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HC2112
SERVICES MARKETING AND RELATIONSHIP MARKETING
FINAL ASSESSMENT
TRIMESTER 1, 2022

Assessment Weight: 50 total marks

Instructions:
 All questions must be answered by using the answer boxes provided in this paper.
 Completed answers must be submitted to Blackboard by the published due date
and time.

Please ensure you follow the submission instructions at the end of this paper.

Purpose:
This assessment consists of six (6) questions and is designed to assess your level of
knowledge of the key topics covered in this unit. Lecture materials and resources used during
your studies at Holmes Institute should be sufficient to guide your answers BUT if you
consult any external resources be sure to cite correctly and list as references at the end of
each question, using Holmes adapted-Harvard style.

HC2112 Final Assessment T1 2022

Question 1 (7 marks)
Give examples of how Internet and telecommunications technologies (e.g., Interactive Voice
Response Systems [IVRs] and mobile commerce [M-commerce]) have changed some of the
services that you use.
Answer the question in 250 words
ANSWER: * answer box will enlarge as you type

Telecommunication is a significant tool for individuals and businesses that allow them
to connect effi ciently with clients and convey high standards of customer service. It is
the major element in permitti ng workers and personnel to collaborate easily from
wherever they are positioned, remote or local. Interactive voice response is an
automatic telephony mechanism that interrelates with callers, collects data and routes
calls to the suitable recipients. A well-planned interactive voice response system could
assist in boosting client satisfaction and enhance contact center operational activities
and KPIs. Specifically, throughout times of high call volume, and effi cient interactive
voice response mechanism could assist in avoiding hold duration by assisting clients to
find explanations and carry out simple activities themselves (Malik et al, 2018, p (20)). For
instance, if a client requires or requests to speak with an individual, IVR technology
could assist route calls speedily and flawlessly to the best call center agents to tackle
their queries. Moreover, mobile commerce or m-commerce refers to the new
approaches firms are doing businesses that are centered around the rising usage of
mobile devices such as phones, tablets, and smartbooks. M-commerce has as well
altered the nature of most e-commerce sites. With an augmented focus by clients on
the convenience of phone platform use, online vendors such as Amazon and eBay have
started to allocate more resurces for optimizing the phone experience of clients. For
instance, in Amazon, the practice for finding allied items and for checking out should be
simplified to abridge the limit of time the users spend waiting for every page to load
and falling the possibility of users closing the application before a buying is finished
(Taneja, 2021, p 299(318)).

HC2112 Final Assessment T1 2022

Question 2 (7 marks)
Explain the three-stage model of service consumption. Provide an example to support your
discussion
ANSWER:
As per the three-stage model of service consumption, clients move through 3 main phases when
they consume services: the pre-purchase phase, the service encounter phase, and the post-
encounter phase.
Pre-purchase phase
Client behaviour Key perceptions
Require awareness Require stimulation
Information searching Sources of information, professed risk
Alternate evaluation Multi-attribute model and search (experience
Make choice on service purchase and credence attributes)

Service encounter phase

Client behaviour Key perceptions
Request service from selected supplier or An intergrative model of services encounter,
instigation of self service servicescapes, script of service
Service delivery dealings Low contact service encounters

Post encounter phase

Client behaviour Key perceptions
Assessment of service performance Satisfaction of client with services, the
Future intents expectancy-disconfirmation paradigm, the

HC2112 Final Assessment T1 2022

 attribute based mode
An integrative model of service gratification
and behavioural intents

The pre-purchase phase of the decision-making procedure for services is more multifaceted in
contrast with that for goods as it encompasses a merged set of aspects and tasks. In this phase,
requirement arousal prompts clients to begin searching for information and assess alternate
options before they make a buying choice. Numerous sources can trigger requirements: the
unconscious mindset (for instance impulse purchase), internal situations (e.g., starvation), or
external sources (for instance marketing mix). Clients could involve in impulse purchases or
‘unplanned attitude’. The service encounter phase encompasses clients' contacts or dealings
with the service organization. In this phase, clients co-create practices and value and co-produce
a service whilst assessing the services practice for instance a client who calls for the repairing
services might switch to some other firm if he is put on wait for a long duration or even treated
offensively (Jiao et al, 2020, p(103238)). The last phase of service consumption is the post-
encounter phase and encompasses clients' behavioral and attitudinal reactions to the service
practice. It is based on client assessment of service performance and future intents.

