MC6061

Services and E-Services

Week 5
 Key factors to consider
 The service concept  E-Services
- Services lifecycle -Emergence & increasing
- Service hierarchy importance of electronic
services
- Difference between
service strategy and -Different types of
service tactic electronic services
-Different functions of
electronic services
-E-service evaluation and
control
 The hierarchy of services
Level Definition e.g.
Need Core need forming the basics of Old age
Family service security
 Hierarchy of services Service All service classes which are Savings
family more or less effective in meeting and
-Give meaning to services at core needs income
Service Group of services within a family Financial
strategic and operational level class recognised as one class service

-Every hierarchical level contains Service form A group of services in the same
class, closely related to each
Life
insurance
sums of the parts of the other
Service type All parts of above which have one Capital &
consecutive level or more characteristics of service endow-
in common ment life
insurance
Brand The name connected to one or AMEX,
more objects in service form Swiss Life

Service A distinct unit within a brand, AMEX life

variation distinguished by way of size, price insurance
or common attributes
 Life cycle of services
 Introductory phase
- Develop primary demand
for service (class)
- Different pricing strategies
 Growth phase
- Rapid increase in sales
- Competitors try to imitate,
lure customers
- Pioneers refine service,
monitor performance,
new target groups and
distribution channels
 Maturity
- Efficiency of internal and external
service delivery becomes important
- Gauge ability to add additional
services
- More opportunity for customers
preferring core service
 Saturation
- Service modification
- Service innovation
 Decline
- Minimise expenses in providing
service
- Service provided if client asks for it
Strategic vs tactical service
 E-services: Emergence &
Importance
 E-services and competitive  E-services and customer
advantage
expectation
- Substitution of labour
leading to cost reduction - Time utility: Available 24/7
- Enabling adoption of ‘low - Place utility: Convenience of
cost strategies’ being available in different
- Improve quality and the places
value added of existing - Form utility: Rich in content
services, especially and informative
important for firms
competing by - Price utility: Sharing cost
differentiating their offer by savings with customers
providing high quality
service
 A typology of e-services

E-service E-services as entirely independent or self contained

autonomy services – e.g. electronic banking. Can also support or
supplement other products and services
E-service Offering an electronic service over and above existing
purpose services (owing to cost savings or value added services).
Purpose – increase traffic, promotional
E-service One directionally – From service provider to customer
directionality (product catalogues, price lists)

E-service B2C, B2B, C2C, P2P; B2B facilitates functions in the

environment supply chain

Transactional/ For completing a transaction – processing payments

informational e- Exchange of information
service
 Heterogeneity of e-services

Tailor
service to
delight
customer Customisability of
service limited by Difficult to control
design of service
From servicescape to cyberscape
framework
 E-service evaluation and control:
E-S-Qual Scale
 Efficiency: the ease and  E-Service recovery
speed of accessing the  Responsiveness: effective
website problem handling and
- Fulfilment: keeping returns through site
promises  Compensation: the degree
- System Availability: the to which the site
correct technical compensates customers
functioning of the site - Contact: assistance through
 Privacy: protection of telephone or online
consumer rights representatives
 Online elements of service quality
 Companies need to:
 Understand customers’ expectations
 Make clear service promises
 Deliver on those promises

Visibility(could be Reliability Responsiveness Assurance and

considered as empathy
tangibles?)

•Colour, size and •Availability •Download speed •Contacts with call

shape of icons & •Bugs •E-mail response centre
fonts, etc. •Callback •Personalise
•Service content- •Fulfilment •Privacy
printed document •Security
• In groups of 3-4, answer the following questions:

• Where do quality expectations come from in

customers of electronic services?
• What would be the main causes of poor service
quality perceptions in electronic services?
• Is the role of trust different in electronic services
from traditional services? How about its role in
after-sales services?