliv-
ery systems. Delivery through the Internet is an option for any information-based
product. Information-based services n o w delivered t h r o u g h commercial Web sites
include software, news, research reports, music, and other forms of entertainment.
Firms can also deliver i n f o r m a t i o n - b a s e d services to their customers as e-mail
attachments or t h r o u g h corporate "extranets"—secure, private networks linking a
c o m p a n y to its major suppliers and designated c u s t o m e r s . Charles Schwab, the
brokerage firm, offers investors wireless Internet access t h r o u g h its PocketBroker
service.
Traditional retailers have been forced to respond to stiffer competition from
Internet and telephone-based catalog retailing. O n e company, software and computer
retailer Egghead Inc., decided to get out of physical retailing altogether. It closed its 80
stores across the United States, laid off 800 of its 1,000 workers, shifted its sales entirely
to the Internet, and renamed itselfEgghead.com. O t h e r retailers, like the giant book-
store chain Barnes and Noble, have developed a strong Internet presence to comple-
ment their full-service bookstores in an effort to counter competition from "cyberspace
retailers" such as Amazon.com (which has no retail outlets). 1 4
Other store-based retailers are responding to this competitive challenge by trying to
make the shopping experience more interesting and enjoyable for customers. Malls have
become larger, more colorful, and more elaborate. Within the mall, individual stores try
to create their own atmosphere, but tenancy agreements often specify certain design
criteria to ensure that each store fits comfortably into the overall mall servicescape. The
presence of "food courts" and other gathering places encourages social interaction
among shoppers. Theatrical touches include live entertainment, special lighting effects,
fountains, waterfalls, and eye-catching interior landscaping ranging from banks of flow-
ers to surprisingly large trees. Individual stores try to add value by offering product
demonstrations and such services as customized advice, gift-wrapping, free delivery,
installation, and warranty services.

Service Schedules
In the past, most retail and professional services in industrialized countries followed
a traditional and rather restricted schedule that limited service availability to 40 to 50
hours a week. This routine reflected social norms (and even legal requirements or
union agreements) as to what were appropriate hours for people to work and for
enterprises to sell things. T h e situation caused a lot of inconvenience for working
people w h o either had to shop during their lunch break (if the stores themselves

CHAPTER ELEVEN • CREATING DELIVERY SYSTEMS IN PLACE, CYBERSPACE, AND TIME 255

didn't close for lunch) or on Saturdays (if management chose to remain open a sixth
day). T h e idea of d o i n g business on a Sunday was strongly discouraged in most
Christian cultures and often prohibited by law, reflecting long-standing traditions
based on religious practice. A m o n g c o m m e r c i a l services, only those devoted to
entertainment and relaxation, like m o v i e theaters, bars, restaurants, and sporting
facilities, geared their schedules toward weekends and evening hours w h e n their cus-
tomers had leisure time. Even so, they often faced restrictions on hours of operation,
especially on Sundays.
Today, things are changing fast in terms of business operating hours. For some
highly responsive service operations, the standard has b e c o m e 2 4 / 7 s e r v i c e — 2 4 2 4 / 7 service: service that is
hours a day, 7 days a week, around the world. Some services like telecommunica- available 24 hours a day, 7
tions and international airlines are 2 4 - h o u r operations, every day of the year. O t h e r days a week,
examples include services that respond to e m e r g e n c i e s , such as fire, police, and
ambulance, or repairs to vital e q u i p m e n t . Hospitals and first-class hotels provide
24-hour care or r o o m service. Ships and long-distance trains keep going through the
night, too.

Factors That Encourage Extended Operating Hours
At least five factors are driving the move toward extended operating hours and seven-
day operations. T h e trend has been most noticeable in the United States and Canada,
but it's spreading elsewhere.
>- Economic pressure from consumers. T h e growing number of two-income families
and single wage-earners w h o live alone need time outside normal working
hours to shop and use other services, since they have nobody else to do these
things for them. O n c e one store or firm in any given area extends its hours to
meet the needs of these market segments, competitors often feel obliged to fol-
low. Retail chains have often led the way in this respect.
»- Changes in legislation. A second factor has been the decline in support for the tra-
ditional religious view that a specific day (typically Sunday in predominantly
Christian cultures) should be legislated as a day of rest for everyone, regardless of
religious affiliation. In a multicultural society, of course, it's difficult to establish
just what day should be designated as special—for observant Jews and Seventh
Day Adventists, Saturday is the Sabbath; and for Muslims, Friday is the holy day.
There has been a gradual erosion of legislation related to this issue in Western
nations in recent years, although it's still firmly in place in some countries and
locations. In Switzerland, for example, most retail activities still close down on
Sundays—except for bakeries, where people like to buy freshly baked bread on
Sunday mornings.
>- Economic incentives to improve asset utilization. Even if the number of extra cus-
tomers served is minimal, there are both operational and marketing advantages
to remaining open 24 hours. T h e incremental cost of extending hours is often
relatively small (especially when part-timers can be hired without paying them
overtime or benefits). If extending hours reduces crowding and increases rev-
enues, then it's economically attractive. There are also costs involved in shutting
down and reopening a facility like a supermarket. Climate control and some
lighting must be left running all night, and security personnel must be paid to
keep an eye on the place.
>- Availability of employees to work during "unsocial" hours. Changing lifestyles and a
desire for part-time employment have combined to create a growing labor pool


Modern ATMs not only offer
24-hour banking services but
may also dispense tickets,
stamps, and abbreviated bank
statements.

of people w h o are willing to work evenings and nights. Some of these workers
are students looking for part-time work outside their classroom hours or parents
juggling child-care responsibilities. Others are "moonlighting," holding a full-
time j o b by day and earning additional income by night. Some people simply
prefer to work at night and relax or sleep during the day, while others are glad to
obtain any paid employment, regardless of hours.
^Automated self-service facilities. Self-service equipment has b e c o m e increasingly
reliable and user friendly. Many machines now accept card-based payments in
addition to coins and banknotes. Installing unattended machines may be eco-
nomically feasible in places that couldn't support a staffed facility. Unless
a machine requires frequent servicing or is particularly vulnerable to vandalism,
the incremental cost of going from limited hours to 2 4 - h o u r operation is
minimal. In fact, it may be m u c h simpler to leave machines r u n n i n g all the
time than to turn them on and off, especially if they are placed in widely scat-
tered locations.

Responding to Customers' Need for Convenience
American and Canadian retailers have led the way toward meeting customer needs for
greater convenience, but many other countries are now beginning to follow suit. The
changes initially began with early-morning to late-evening service in pharmacies and
" 7 - 1 1 " convenience stores that were o p e n from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. (In continental
Europe, which employs the 24-hour system for keeping time, such stores are sometimes
referred to as " 7 - 2 3 " stores—for obvious reasons!) T h e trend has n o w extended to
2 4 - h o u r service in a variety of retail outlets from service stations to restaurants to
supermarkets.
T h e customer's search for convenience has not been confined to convenient
times and places, nor to just the purchase of core products. People want easy access to

CHAPTER ELEVEN . CREATING DELIVERY SYSTEMS IN PLACE, CYBERSPACE, AND TIME 257

supplementary services, too—especially information, reservations, and problem solving.
As one credit card executive observed,
There are a lot of two-income families. Our customers are busy with their personal lives,
and they don't have a lot of time to handle their personal business. They expect us to be
available to them when it's convenient for them, not when it's convenient for us, so they
expect extended hours. And most of all, they expect one contact to solve their problem.

