Marketing of Services

Meaning and characteristics of services; difference between goods and services marketing; challenges of services marketing; services marketing myopia; expanded services marketing mix (7Ps); levels of service expectations; factors influencing consumer perception of service; case studies.

Types of service quality; determinants of service quality; Gap Model of Service Quality; service quality gaps in delivery; SERVQUAL model and measurement of service quality; service quality research approaches; strategies for improving service quality; customer satisfaction and perceived service value; case studies.

Customer participation in service creation; strategies to enhance customer involvement; managing service demand fluctuations; service delivery systems and intermediaries; service pricing strategies; cost-based, value-based and competition-based pricing; revenue management; price bundling, captive pricing, two-part pricing, loss leader pricing; case studies.

Challenges in service communication; managing service promises and delivery gaps; integrated service communication strategies; role of advertising and promotion in services; service branding concepts; servicescape and environmental dimensions; impact of physical evidence on customer experience; design of service environment; case studies.

• Service failures and causes; service recovery strategies and tactics; customer feedback systems; complaint handling mechanisms; internal marketing and employee empowerment; role of employees in service delivery; managing moments of truth; customer loyalty and retention; Customer Lifetime Value (CLV); case studies. Practical Activities 1. Selection of a service like banking, hospital, restaurant, airline, OTT platform, etc. and mapping the complete customer journey from pre-service expectations to post-service evaluation to identify touchpoints, perceived service quality, and possible service gaps using the Gap Model.
• 2. Design of a short SERVQUAL questionnaire with reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, tangibles to collect responses from peers to analyse the gap between expected and perceived service quality. 3. Creation of a service blueprint for a selected service like hotel check-in, online food delivery, hospital appointment system etc and simulating a service failure scenario. Then perform a role-play demonstrating service recovery strategies, complaint handling, and customer retention techniques to understand service process design, physical evidence, employee roles, and effective service recovery mechanisms.