MKT 3207 Faculty:

S.M. Monirul Islam

Service Marketing Department of Marketing
07 Physical Evidence and the Servicescape JUST
07 Physical Evidence and the Servicescape
Chapter Content:
– What is physical evidence
– Types of servicescape
– Strategic roles of servicescape

© S M Monirul Islam, Dept. of Marketing,

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Figure 10.1
The extraordinary design of
the Guggenheim Museum has
drawn large amounts of praise
and crowds.

https://www.guggenheim.org

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What is Physical Evidence?

Physical evidence includes all aspects of the

organization’s physical facility (the servicescape) as
well as other forms of tangible communication.
Elements of the physical servicescape that affect
customers include both exterior attributes (such as
signage, parking, and the landscape) and interior
attributes (such as design, layout, equipment, and
decor).
It also includes the virtual tangibles such as webpage.

© S M Monirul Islam, Dept. of Marketing,

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 What is Physical Evidence……..?

TABLE 10.1
Elements of Physical
Evidence

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Types of Servicescape
Servicescape is classified into three types based on
the usage and two types based on the complexity of
the facility setup.
Based on usage;
§ Self-service (customer only)
§ Interpersonal services (both customer and employee)
§ Remote service (employee only)

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Types of Servicescape…..
Based on the complexity of the facility setup;
§ Elaborate servicescape (Complex)
§ Lean servicescape (Simplified)

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 Types of Servicescape…..

TABLE 10.3
Typology of Service Organizations Based on Variations in Form and Use of the Servicescape
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Self Service Environment
In the self-service environment, in which the customer performs most
of the activities and few if any employees are involved. Examples of
self-service environments include ATMs, movie theatres, and online
services.
– Focus exclusively on marketing goals
– Attracting the right market segment
– Making the facility pleasing and easy to use
– Creating the desired service experience for the customer
© S M Monirul Islam, Dept. of Marketing,
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Self service environment……

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Interpersonal Services Environment
Interpersonal services are placed between the two extremes and
represent situations in which both the customer and the employee are
present and active in the servicescape. Examples abound, such as
hotels, restaurants, hospitals, educational settings, and banks.
– Designed to attract, satisfy, and facilitate the activities of both
customers and employees simultaneously.
– Facilitate the nature and quality of the social interactions between and
among customers and employees

© S M Monirul Islam, Dept. of Marketing,

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Interpersonal Services Environment….

Interpersonal services environment in a bank

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Remote Service Environment
The remote service, which has little or no customer involvement with
the servicescape. Telecommunications, editorial, and mail-order
services are examples of services that can be provided without the
customer ever seeing the service facility.
• In remote services, the facility can be set up to keep employees motivated
and to facilitate productivity, teamwork, operational efficiency, or
whatever organizational behavior goal is desired without any
consideration of customers because they will never see or visit the
servicescape.
© S M Monirul Islam, Dept. of Marketing,
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Remote Service Environment…..

Employees are working in a radio center broadcasting studio

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Elaborate Servicescape
Elaborative servicescapes are very complicated, with many elements
and many forms.. An example is a hospital with its many floors and
rooms, sophisticated equipment, and complex variability in functions
performed within the physical facility.
• In such an elaborate environment, the full range of marketing and
organizational objectives theoretically can be approached through careful
management of the servicescape.

© S M Monirul Islam, Dept. of Marketing,

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Elaborate Servicescape….

Elaborative Servicescape of a hospital

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Lean Servicescape
Some service environments are very simple, with few elements, few
spaces, and few pieces of equipment. Such environments are termed
lean. Shopping mall information kiosks and ATM booth are considered
lean environments because both provide service from one simple
structure.
• For lean servicescapes, design decisions are relatively straightforward,
especially in self- service or remote service situations in which there is no
interaction among employees and customers.

© S M Monirul Islam, Dept. of Marketing,

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Lean servicescape…..