In many service industries, information and problem-solving needs were originally
met by telephoning a specific store or facility during its regular operating hours. But led
by airlines and hotel chains, separate customer service centers have evolved, reached by
calling a single toll-free number. Service providers operate some of these centers t h e m -
selves, while others, such as hotel chains, often subcontract functions such as reservations
to specialist intermediaries. O n c e a firm departs from locally staffed phones and installs
a centralized system, it can create more consistent service and offer greater expertise, but
risks losing the local touch.

Moving to 24/7 Service
Providing extended-hours customer service is almost mandatory for any organization
with a nationwide clientele in countries (or service regions) that cover multiple time
zones. Consider a company that serves customers on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts
of N o r t h America. Between N e w York and Los Angeles, for example, there is a three-
hour time difference. If the switchboard closes at 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time, then cus-
tomers on the west coast are denied access to the number after 2:00 P.M. Pacific Time.
The situation is even worse for those on Alaska-Hawaii time, where it's only 12 noon.
Things are reversed w h e n the supplier is located on the West Coast. Imagine a Canadian
firm in Vancouver B.C. whose office opens at 8:30 A.M. Pacific Time. By then it's already
12:30 P.M. Atlantic T i m e in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and 1:00 P.M. in St. John's,
Newfoundland (which has its own time zone).
W h e n a N o r t h American business redefines its goal as offering continent-wide ser-
vice on a daily basis—from first thing in the m o r n i n g in Newfoundland to mid-evening
in Alaska or Hawaii—managers don't need a fancy calculator to figure out that cus-
tomer service lines will have to be open at least 18 hours a day. At this point, the firm
may want to consider going to 2 4 - h o u r operations. T h e desirability of this move
depends on the firm's priorities, the costs involved, and the value that customers place
on total accessibility. O n e alternative to operating the service factory around the clock
is to use automated call centers or Web sites that can handle many kinds of transactions
and queries without human backup.

Servicing Manufactured Products
Most manufactured products create a need for accompanying services, ranging from
financing and training to transportation and maintenance. T h e competitiveness of a
manufacturer's products in both domestic and global markets is often as much a func-
tion of the availability and quality of relevant services as the quality of the core product.
Both manufacturing and service companies now rely on computer-based systems
to provide many of the supplementary services that customers need and expect. In turn,
there is a huge market for servicing these computer systems. Powerful computers and
peripherals—and the software to run them—have been sold to users all over the world.
Although there are many niche players, large computer systems are supplied by a hand-
ful of international firms, dominated by American and Japanese companies. T h e systems
that they sell can be found in operation in locations ranging from big city banks to


chemical plants near rural towns. T h e y are also present in such exotic locations as
remote mining sites in Australia, oil rigs above the Arctic Circle, airports on Pacific
islands, hydroelectric projects in the Andes, and on ships sailing the seven seas.
As powerful as these computers are, they are only of value w h e n up and running.
System failures can have disastrous consequences for both their users and the users' own
customers.When a firm is dependent on a system 24 hours a day, downtime can be very
disruptive: T h e consequences can range from personal inconvenience to the shutdown
of a major facility. Some emergencies can be handled by a duty person, reached by a
pager or cellular phone, w h o drives to the site of the problem, makes a physical inspec-
tion, and undertakes whatever repairs are necessary. Maintaining and repairing comput-
ers was historically a task that had to be performed on site. But, engineers at companies
like IBM or Hewlett-Packard are now able to monitor customers' installations from a
support center in a distant location—even on another continent—then diagnose and fix
many hardware and software problems without ever leaving their own offices.

THE ROLE OF INTERMEDIARIES
Cost-conscious operations managers should consider: What options exist for using third-
party intermediaries? Delegating specialized delivery tasks is often a cost-effective strategy,
especially for supplementary service elements. It may also be an effective marketing
strategy, enabling a firm to reach more customers—and offer them more supplementary
services—than the firm could economically do on its own.

Delegating Specific Service Elements
Travel agents and theater ticket agents handle customer interactions like giving out
information, taking reservations, accepting payment, and ticketing. Brokers sell and ser-
vice insurance policies. Distributors representing manufacturers take responsibility not
only for sales but also for such supplementary services as information, advice, order tak-
ing, delivery, installation, billing and payment, and some problem solving; in some cases,
they may also handle repairs and upgrades. In Figure 11.3 we use the Flower of Service
framework to illustrate how the original supplier may work in partnership with one or
more intermediaries to deliver a complete service package to customers. In this exam-
ple, the core product is still delivered by the originating supplier, together with certain
supplementary elements in the information, consultation, and exceptions categories.
T h e remaining supplementary services have been added by an intermediary to com-

As created by As enhanced As experienced
originating firm by intermediary by customer

FIGURE 11.3
Splitting Responsibilities for
Supplementary Service
Elements


plete the offering as experienced by the customer. In other instances, several specialist
outsourcers might be involved as intermediaries for specific elements.The original ser-
vice provider must act as the guardian of the overall process, ensuring that each element
offered by intermediaries fits the overall service concept to create a consistent and
seamless branded service experience.

Franchising
Even delivery of the core service product can be outsourced to an intermediary. This is
the essence of franchising, a c o m m o n strategy for expanding delivery of a proven ser-
vice concept to multiple sites, without the level of investment capital required for rapid
expansion of company-owned and managed sites. Franchisors recruit entrepreneurs
who are willing to invest their own time and equity to manage a business based on a
previously developed service concept. In return, the franchisor provides training in
operations and marketing, sells necessary supplies, and provides promotional support at
a national or regional level to augment local marketing activities (which are paid for by
the franchisee but must adhere to copy and media guidelines prescribed by the fran-
chisor).
A disadvantage of franchising is that it entails some loss of control over the delivery
system and how customers experience the actual service. Franchisors usually attempt to
exercise control over all aspects of the service performance through a contract that spec-
ifies adherence to tightly defined service standards, procedures, scripts, and physical pre-
sentation. There is ongoing monitoring of productivity and quality standards relating
not only to output specifications, but also to the appearance of the physical facilities,
employee performance, and hours of operation. As franchisees gain experience, they
sometimes start to resent the various fees they pay the franchisor and believe that they
can operate the business better without the constraints imposed by the agreement. T h e
resulting disputes often lead to legal fights between the two parties.