Question 3 (7 marks)
What is the difference between important and determinant attributes in consumer choice
decisions?
Discuss the question in 250 words
ANSWER:
Determinant attributes are those attributes that essentially define the consumer’s last choice of
service. A determinant attribute doesn’t possess to be the most significant facet but it is the
aspect that the client utilizes to eventually differentiate one service offering from another.

HC2112 Final Assessment T1 2022

Moreover, price is the most considerable determinant facet for the clients, those with more
disposable proceeds might still purchase from the smaller vendors as it provides modish clothes
at lesser prices. Clients have certain requirements while they purchase items or goods.
Furthermore, important attributes are those professed by a certain set of clients as significant at
the time of buying but which do not determine it. Such facets are not capable to determine the
selection of buying and thus don’t impact or put a value on the factuality of being present in the
same class of goods. Therefore in general important attributes are not given much attention as
these exist in all goods of a provided category. Whereas determinant attributes are professed as
the best choice for maximizing clients' satisfaction and attaining the desired values by the client,
efficiently they are capable to direct the decision (Bangsa et al, 2020, p (118902)). The
determinant attributes present themselves for the clients as the best likelihood to respond to
the gratification of their wants in a particular good or brand. For instance, clients who purchase
fast food are mostly attentive to taste, texture, speed of service, value, and cleanliness. Taste
and texture are qualities of food items, value is the pricing facet. Fast food clients desire plenty
of foodstuff quantities at a practical cost.

Question 4 (11 marks)

Explain the “flower of service” concept and identify each of its petals. What insights does this
concept provide for service marketers? Give an example to support your explanation.
Answer the question in 300 words
ANSWER:
The concept of the flower of service was presented by Christopher Lovelock that differentiates
between easing and improving additional services. Such various additional services could be
categorized into 8 petals: information, order taking, billing, payment, consultation, hospitality,
safekeeping, and exception. The flower of service is a beneficial idea in marketing. It could be

HC2112 Final Assessment T1 2022

utilized to observe the interaction among core items and supplementary services. As a situation
for efficacious formation of a service business, it is imperious of the service marketers to start a
well-explored plan for penetration and substance to transmute the business into an actual
money-making endeavor, especially in the sensitive service sector. The major aspects that must
be assessed by a service marketer embrace marketplace penetration strategies, objectives and
goals prospective opposition, and general business settings. Thus the concept of the flower of
service is critical to service marketers as it endeavors to make sure conviction and quality service
to consumers regardless of the time of visit, the obedience of maximum business standards that
should fulfill the set governing body standards for operating a service business, vigorous
associations with the client through continual reaction regardless of the nature of magnitude of
the complaint or compliment (Hashem, 2018, p 122(137)). Moreover for instance through the
espousal of the flower of service notion, service marketers would be capable to develop a two-
way communication context and client care plan to tackle the concerns of the clients. The client
care plan could double up as a public relations policy to conquest and keep clients devoted. As a
consequence, the client of service development would establish a tight association with the
business as they would identify it as a caring development.

Question 5 (7 marks)
Price strategy is one of important component of service marketing. Why is the pricing of services
more difficult than the pricing of goods? Provide an example to support your discussion.
Answer the question in 250 words
ANSWER:

A pricing strategy could be labeled as a mechanism that is utilized for determining the price of an
item or product or service by considering various aspects such as marketplace situations,
circumstances, the capability of goods or items, etc. it assists in choosing prices to maximize
proceeds and also help in increasing value of shareholders whilst considering client and
marketplace demands. Furthermore, pricing services is more tough or problematic as compared
to pricing goods as one could often find the cost of crafting a physical item but it is more
subjective to compute the worth of the counsel, the expertise of personnel, and the value of the

HC2112 Final Assessment T1 2022

time (Zhou et al, 2022, p (118100)). Moreover, it is hard to price services as there is a
requirement for a model that is scalable hitherto flexible sufficient for solving the concerns or
issues of clients. Providing scalable, one-size-fits-all pricing could turn possible clients off as their
requirements are classically not like those of uncountable other clients. For instance, in the case
of services, there is nothing tangible to see, i.e such as an item, the purchaser has to weigh up
what they are being provided for a specific service, and what they are going to gain from it which
means the service can have an alleged value that differs from individual to individual, as they
cannot observe what they purchase. Once one has laid out a comprehensive menu of what
services are encompassed, some may set a pretty high value, while others might not deem it is
worth that much (Sun et al, 2022, p 2177(2189)).

