Chapter 1

Understanding
Services Marketing

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 Objectives
1. To examine the nature of services
2. To differentiate the marketing of services from
the marketing of physical goods and their
facilitating services
3. To explain the characteristics of all services
4. To classify various services

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 Outline
I. Introduction
II. Definition of Services
III. How Does Services Marketing Differ from
Physical Goods Marketing?
IV. Characteristics of Services
V. Classifications of Services
VI. Overview of Book
VII. Summary and Conclusion

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 Definition of Services

A service is "a deed, a

performance, an effort"
(Rathmell 1966).

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 How Does Services Marketing
Differ From Physical Goods Marketing?

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 Characteristics of Services
Intangibility Most services cannot be seen, touched,
held, or put on a shelf.
Inseparability For most services, the production and
consumption of the service occur simultaneously.
Variability It is hard for a service organization to
standardize the quality of its service performance.
Perishability Most services cannot be produced or
stored before consumption. They exist only at the time of
their production.
Rental/Access Services provide temporary possession
or access instead of ownership.

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 Classifications Based
on Services Fields
Health Care Services
Financial Services
Professional Services
Knowledge Services
Travel and Hospitality Services

Source: Fisk & Tansuhaj (1985)

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 Classifications Based
on Services Fields (contd)
Entertainment Services
Information Services
Supply Services
Personal and Maintenance Services
Governmental, Quasi-Governmental, and
Nonprofit Services

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 Classifications Based
on Services Customers
Consumer services provided to customers who
are purchasing for their own personal needs.
Prominently visible in any community: banks,
schools, restaurants, etc.
Business-to-business services provided to
customers who are purchasing on behalf of their
organizations.
Rarely seen by the general public: professional
service firms, transportation firms, etc.

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 Lovelocks Classification
Tangible acts on a persons body Services such as
health care, hotels, airlines, beauty salons and
fitness centers.
Intangible acts on a persons mind Services such
as education, advertising, entertainment and
broadcasting.
Tangible acts on physical possessions Services
such as laundry, landscaping, repair and
maintenance, and freight transportation.
Intangible acts directed at intangible assets
Services such as accounting, banking, insurance
and legal services.
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Lovelocks
Classification
(contd)

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 The Services
Marketing Triangle
Based on three key components: organizations,
providers, and customers.
Linking these components: internal marketing,
external marketing, and interactive marketing.

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 The Services
Marketing Triangle (contd)

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 Overview of Book
Part I Foundations of Services Marketing
Part II Creating the Interactive Experience
Part III Promising the Interactive Experience
Part IV Delivering & Ensuring a Successful
Customer Experience
Part V Management Issues in Services
Marketing

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 Overview of Book (contd)

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 Web Sites
Apple
(http://www.apple.com), p. 2
YouTube
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8), p. 2
Red Adair
(http://www.redadair.com), p. 7
Boots and Coots
(http://www.bootsandcoots.com) , p. 7

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 Web Sites
Veterinary Pet Insurance
(http://www.petinsurance.com), p. 12
Zappos
(http://zappos.com), p. 14

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