Licensing and Distribution Agreements
An alternative to franchising is licensing another supplier to act on the original supplier's
behalf to deliver the core product. Universities sometimes license another educational
institution to deliver courses designed by the former. Trucking companies regularly use
independent agents instead of locating company-owned branches in each of the different
cities they serve. Many choose to contract with independent "owner-operators," who drive
their own trucks, rather than buying trucks and employing full-time drivers.
Financial services also engage in service distribution agreements. Banks seeking to
move into investment services will often act as the distributor for mutual fund products
created by an investment firm that lacks extensive distribution channels of its own.
Many banks also sell insurance products underwritten by an insurance company. They
collect a commission on the sale but are not normally involved in handling claims.

Conclusion
Responses to the questions "Where? When? and H o w ? " provide the foundation of ser-
vice delivery strategy. T h e customer's overall service experience is a function of both
service performance and delivery characteristics. " W h e r e ? " relates, of course, to the
places where customers can obtain service delivery. In this chapter, we presented a cate-
gorization scheme for thinking about alternative place-related strategies, including
remote delivery from virtual locations.


" W h e n ? " involves dt cisions about the scheduling of service delivery. Customer
demands for greater convenience are n o w leading many firms to extend their hours
and days of service. " H o w ? " addresses channels and procedures for delivering the core
and supplementary service elements to customers. Advances in technology continue to
have a major impact on the alternatives available and on the economics of those alter-
natives.

1. Review the story about Kinko's at the beginning of this chapter. W h a t do you
see as the key changes in (a) product strategy and (b) distribution strategy?
2. W h a t are the key decisions managers must consider in designing a service
delivery system? What are some of the trade-offs that must be made?
3. Identify a service whose delivery strategy fits each of the categories in Table 11.1.
What are the implications for management in each case?
4. Describe the servicescapes of two different service businesses. To what extent are
their roles strategic in design (differentiating one firm from its competitors)
versus functional (adding value for customers and employees)? Give specific
examples to support your answers.
5. Visit the Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com Web sites. Compare their
design, structure, and ease of use. As a potential customer, which do you prefer
and why? W h a t enhancements would you suggest?
6. Select a service organization with which you are reasonably familiar, and
construct a simple flowchart of service delivery. Identify the critical points within
the service delivery process that are likely to have a significant bearing on the
customer's experience. Clarify why these points in the process are particularly
important and how you would manage them.
7. Identify five situations in which you use a self-service delivery option. In each
case, explain your motivation for using this approach to delivery rather than
having service personnel do it for you.
8. Using the same five situations you chose for Question 7, comment on the user-
friendliness of the equipment, the mental and physical effort required, the time
involved, and any negative sensory experiences. Are there any perceived risks for
customers w h o use these self-service options? W h a t recommendations for
improvements would you offer to management?
9. What marketing and management challenges might result from the use of
intermediaries in a service setting?

Endnotes
1. From Ann Marsh, "Kinko's Grows Up—Almost," Forbes, 1 December 1997,270—272; and
www.kinkos.com,January 2001.
2. See, for example, Regis McKenna, "Real-Time Marketing," Harvard Business Review, July-
August 1995, 87—98;Jeffrey F. Rayport and John J. Sviokla, "Exploiting the Virtual Value
Chain," Harvard Business Review, November-December 1995; and Regis McKenna, Real
Time (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1997).
3. Jeffrey F. Rayport and John J. Sviokla, "Managing in the Marketspace," Harvard Business
Review, November-December 1994, 141-150.


4. For an empirical study of location decisions for established versus new services, see Roger
W. Schmenner, "The Location Decisions of New Services," in James A. Fitzsimmons and
Mona J. Fitzsimmons, New Service Development (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications,
2000), 216-238.
5. Mary Modahl,"Will E-Commerce Eliminate Traditional Intermediaries?" in Taking Sides:
Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Marketing (Guilford, CT: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin,
2001), 146-161.
6. Mary Jo Bitner, Stephen W. Brown, and Matthew L. Meuter, "Technology Infusion in
Service Encounters," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 28, no. 1 (2000): 138-149.
7. Philip Kotler, "Atmospherics as a Marketing Tool," Journal of Retailing, 49, no. 4 (1973):
48-64.
8. Mary Jo Bitner, "Servicescapes: The Impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and
Employees,"_/o(jm<j/ of Marketing 56 (April 1992): 57—71.
9. Veronique Aubert-Gamet, "Twisting Servicescapes: Diversion of the Physical
Environment in a Reappropriation Process," International Journal of Service Industry
Management 8, no. 1 (1997): 26-41.
10. James L. Heskett,W. Earl Sasserjr., and Leonard A. Schlesinger, The Service Profit Chain
(NewYork:The Free Press, 1997), 218-220.
11. Stephanie Miles, "Netkey Transforms Kiosks into 'E-salespeople,' " WSJ.com, 17 May
2001.
12. Based on information at BAA pic's Web site, www.baa.co.uk, January 2001.
13. Information obtained from Forrester Research: www.forester.com 1998.
14. David D Kirkpatrick, "Barnes and Noble to Coordinate Online Sales,"
www.nytimes.com, 27 October 2000.

Creating Value Through
Productivity and Quality
Cisco Systems Leads the Way
in e-Productivity
Cisco Systems is the world's leader in electronic commerce, with pany's amazement, so did other customers! Whoever came up with an
over $5 billion in sales coming from its Web site alone in 2000. 1 The answer first posted it on the Web site, and there were often other help-
company supplies networking solutions that connect people, com- ful suggestions relating to the problem. As soon as information flowed
puting devices, and computer networks, allowing individuals and into the database, the customer who had posed the original question
companies to access and transfer information without regard to dif- received an e-mail notification.
ferences in time, place, or type of computer system. In 2000, it held In short, Allred had found a workable solution to the firm's tech-
close to 80 percent of the market for products that keep the Internet nical support engineer shortage by letting its customers (all of whom
functioning, such as routers, switching devices, relays, and Internet had been trained and certified by Cisco) help each other out. The com-
software. pany has also created a knowledge base of frequently asked questions
Cisco's highly technical products require large amounts of cus- (FAQs) that enables customers to find answers to the most common
tomer support, which is seen as critical to maintaining service quality. problems without talking to anyone in the company. Cisco's customers
But the company soon realized that it wouldn't be able to hire enough are happy to help themselves and others on the Web site, and the
engineers to service its rapidly growing customer base. Doug Allred, sense of community that is created online enhances the perceived
Cisco's vice president for Consumer Advocacy, decided to implement a quality of the technical support service.
call-tracking system so that the company could monitor each technical As a result of these productivity initiatives, Cisco found that it
support call that came in, find an answer to the customer's question in didn't need to expand its call center staffing, even though business
Cisco's own database of known problems and solutions, and track the was growing rapidly. In fact, the company actually documented a 70
call to completion. What was unusual about Cisco's approach at the percent reduction in calls received, resulting in a savings of $10
time of implementation was that the system was designed to function million a month (computed at an average of $200 a call). The num-
as both a telephone-based call center and a virtual call center via the ber of technical support staff assigned to answering calls dropped
Web. Customers could have their problems posted in a section of the from 1,000 to 700. Details of each new call and its solution now go
Cisco Web site that was accessible to other customers of the firm. to a technical writer to be edited and entered into the Cisco
When someone posted problems or questions, Cisco's technical Knowledge Base, thus helping to minimize the number of future
support staff started working on solutions—and much to the com- calls.

