24210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Customer Service, Marketing Mix, Intangibility
Document Summary
Explain the importance of the services sector to aus & nz economies. Services (activity, performance or benefit offered for sale) Service (how a good, service or idea is delivered-adds value) Economic growth = higher demand (except educational services) Demographic shift (elderly people) lifestyle shift (child-care) Accounting services/lawyers: describe how to develop and manage an effective marketing mix based on the unique characteristics of services. Use tangible cues (logos, uniforms, certificates on walls) Use guarantees & word of mouth communication. Created at the same time they are consumed (simultaneously) Heterogeneity (variations in quality in the delivery of a product) Services are different each time (inevitable but minimisable) Inability to store services for use at a later date. Supply/demand can be balanced: early bird specials, cheaper prices. People: directly involved in service experience (frontline interactions) Most controllable factor (companies must treat staff well) Phantom stock occurs when companies cut costs (no customer service) Tangible cues to evaluate service quality prior to service.