Lean Servicescape of a shopping mall information kiosk

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Strategic roles of the servicescape
§ Package
Similar to a tangible product’s package, the servicescape and other
elements of physical evidence essentially “wrap” the service and convey
to consumers an external image of what is “inside.”

§ Facilitator
The servicescape can also serve as a facilitator in aiding the performances
of persons in the environment. How the setting is designed can enhance
or inhibit the efficient flow of activities in the service setting, making it
easier or harder for customers and employees to accomplish their goals.
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Strategic roles of the servicescape….

§ Socializer
The design of the servicescape aids in the socialization
of both employees and customers in the sense that it
helps convey expected roles, behaviors, and
relationships.
§ Differentiator
The design of the physical facility can differentiate a
firm from its competitors and signal the market
segment that the service is intended for.

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 The SOR Model
Stimulus-Organism- Response (SOR) model
A model developed by environmental psychologists to help explain the effects
of the service environment on consumer behavior; describes environmental
stimuli, emotional states, and responses to those states.

FIG-8.2 The Three

Components of the SOR
Model (Text 02)

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The SOR Model…..

Dominance

Figure 10.8 Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) Model (Text 03)

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The SOR Model…..
Three elements of SOR model
§ Stimuli- The various elements of the firm’s physical evidence (sight,
sound, touch, taste, and smell)
§ Organism- The recipients of the set of stimuli in the service
encounter; includes employees and customers.
§ Responses (outcomes)- Consumers’ and employee reaction or
behavior in response to stimuli (approach/avoidance behaviors by
employee/ customers).
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The SOR Model…..
§ Pleasure-displeasure
The emotional state that reflects the degree to which
consumers and employees feel satisfied with the service
experience.
§ Arousal-nonarousal
The emotional state that reflects the degree to which
consumers and employees feel excited and stimulated.
§ Dominance- submissiveness
The emotional state that reflects the degree to which
consumers and employees feel in control and able to act
freely within the ser- vice environment.

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The SOR Model…..
Approach behaviors or avoidance behaviors;
§ A desire to stay (approach) or leave (avoid) the service establishment.
§ A desire to further explore and interact with the service environment
(approach) or a tendency to ignore it (avoidance).
§ A desire to communicate with others (approach) or to ignore the attempts
of service providers to communicate with customers (avoid).
§ Feelings of satisfaction (approach) or disappointment (avoidance) with the
service experience.

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The servicescape
model

FIGURE 10.1
A Framework for
Understanding Physical
Environment–User
Relationships in Service
Organizations

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Environmental Dimensions of Servicescape

Hundreds of potential elements of servicescape have

been categorized into three composite dimensions:
– Ambient conditions
– Spatial layout and functionality
– Signs, symbols, and artifacts

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Ambient conditions
Ambient conditions include background characteristics of the
environment such as temperature, lighting, noise, music, scent, and
color. As a general rule, ambient conditions affect the five senses.
All these factors can affect how people feel, think, and respond to a
service establishment.

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Spatial Layout and Functionality
Spatial layout refers to the ways in which machinery,
equipment, and furnishings are arranged; the size and
shape of those items; and the spatial relationships
among them.
Functionality refers to the ability of the same items to
facilitate the accomplishment of customer and
employee goals.
• The spatial layout and functionality of the environment are
particularly important for customers in self-service
environments, where they must perform the service on their
own and cannot rely on employees to assist them.
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Signs, Symbols, and Artifacts
Signs displayed on the exterior and interior of a structure are examples of
explicit communicators. They can be used as labels (name of company, name
of department, and so on), for directional purposes (entrances, exits), and to
communicate rules of behavior (no smoking, children must be accompanied
by an adult).
Other environmental symbols and artifacts may communicate less directly
than signs, giving implicit cues to users about the meaning of the place and
norms and expectations for behavior in the place.