O Learning Objectives
be able to

=^ define what is meant by productivity
and quality in a service context
=^> understand the relationship between
customer expectations, service
quality and customer satisfaction

=£> explain the gaps model of service
quality
=^> describe the techniques for
identifying the root cause of specific
service quality problems
=£> identify the components of a service
quality information system

=£> discuss productivity and quality
measurement techniques

SERVICE DELIVERY ISSUES

MINDING THE SERVICE Ps AND Qs
As you may have already noticed, productivity and quality are treated jointly in this
book as one of the 8Ps of integrated service management. This reflects our belief—and
that of others—that they are often two sides of the same coin. In fact, FedEx has even
employed an internal slogan, Q = P.2 If the two issues are totally divorced, companies
risk introducing productivity efforts that will annoy customers or embarking on quality
initiatives that will result in higher costs without increasing revenues. As you can see
from our discussion of Cisco Systems, the strategic integration of both dimensions can
provide greater value for customers and service providers. In fact, a focus on productiv-
ity and quality as perceived by customers is critical to a firm's long-term financial suc-
cess.
In this chapter, we address a particularly challenging question from our service
decision framework, How can we balance productivity and quality'? This leads us to
examine such issues as determining h o w to reduce operating costs without spoiling the
appeal of a service; identifying what customers expect in return for their money, time,
and effort; specifying appropriate measures of service quality and productivity; and clar-
ifying what quality improvements are needed to meet or exceed customer expectations.

Creating Value for Customers
W h a t is the fundamental role of marketing? Many theorists argue that it is to create cus-
tomer value. 4 T h e search for value often begins with market research, seeking to iden-
tify the benefits sought by customers or prospects for a given product category and the
costs that they are willing to incur to obtain these benefits. Perceived value is highly
personal and may vary widely from one customer to another. 3 In fact, variations in
desired benefits often form the basis for segmentation.
Productivity and quality were historically seen as issues for operations managers.
Thus, companies focused internally on making process "improvements" that were not
necessarily linked to customers' service priorities. However, continuing efforts to
understand and improve quality led back to the customer—and to the recognition that
quality should be customer defined. Quality enhancements that add no value for cus-
tomers are a poor allocation of corporate resources.
A key theme running through this book is that marketing cannot operate in isola-
tion from other functional areas in a service environment. Tasks that might be assigned
only to operations in a goods-producing company need to include marketers in a ser-
vice organization, because of customer exposure to service processes. Making these
processes more efficient doesn't necessarily result in a better quality experience or
improved benefits for customers. Getting service employees to work faster may some-
times be welcomed by customers, but at other times it may make them feel rushed and
unwanted. So marketing, operations, and human resources managers all need to work
together on designing front-stage jobs and processes. Similarly, service marketing strate-
gies designed to improve customer satisfaction should be carefully reviewed with oper-
ations and h u m a n resources managers to minimize the risk that such strategies will
prove costly and internally disruptive.

Marketing and Quality
Marketing's interest in service quality is obvious w h e n you think about it: Poor quality
places a firm at a competitive disadvantage. If customers perceive quality as unsatisfac-
tory, they may be quick to take their business elsewhere. From a marketing standpoint, a
key issue is whether or not customers notice differences in quality between competing

CHAPTER TWELVE • CREATING VALUE THROUGH PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY 265

suppliers. Brad Gale puts it succinctly when he says "value is simply quality, however the
customer defines it, offered at the right price." Improving quality from the customer's
perspective pays off: Data from the PIMS (Profit Impact of Market Strategy) show that
a perceived quality advantage leads to higher corporate profits. 7
Service quality issues are not confined to traditional service industries. It has
become increasingly difficult for industrial companies to establish a competitive advan-
tage by offering higher quality products. Many manufacturing firms are working to
improve the quality of the supplementary services that support their products—like
consultation, financing, shipping and delivery, installation, training of operators, repair
and maintenance, trouble-shooting, and billing—in order to keep or gain profitable
positions within their industries.

Marketing and Productivity
Why is improving productivity important to marketers? O n e reason is that it helps keep
costs down. Lower costs mean either higher profits or the ability to hold down prices.
The company with the lowest costs in an industry has the option to position itself as the
low-price leader—usually a significant advantage among price-sensitive market seg-
ments. Firms with lower costs than their competitors also generate higher margins, giv-
ing them the option of spending more on marketing and customer service activities.
They may also be able to offer higher margins to attract and reward the best distributors
and intermediaries. These companies are also better able to invest in new service tech-
nologies. A second reason that productivity improvements are important to marketers is
that they are often associated with faster operating procedures.To the extent that speed
of service is valued by customers, it becomes a competitive advantage.
Efforts to improve productivity often affect customers. It's the marketer's responsi-
bility to ensure that negative impacts are avoided or minimized and that new procedures
are carefully presented to customers. W h e n the impact is a positive one, the improve-
ments can be promoted as a new advantage. Finally, as we'll see, there are opportunities
for marketers themselves to help improve productivity by involving customers actively
in service production and delivery.

UNDERSTANDING SERVICE QUALITY
As described in Chapter 4, after making a purchase, customers compare the service they
expected to get with what they actually receive. They decide how satisfied they are with
service delivery and outcomes, and they also make judgments about quality. Although
service quality and customer satisfaction are related concepts, they are not exactly the
same thing. Many researchers believe that customers' perceptions about quality are
based on long-term, cognitive evaluations of a firm's service delivery, whereas customer
satisfaction is a short-term emotional reaction to a specific service experience. 9
Following a service encounter, customers may evaluate their levels of satisfaction or
dissatisfaction and may use this information to update their perceptions of service qual-
ity. They must, of course, experience a service before they can be satisfied or dissatisfied
with the outcome. But beliefs about quality don't necessarily reflect personal experi-
ence. People often make quality judgments about services they have never consumed,
basing these evaluations on comments by acquaintances or on advertising messages.
Figure 12.1 shows the relationship between expectations, customer satisfaction, and ser-
vice quality.
Managing a business to optimize customer satisfaction is a strategic imperative at
many firms, since the cost of mediocre service quality may be as high as 40 percent of
revenues in some service industries. 10 Most companies realize that by improving per-

266 PART F O U R • SERVICE D E L I V E R Y I S S U E S

FIGURE 12.1
The Relationship Among
Expectations, Customer
Satisfaction, and Perceived
Service Quality

Source: Adapted from Valarie A. Zeithaml, Leonard L. Berry, and A. Parasuraman, "The Nature and Determinants of Customer Expectations
of Service," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 21, no. 1 (1993): 1-12.