Question 6 (11 marks)

What are the 5 Ws along which the Integrated Service Communications Model is structured?
Give examples to support your explanation.
Answer the question in 300 words
ANSWER:
The 5 W’s of communication are 5 words that start with the letter W. One emphasizes them
when they desire to make their communication effective i.e., grasp their target and affect the
recipient. The 5 words are who, what, when, where, and why. These are the aspects of
information required to get the entire story, for instance, whether it is a journalist unwrapping a
scandal, a detective examining wrongdoing, or a client service representative attempting to
resolve a complaint. The 5 W’s assist in marketing planning but contrasting other occupations
the development of an efficient marketing plan needs that they are responding in a particular
order: why, who, what, where, and when (de Paulo Sobrinho et al, 2018, p 17(66)) . Moreover,
smart firms start by asking why- why are we expending our restricted marketing resources? Why
do we trust they are better invested here as compared to other facets of our business? Such
queries suitably considered, force firm leaders to explain their business and marketing goals and
face their expectations before they get too far down the road. The 2nd is who- who is essential

HC2112 Final Assessment T1 2022

for attaining objectives? The better any firm explains its ‘who’- and the more it could know
regarding its way of living, attitudes, conducts, views, desires, and requirements- the more
efficiently it could tackle the remaining 3 Ws. Next comes what, as in it is a firm requirement to
provide the target audience to achieve the goals and aims. At last, the final two W’s could be
tackled as management dives into the essentials of campaign planning. The queries now rotate
around where and when the finest places and time are to converse (firm’s) what to (firm’s) who
in service of (firm’s) why.

References
Bangsa, A.B. and Schlegelmilch, B.B., 2020. Linking sustainable product attributes and consumer
decision-making: Insights from a systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 245,
p.118902.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652619337722

de Paulo Sobrinho, E.V., De Lucia, A. and de Almeida Maia, M., 2018. A systematic literature
review on bad smells–5 w's: which, when, what, who, where. IEEE Transactions on Software
Engineering, 47(1), pp.17-66.
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8532309/

Hashem, T., 2018. The Flower of Service Concept and Its Influence on the Customer Satisfaction:
Case Study of Jordanian Private Hospitals Sector. International Journal of Business and
Management, 13(2), pp.122-137.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tareq-Hashem/publication/
322509440_The_Flower_of_Service_Concept_and_Its_Influence_on_the_Customer_Satisfaction
_Case_Study_of_Jordanian_Private_Hospitals_Sector/links/5a5d22f4458515c03ede8150/The-
Flower-of-Service-Concept-and-Its-Influence-on-the-Customer-Satisfaction-Case-Study-of-
Jordanian-Private-Hospitals-Sector.pdf

HC2112 Final Assessment T1 2022

Jiao, W., Chen, H. and Yuan, Y., 2020. Understanding users’ dynamic behavior in a free trial of IT
services: A three-stage model. Information & Management, 57(6), p.103238.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378720618304075

Malik, S. and Kumar, P., 2018. Transformation of Business from E-commerce to M-

commerce. IITM Journal of Information Technology, p.20.
https://iitmjp.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IITM-Journal-of-Information-Technology-JIT-
2018.pdf#page=22

Sun, S., Chen, X. and Chang, Y., 2022. Research on Multi-Dimensional Differentiated Marketing
Pricing Strategy of Big Data Products and Services. Forest Chemicals Review, pp.2177-2189.
http://forestchemicalsreview.com/index.php/JFCR/article/view/1077

Taneja, B., 2021. The Digital Edge for M-Commerce to Replace E-Commerce. In Emerging
Challenges, Solutions, and Best Practices for Digital Enterprise Transformation (pp. 299-318). IGI
Global.
https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/the-digital-edge-for-m-commerce-to-replace-e-
commerce/275713

Zhou, Z., Liu, Z., Su, H. and Zhang, L., 2022. Integrated pricing strategy for coordinating load
levels in coupled power and transportation networks. Applied Energy, 307, p.118100.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306261921013817

END OF FINAL ASSESSMENT

HC2112 Final Assessment T1 2022

Submission instructions:
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Please ensure your submission is the correct document as special consideration is not
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HC2112 Final Assessment T1 2022