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Internal Responses to the Servicescape
Employees and customers respond to dimensions of their
physical surroundings cognitively, emotionally, and
physiologically, and those responses are what influence
their behaviors in the environment.
• Environment and Cognition
The perceived servicescape can have an effect on
people’s beliefs about a place and their beliefs about
the people and products found in that place.
– Beliefs
– Categorization
– Symbolic meaning

© S M Monirul Islam, Dept. of Marketing,

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Internal Responses to the Servicescape…..
• Environment and Emotion
In addition to influencing beliefs, the perceived servicescape can directly
elicit emotional responses that, in turn, influence behaviors. Just being in
a particular place can make a person feel happy, light-hearted, and
relaxed, whereas being in another place may make that person feel sad,
depressed, and gloomy.
– Mood
– Attitude

© S M Monirul Islam, Dept. of Marketing,

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Internal Responses to the Servicescape…..
• Environment and Physiology
The perceived servicescape may also affect people in
purely physiological ways. Noise that is too loud may
cause physical discomfort, the temperature of a room
may cause people to shiver or perspire.
All these physical responses may, in turn, directly
influence whether people stay in and enjoy a
particular environment.
– Pain
– Comfort
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Individual Behaviors to environment
Environmental psychologists suggest that individuals react to places with two
general, and opposite, forms of behavior: approach and avoidance.
• Approach behaviors include all positive behaviors that might be directed
at a particular place, such as a desire to stay, explore, work, and affiliate.
• Avoidance behaviors reflect the opposite— a desire not to stay, to
explore, to work, or to affiliate.

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Social Interactions and Environment

Social Interactions
In addition to its effects on their individual behaviors,
the servicescape influences the nature and quality of
customer and employee interactions, most directly in
interpersonal services. It has been stated that “all
social interaction is affected by the physical container
in which it occurs”.

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Managing the Senses When Creating Servicescapes
Ultimately, individuals base their perceptions of a firm’s facilities on their
interpretation of sensory cues. So firms should effectively manage the senses
of sight, sound, scent, touch, and taste in creating sensory appeals that
enhance customer and employee attraction responses.

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Sight Appeals

On a basic level, the three primary visual stimuli that

appeal to consumers are size, shape, and colors.
– Location
– Architecture
– Signage
– Entrance
– Lighting

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Sound Appeals
Sound appeals have three major roles: mood setter, attention grabber, and
informer. Pro- active methods for purposely inserting sound into the service
encounter can be accomplished through the strategic use of music and
announcements.
– Music
– Announcements
– Sound Avoidance

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Scent Appeals

The servicescape of the firm can also be strongly affected

by scents. When considering scent appeals, as was the
case with sound appeals, service managers should pay as
much attention to scent avoidance as to scent creation.
Stale, musty, foul odors affect everyone and are sure to
create negative impressions.

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Touch Appeals
The chances of a product’s selling increases substantially when the consumer
handles the product. But how does one touch an intangible product?
For purer services with a smaller tangible component, touch appeals can be
developed through the use of “open houses” where the public has a chance
to meet the people providing the service. Shaking hands and engaging in face-
to-face communications with potential and existing customers is definitely a
form of touch appeal.

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Taste Appeals

Taste appeals, the final sensory cue, are the equivalent of

providing the customer with samples. Within the service
sector, the usefulness of taste appeals when developing
ser- vice atmospheres depends upon the tangibility of the
service.
Service firms such as car washes, dry cleaners, and restaurants
may use taste appeals to initially attract customers. While
sampling the firm’s services, the customer will have the
opportunity to observe the firm’s physical evidence and form
perceptions regarding the firm and its performance capabilities.

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Guidelines for Physical Evidence Strategy
§ Recognize the Strategic Impact of Physical Evidence
§ Blueprint the Physical Evidence of Service
§ Clarify Strategic Roles of the Servicescape
§ Assess and Identify Physical Evidence Opportunities
§ Update and Modernize the Evidence
§ Work Cross-Functionally

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End of Topic 07

Next Topic 08:

Employees’ and Customers’ Role in Service

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