formance on service attributes, customer satisfaction should increase. This should, in
turn, lead to greater customer retention and improved profitability. For example, the rel-
ative similarity of the products offered by different banks has led to an increased empha-
sis on service quality in the highly competitive retail banking sector. A large telephone
survey of bank customers identified poor customer service quality as the most frequent
reason for account closures. Analysis of the study results and bank branch profits indi-
cated that customer service quality was a major determinant of how well individual
branches performed. 1 1
T h e relationship between service quality and profitability is typically not easy to
track for a variety of reasons. Service quality benefits accumulate over time rather than
being experienced in the short term. This makes them difficult to measure using tradi-
tional market research techniques. Another complicating factor is that many variables
contribute to corporate profits (including pricing, distribution, advertising, and compe-
tition); it's hard to isolate the effects these individual factors have on the bottom line.
And finally, just spending money on service quality initiatives doesn't necessarily lead to
increased profits. Service companies must identify the right quality initiatives and exe-
cute them effectively.12
satisfaction-profit chain: A strategic framework known as the satisfaction-profit chain can help managers
a strategic framework that identify the links between attribute performance, customer satisfaction, customer reten-
links performance on service tion, and profits. However, the relationships between the different links in the chain are
attributes to customer not necessarily linear. Sophisticated analysis may be needed to pinpoint the priorities for
satisfaction, then to customer improvements; for instance, investments designed to avoid negative outcomes on specific
retention, and finally to
attributes may be as important as actions to increase positive performance on others. 1 3
profits.

Dimensions of Service Quality
Research has identified five broad dimensions of service quality: 14
>- Reliability. Is the company dependable in providing service as promised, over
time?
>- TangiblesiWhat do the service provider's physical facilities,Web site, equipment,
personnel, and communication materials look like?

CHAPTER TWELVE . CREATING VALUE THROUGH PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY 267

>- Responsiveness: Are the firm's employees helpful and able to provide prompt ser-
vice?
>• Assurance: Are service employees knowledgeable, polite, competent, and trust-
( worthy?
>- Empathy: Does the service firm provide caring, personalized attention?
Of these five dimensions, reliability has consistently proven to be the most
important factor in customers'judgments of service quality. Reliability improve-
ments lie at the heart of service quality enhancement efforts because unreliable ser-
vice implies broken promises on the attributes that customers care about. If the core
service is not performed reliably, customers may assume that the company is i n c o m -
petent and may switch to another service provider. For a perspective on the d i m e n -
sions of service quality in online environments, see the box "Service Quality Goes
Online."
It isn't easy for many types of service businesses to maintain high levels of reliability
day-in and day-out. W h e n customers enter a service factory and are involved in service
production, they experience mistakes directly—often before a firm has an opportunity
to correct them. In labor-intensive services, employees add a large degree of variability
to the service production process. It's difficult for service providers to control such vari-
ations, since each employee is somewhat different from the others in personality, skills,
and attitudes. Moreover, the same employee can provide radically different service from
one customer to the next—or the same customer over time—depending on situational
factors like customer behavior, task complexity, and the employee's physical and mental
state.

Service Quality
Goes Online
indicate that poor service quality is the reason that most people
Do customers use the same dimensions to evaluate service quality leave Web sites. Specific failings include the lack of an easy-to-use
in electronic transactions as they do during more traditional service search engine to help with site navigation; memory-intensive
experiences? A recent study, based on data collected from focus graphics that take too long to download; slow and confusing online
group interviews, explored the criteria customers use to assess ordering processes (especially when advertising promises that it
electronic service quality (e-SQ). The results indicate that some of will be easy); and hidden charges.
the quality dimensions discussed earlier (reliability, responsive- A good way to understand user requirements in e-commerce
ness, and assurance) are important in both online and offline set- is to establish continuous processes (like Web surveys or chat
tings. However, some other dimensions are unique to customers' rooms) to monitor customers' responses to their sites, if research
evaluations of e-SQ, including ease of navigation, flexibility, effi- shows that customer preferences vary by target market and the
ciency, site aesthetics, and price knowledge. All of these are tech- type of products being sold, the supplier may want to offer alterna-
nology related except price knowledge, which reflects customers' tive sites for different segments. But in general, Web pages should
desire for information about what their total online shopping be designed to load quickly while still conveying rich information.
charges are before they hit the "submit" button to complete their To close communication gaps, companies must plan realistically
purchases. for adequate site functionality, promise only what their sites can
Why is e-SQ so important? While many marketers believe that deliver, and ensure that all aspects of fulfillment meet promised
price is the biggest concern for Internet customers, survey results levels of performance.

Source: Mary B. Young, "What Customers Want Online," Insights from MSI (Cambridge, MA: Marketing Science Institute, Fall 2000), 5-6; Valarie A. ZeithamI, A. Parasuraman, and Arvind
Malhotra, "A Conceptual Framework for Understanding e-Service Quality: Implications for Future Research and Managerial Practice" (Cambridge MA: Marketing Science Institute, 2001).


Although mistakes occur in every organization, many companies strive to minimize
errors to provide greater service reliability for their customers. Leonard Berry describes
how the Hard R o c k Cafe Orlando addresses service reliability:
Performing the service right the first time is a bedrock value at Hard Rock Cafe Orlando,
the immensely successful restaurant chain and merchandise retailer. Hard Rock Cafe
emphasizes "double checking" to minimize errors. The message of double checking is:
Perform the service carefully to avoid mistakes. If a mistake does occur, correct it before it
reaches the customer. Hard Rock Cafe implements double checking through two "extra"
people in the kitchen. One is stationed inside the kitchen and the other at the kitchen
counter. The inside person reviews everything that is going on, looking for signs of under-
cooked or overcooked meals, wilting lettuce, or any below-standard product or perfor-
mance. The counter person, or "expediter," checks each prepared plate against the order
ticket before the food is delivered to the table .^
Reliability is an o u t c o m e measure because customers j u d g e it after the service
experience: Either the service was delivered as promised or it wasn't. T h e other four
dimensions of quality—tangibles (physical evidence), responsiveness, assurance, and
empathy—are process dimensions because they can be evaluated by customers during
service delivery. These dimensions provide companies with the opportunity to delight
customers by exceeding their expectations during interactions with employees and the
service environment. As shown in Figure 12.1, exceeding customers' desired levels of
expectations leads to positive perceptions of service quality.

