Amabelle A.

Salazar
BSBA 2. Block 1

7 Important Characteristics of Services

1. Perishability:

Service is highly perishable and time element has great significance in service marketing.

Service if not used in time is lost forever. Service cannot stored.

2. Fluctuating Demand:

Service demand has high degree of fluctuations. The changes in demand can be seasonal or by weeks, days or
even hours. Most of the services have peak demand in peak hours, normal demand and low demand on off-
period time.

3. Intangibility:

Unlike product, service cannot be touched or sensed, tested or felt before they are availed. A service is an
abstract phenomenon.

4. Inseparability:

Personal service cannot be separated from the individual and some personalized services are created and
consumed simultaneously.

For example hair cut is not possible without the presence of an individual. A doctor can only treat when his
patient is present.

5. Heterogeneity:

The features of service by a provider cannot be uniform or standardized. A Doctor can charge much higher fee to
a rich client and take much low from a poor patient.

6. Pricing of Services:

Pricing decision about services are influenced by perishability, fluctuation in demand and inseparability. Quality
of a service cannot be carefully standardized. Pricing of services is dependent on demand and competition
where variable pricing may be used.

7. Service quality is not statistically measurable:

It is defined in form of reliability, responsiveness, empathy and assurance all of which are in control of
employee’s direction interacting with customers. For service, customers satisfaction and delight are very
important. Employees directly interacting with customers are to be very special and important. People include
internal marketing, external marketing and interactive marketing.

AMABELLE ANDER SALAZAR

Types of goods

Normal goods - the quantity demanded of such commodities increases as the consumer’s income increases and
decreases as the consumer’s income decreases. Such goods are called normal goods.

Giffen goods - a Giffen good is an inferior good which people consume more of as price rises, violating the law of
demand.. In the Giffen good situation, cheaper close substitutes are not available. Because of the lack of
substitutes, the income effect dominates, leading people to buy more of the good, even as its price rises.

Substitutes goods- substitute good for another kind insofar as the two kinds of goods can be consumed or used
in place of one another in at least some of their possible usesn increase in price for one kind of good (ceteris
paribus) will result in an increase in demand for its substitute goods, and a decrease in price (ceteris paribus,
again) will result in a decrease in demand for its substitutes.

Complementary goods - A complementary good or complement good in economics is a good which is consumed
with another good;if goods A and B were complements, more of good A being bought would result in more of
good B also being bought and vice versa eg car and Petrol. If the demand for car increases then the demand for
petrol also increases.

AMABELLE ANDER SALAZAR

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AMABELLE ANDER SALAZAR