Quality Gaps
A service performance that surprises and delights customers by falling above their desired
service levels will be seen as superior in quality. If service delivery falls within their zone
of tolerance, they will feel that it's adequate. But if perceived quality falls below the ade-
quate service level expected by customers, a discrepancy—or quality gap—has occurred
between the service provider's performance and customer expectations.
Why do quality failures occur? Gaps can occur at seven different points in the design,
production, and delivery of services, as shown in Figure 12.2. 18 T h e service gap is the most
critical, because it involves the customer's overall assessment of the service, comparing what
was expected against perceptions of what was received.The ultimate goal in improving ser-
vice quality is to narrow this gap as much as possible. To do so, service providers may have
to reduce or close the six other gaps.The seven potential gaps in service quality are:
1. T h e k n o w l e d g e gap—the difference between what service providers believe
customers expect and customers' actual needs and expectations
2. T h e standards g a p — t h e difference between managements perceptions of cus-
tomer expectations and the quality standards established for service delivery
3. T h e delivery gap—the difference between specified delivery standards and the
service provider's actual performance
4. T h e internal c o m m u n i c a t i o n s gap—the difference between what the com-
pany's advertising and sales personnel think are the product's features, perfor-
mance, and service quality level and what the company is actually able to deliver
5. T h e perceptions gap—the difference between what is actually delivered and
what customers perceive they have received (because they are unable to accu-
rately evaluate service quality)
6. T h e interpretation g a p — t h e difference between what a service provider's
c o m m u n i c a t i o n efforts actually promise and what a customer thinks was
promised by these communications
7. T h e service gap—the difference between what customers expect to receive
and their perceptions of the service that is actually delivered


F I G U R E 12.2
Seven Quality Gaps Leading
to Customer Dissatisfaction

Source: Adapted from Christopher Lovelock, Product Plus (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994), 112.

T h e presence of any one of these seven quality gaps can lead to a disappointing
outcome that damages relationships with customers. Avoiding service gaps in every ser-
vice encounter will help a firm improve its reputation for quality service. Although
careful planning and monitoring will help reduce the likelihood that one of these gaps
will occur, w h e n customers indicate that service outcomes are disappointing, it's impor-
tant to identify and eliminate the gap(s) that lead to this result.
A major problem in some firms is that service standards are defined by operations
managers w h o have no knowledge of customer needs and expectations. Hence, it's vital
that marketers be involved in the task of designing service standards and measuring per-
formance against them.

Learning from Service Failures
Although every firm should have contingency plans for service recovery, there's no substi-
tute for doing it right the first time. Recovery procedures shouldn't be seen as a substitute
for improved service reliability.19 W h e n a problem is caused by controllable, internal forces,
there's no excuse for allowing it to happen again. Recurring service failures lower service
quality and reduce productivity as time and money are wasted on correcting mistakes.
With prevention in mind, let's look briefly at some simple but powerful tools for
monitoring quality and determining the root causes of service failures. Among the many
tools available to quality improvement specialists, the following ones are particularly help-
ful for managers in identifying service failures and designing effective recovery strategies.


FIGURE 12.3
Control Chart of Departure
Delays Showing Percentage of
Flights Departing Within 15
Minutes of Schedule

Flowcharts and Service Blueprints Flowcharts (see Chapter 3) and their more
formalized derivative, service blueprints (see Chapter 7), are useful tools for thoroughly
examining service delivery processes. O n c e managers understand these processes, it's
easier for them to identify potential failure points, which are weak links in the chain.
K n o w i n g what can go wrong, and where, is an important first step in improving
productivity and preventing service quality problems.

C o n t r o l Charts It's frequently said that "you cannot manage what you do not
control charts: charts that measure." Control charts offer a simple method for graphing performance over time
graph quantitative changes in against specific quality criteria. Because the charts are visual, trends are easily identified.
service performance on a Figure 12.3 shows an airline's performance on the important criterion of on-time
specific variable relative to a departures. T h e results in this example suggest that management would do well to
predefined standard. investigate the situation, because aircraft departure performance is erratic and
unsatisfactory.

C a u s e - a n d - E f f e c t Charts T h e Japanese/quality expert Kaoru Ishikawa created
fishbone diagram: a chart- the f i s h b o n e d i a g r a m for use in m a n u f a c t u r i n g firms. To p r o d u c e a fishbone
based technique that relates diagram (also k n o w n as a cause-and-effect chart), groups of managers and employees
specific service problems to brainstorm factors that might be creating a specific problem. In a traditional version
different categories of of this diagram, the resulting factors are then categorized into o n e of five groupings—
underlying causes (also equipment, people, materials, procedures, and other. It's important to recognize that
known as a cause-and-effect
failures are often sequential, w i t h o n e p r o b l e m leading to a n o t h e r in a different
chart).
category. Figure 12.4 displays no less than 27 possible reasons for late departures of a
passenger aircraft!
Notice that the fishbone diagram shown in Figure 12.4 includes eight groupings
rather than just the five mentioned above. T h e extra categories are designed to provide
additional information for service firms. For example, the People category has been
changed to Front-Stage Personnel and Backstage Personnel. This highlights the fact that


Source: Christopher Lovelock, Product Plus (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994), 218. FIGURE 12.4
Cause-and-Effect Chart for
front-stage service problems are often experienced directly by customers, whereas back-
Airline Departure Delays
stage failures tend to show up more indirectly. Information has been split from
Procedures because many service problems result from information-related failures. For
example, inadequate information about flight departures may lead passengers to arrive
late at the gate.
T h e expanded fishbone diagram also includes a n e w category—Customers—to
acknowledge their increased involvement in service production and delivery, because
customers can also be the cause of problems for a service business. As we've discussed
before, customers of high-contact services are often heavily involved in front-stage
operations. If they don't play their roles correctly, they may reduce service productiv-
ity and cause quality problems for themselves and other customers. For instance, an
aircraft that seats hundreds of passengers can be delayed if a single traveler tries to
board at the last minute with an oversized bag, which then has to be loaded into the
cargo hold.

Pareto Analysis T h e technique known as Pareto analysis (named after the Italian Pareto analysis: an
economist w h o first developed it) is useful in identifying the principal causes of analytical procedure to
observed outcomes. Application of this technique often highlights a p h e n o m e n o n identify what proportion of
known as the " 8 0 / 2 0 rule," showing that approximately 80 percent of the value problem events is caused by
of one variable (in this instance, the number of service failures) is accounted for by only each of several different
20 percent of the causal variables (i.e., the number of possible causes). In the airline factors.
example above, 88 percent of the company's late-departing flights were caused by only
four (15 percent) of all the possible causes—late passengers, late push back tug, late fuel,

272 PART F O U R • SERVICE D E L I V E R Y I S S U E S

and late weight and balance sheet. So, focus on these four factors rather than tackling all
potential causes simultaneously—especially w h e n time and other resources are limited.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Customers experience various levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction after each service
experience according to the extent to which their expectations were met or exceeded.
Because satisfaction is an emotional state, their postpurchase reactions can involve anger,
dissatisfaction, irritation, neutrality, pleasure, or delight.

Satisfaction, Delight, and Loyalty
Obviously, angry or dissatisfied customers are troublesome because they may switch
to another company and spread negative word of m o u t h . But is it sufficient just to sat-
isfy a customer? After all, a firm might reason that products and services are rarely per-
fect and people are hard to please. Companies that take this approach may be asking
for trouble because there is a lot of evidence that merely satisfying customers is not
enough. 2 0 Marginally satisfied or neutral customers can be lured away by competi-
tors. A delighted customer, however, is more likely to remain loyal in spite of attrac-
tive competitive offerings. C u s t o m e r satisfaction plays an especially critical role in
highly competitive industries, w h e r e there is a tremendous difference between the
loyalty of merely satisfied and completely satisfied—or delighted—customers (see
Figure 12.5). For example, a study of retail banking customers showed that com-
pletely satisfied customers were nearly 42 percent more likely to be loyal than merely
satisfied customers.
To improve its customer satisfaction levels, a company must first find out h o w satis-
fied or dissatisfied its current customers actually are. O n e c o m m o n way of measuring
satisfaction is to ask customers first to identify what factors are important in satisfying

FIGURE 12.5
How the Competitive
Environment Affects the
Satisfaction-Loyalty Source: Adapted and reprinted by permission of the Harvard Business Review. An exhibit from "Why Satisfied Customers Defect," by
Thomas O. Jones and W. Earl Sasser, Jr., November-December 1995, 91. Copyright © 1995 by the President and Fellows of Harvard
Relationship College; all rights reserved.

C H A P T E R TWELVE • C R E A T I N G VALUE T H R O U G H P R O D U C T I V I T Y A N D QUALITY 273

them and then to evaluate the performance of a service provider and its competitors on
these factors. Many firms use a five-point scale to measure customer satisfaction, with
the following format:

1 = very dissatisfied
2 = somewhat dissatisfied
3 = neutral
4 = somewhat satisfied
5 = very satisfied

The results of these satisfaction surveys can be used to estimate the number of loyal cus-
tomers a firm has, as well as how many are at risk of defecting.
As shown in Figure 12.6, research indicates that customers with satisfaction ratings
of 0 to 3 are very likely to defect, whereas customers w h o rated themselves somewhat
satisfied (4) can be lured away by a competing service. Only customers with a satisfac-
tion rating of 5 are absolutely loyal. At the extremes of the scale are two customer
groups with particular significance to service providers: "terrorists" and "apostles."
Terrorists are every company's nightmare. They don't just defect—they make sure that
everyone else shares their anger and frustration, too. Often these customers had a bad
experience that was never corrected by the company; as a result, they are dedicated to
spreading as much negative word of m o u t h as possible. In contrast, the apostle is the
kind of customer of w h o m every service provider dreams; they are so satisfied with their
service experiences that they want to share their enthusiasm with others. T h e y are
extremely loyal, and their obvious delight helps attract other customers. Creating apos-
tles and eliminating terrorists should be a key goal for every service provider. 21

FIGURE 12.6
"Apostles" and "Terrorists" on
the Satisfaction-Loyalty
Source: James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser, Jr., and Leonard A. Schlesinger, The Service Profit Chain (New York: Free Press, 1997), 87. Curve


Using Customer Satisfaction Information
O n c e a company has gathered satisfaction data from its customers, the next step is to
decide on the most appropriate strategies for increasing satisfaction levels. If most of the
satisfaction ratings fall in the 2—3 range, there is probably a problem with the firm's
delivery of the core service—the basic package of benefits that customers expect every
business in an industry to be able to provide. We can describe them as the "do-or-die"
elements of service. However, they may change as customer expectations increase, com-
petitive offerings improve, or new competitors enter the market. T h e solution for prob-
lems here is to make sure that a firm's basic product meets customer-defined industry
standards.
Neutral or satisfied customers (the 3s and 4s) are probably happy with the core ser-
vice but would like to have a consistent set of supplementary services that make the
basic product more effective or easier to use. Service providers with a high proportion
of neutral and satisfied customers need to increase their range of supporting services and
provide responsive service recovery processes so that customers don't slide into the dis-
satisfied category when problems do occur. Formalized service recovery programs can
help supplement the bundle of benefits provided by the core product and decrease the
liklihood that customers will defect to competitors' services. 22
Completely satisfied customers believe that a company thoroughly understands and
addresses their o w n personal preferences, needs, expectations, and problems. Service
providers whose customer satisfaction ratings are 5s have obviously listened carefully to
their customers and, as a result, have been able to incorporate a significant number of
innovative elements into their core offerings. In time, competitors may copy the inno-
vator, so a firm that wishes to remain a leader must continually listen to customers and
find new ways to delight them.

Benefits of Customer Satisfaction Management
Although every successful marketer wants to provide a service that satisfies customers,
this isn't the only goal. Companies can't lose sight of other basic business goals such as
achieving a competitive advantage or making a profit. As Figure 12.7 shows, customer

FIGURE 12.7
Benefits of Customer
Satisfaction and Service
Source: C. H. Lovelock, P. G. Patterson, and R. H. Walker, Services Marketing: Australia and New Zealand (Sydney: Prentice Hall, 1998),
Quality 119.


satisfaction provides many benefits for a firm, and higher levels of customer satisfaction
lead to greater customer loyalty. In the long run, it is more profitable to keep good cus-
tomers than to constantly attract and develop new customers to replace the ones w h o
leave. Highly satisfied customers spread positive word of m o u t h and in effect become a
walking, talking advertisement for a firm, which lowers the cost of attracting new cus-
tomers. This is particularly important for professional service providers (like dentists,
lawyers, engineers, or accountants), because reputation and word of m o u t h are key
information sources for new clients. 23
High levels of customer satisfaction are an insurance policy against something
going wrong. L o n g - t e r m customers tend to be more forgiving in these situations,
because an occasional bad experience will be offset by previous positive ones, and satis-
fied customers are less susceptible to competitors' offerings. It's no wonder that many
companies place so much emphasis on customer satisfaction, given its positive relation-
ship to customer retention, market share, and profits.

Return on Quality
Many strategies to improve customer satisfaction are costly to design and implement.
Thoughtful managers ask: W h i c h quality improvement efforts will provide the greatest
financial returns? This investment-oriented approach is called r e t u r n on quality r e t u r n on quality: the
(ROQ). 2 4 A company's research and complaint data may show that some quality defects financial return obtained
are much more important to customers than others, and some defects cost more money from investing in service
to fix. Moreover, not all quality improvement efforts will necessarily pay for themselves. quality improvements.
An R O Q approach can help a firm set priorities based on investing resources to fix
those defects that will subsequently yield the best financial returns.The objective should
be to undertake a systematic m e t h o d for rank-ordering quality improvement efforts
according to their anticipated financial return.

Building a Quality Information System
Organizations that are k n o w n for providing excellent service quality are good at lis-
tening to both their customers and their front-line employees. To do this effectively,
companies need to create an ongoing service research process that provides managers
with useful, timely data. Information from service quality surveys—including h o w a
firm compares with its competitors—can help managers understand the effects of
changes in service quality a n d / o r price on the firm's market share. 2 5 As Leonard
Berry says in On Great Service, " C o m p a n i e s need to build a service quality i n f o r - service quality
mation s y s t e m , not just do a study. C o n d u c t i n g a service quality study is analogous information system: an
to taking a snapshot. Deeper insight and an understanding of the pattern of change ongoing service research
come from an ongoing series of snapshots taken of various subject matter from many process that provides timely,
angles." 26 useful data to managers
about customer satisfaction,
Berry recommends that ongoing research should be conducted through a portfolio
expectations, and perceptions
of research techniques that make up a firm's service quality information system. Possible
of quality.
approaches include:
»- Post-transaction surveys
>- Total market surveys
>• Mystery shopping
>- New, declining, and former customer surveys
>• Focus groups
>- Employee field reporting


P o s t - T r a n s a c t i o n Surveys This approach is useful w h e n the goal is to measure
customer satisfaction and perceptions about service experiences while they are still fresh
post-transaction surveys: in the customer's mind. Post-transaction surveys are conducted right after a service
techniques to measure encounter or within a few days. 27 (See the boxed story about Toys R! Us.) Many service
customer satisfaction and businesses, including hotels and restaurants, invite customers to complete questionnaires
perceptions of service quality on site (or to mail t h e m back later). Some companies even offer incentives. For
while a specific service example, the Olive Garden restaurant sometimes gives customers a discount on their
experience is still fresh in the
next meal if they complete the customer satisfaction survey that is provided with every
customer s mind.
bill. Data of this nature may also be collected electronically. For instance, customers at
Einstein's Bagels can use a touch-activated screen that is located at the entrance to
record their impressions of service quality.

total market surveys; Total Market Surveys T h e purpose of total m a r k e t surveys is to measure
periodic measurements of customers' overall evaluations of service quality. Because such evaluations reflect
customers' overall evaluations customers' accumulated experience over time (and because this type of data collection
of service quality based on is costly), these surveys are administered less frequently than transactional surveys.The
accumulated experience over
information collected should include customers' service expectations and perceptions,
a period of time.
the relative importance of different service dimensions, and customers' intentions about
repurchasing and making positive recommendations to others. Companies can also use
total market surveys to measure competitors' service quality. But they need to sample
both customers and noncustomers to get an accurate picture of their competitive
position.

ToysR Us Finds Out Why Customers
Aren't Playing There Anymore
Responses to the initial post-transaction surveys highlighted
For most of the 1990s, Toys'R'Us was the undisputed leader some of the reasons that customers were defecting to competitors'
among retailers of traditional toys. But in 1998, Wal-Mart sur- stores. Many respondents rated their customer satisfaction levels
passed Toys R'Us in market share in this competitive market. as "poor," stating that Toys'R Us sales clerks were rude and
Worried Toys R'Us executives quickly implemented a new strat- unhelpful. Another complaint was that many popular toys were fre-
egy—labeled "C3"—aimed at increasing sales, profits, and "most quently out-of-stock. The survey data also allowed Toys' R Us to
importantly, winning back mom." C3 (which stands for "customer analyze the relationship between customer satisfaction and prof-
friendly, cost effective, and concept for a long-term position") is itability. Not surprisingly, customers who were delighted with their
based on ongoing post-transaction surveys that poll customers shopping experiences were significantly more profitable over time
within 48 hours after they have completed a Toys "R "Us transaction. than those who were merely satisfied.
Using household information compiled from the national Armed with these results, Toys RUs has implemented an
daily transaction data stored in its centralized data warehouse, aggressive campaign to make all of its stores more customer-
the company identifies approximately 60,000 customers a year friendly. The number of out-of-stock incidents has been sig-
who are then contacted by telephone to discuss their shopping nificantly reduced. Customer satisfaction is measured at each
experiences at Toys'R' Us. These customers are also asked about store every month through post-transaction surveys and mys-
any recent service encounters thay have had with competitors tery shopping. Toys RUs stores that rank highly receive incen-
like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and Target. Data are collected in two dif- tives, while those that don't get additional customer service
ferent formats: numerical ratings in response to specific ques- training.
tions, and quantitative responses that are recorded verbatim.

Source: Seth Mendieson, "Fixing a Broken Toy," Discount Merchandiser, February 1999; Ellen Simon, "Toys'R'Us Talking Up New Concept: Friendly Help is Key to Chain's Effort to Regain
No. 1 Status," Newark Star Ledger, 16 June, 1999; Ellen Simon, "Toys'R'Us Tries to Make Shopping a 'Magic' Moment," Newark Star Ledger, 22 June, 1999; and information presented by
Timothy Keiningham at the 9 th Annual Frontiers in Services Conference, Nashville, TN, September 2000.


Some marketers use a tool called S E R V Q U A L to gather this type of information SERVQUAL: a
(see the b o x , " T h e SERVQUAL Scale"). 28 Customers are asked to complete a series of standardized scale that
scales that measure their expectations of a particular company on a wide array of spe- measures expectations and
cific service characteristics, including aspects of the five quality dimensions. They then perceptions about critical
record their perceptions of actual service performance on these same characteristics. quality dimensions.
When perceived performance ratings are lower than expectations, it is a sign of poor
quality; the reverse indicates good quality.

The SERVQUAL
Scale
I RESPONSIVENESS
The SERVQUAL scale includes five dimensions: tangibles, reliability,
responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Within each dimension >• Employees of excellent banks will tell customers exactly
are several items measured on a seven-point scale from strongly when service will be performed.
agree to strongly disagree, for a total of 21 items. >- Employees of excellent banks will give prompt service to
customers.
SERVQUAL Questions >> Employees of excellent banks will always be willing to help
Note: For actual survey respondents, instructions are also included customers.
and each statement is accompanied by a seven-point scale ranging
>- Employees of excellent banks will never be too busy to
from "strongly agree = 7" to "strongly disagree = 1." Only the end
respond to customer requests.
points of the scale are labeled—there are no words above the
numbers 2 through 6. ASSURANCE

TANGIBLES >• The behavior of employees of excellent banks will instill
confidence in customers.
>• Excellent banks [refer to cable TV companies, hospitals, or
>- Customers of excellent banks will feel safe in their trans-
the appropriate service business throughout the question-
actions.
naire] will have modern-looking equipment.
>- Employees of excellent banks will be consistently courte-
>- The physical facilities at excellent banks will be visually
ous with customers.
appealing.
>• Employees of excellent banks will have the knowledge to
>- Employees at excellent banks will be neat in appearance.
answer customer questions.
*- Materials associated with the service (like brochures or
statements) will be visually appealing in an excellent bank. EMPATHY

RELIABILITY >- Excellent banks will give customers individual attention.
>• Excellent banks will have operating hours convenient to all
>• When excellent banks promise to do something by a cer-
their customers.
tain time, they will do so.
>• Excellent banks will have employees who give customers
»- When customers have a problem, excellent banks will
personal attention.
show a sincere interest in solving it.
>- The employees of excellent banks will understand the spe-
*- Excellent banks will perform the service right the first time.
cific needs of their customers.
5* Excellent banks will provide their services at the time they
promise to do so.
>• Excellent banks will insist on error-free records.

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