The Molecular Model

Marketers use the term augmented product to describe the combination of a core product with a bundle of value-adding supplementary elements. Theorists have developed several frameworks to describe augmented products. products. Lynn Shostack 1982 created a molecular model that can be applied to either goods or services.
services.
The model provides guidelines for offering a service but does not describe how the services are developed. Shostack suggests the service blueprinting technique for describing the service process and notes that when one element in a molecule changes, it will affect the whole molecule.
molecule.
A service blueprint is an operational planning tool that provides guidance on how a service will be provided, specifying the physical evidence, staff actions, and support systems / infrastructure needed to deliver the service across its different channels.
 The Molecular Model
• Airlines Automobiles
Distributio Distribution
n Price Price

Vehicle options

Service
frequency
In flight
Transport Vehicle
service
Pre-&
post Flight
Service Food & Transport
Drinks

Market Market
positioning positioning
Figure: The Molecular Model Intangible elements Tangible elements
 The Molecular Model
Molecular model is a conceptual model of the relationship between tangible and intangible components of a firms operations. This model reinforces our understanding that virtually all products have both tangible and intangible elements.
One of the primary benefits of this model is that it is a management tool that offers the opportunity to visualize a firm’s entire market entity.
entity . The figures provide examples of two such entities: Airlines and Automobiles that differ from each other physically.
In the 1st case, consumers purchase the benefit of transportation and all the corresponding tangible (see solid circles) and intangible elements (see dashes circles) that are associated with flying.
flying.
In contrast, a consumer who purchases an automobile primarily benefits by ownership of the physical possession that render a service transportation.
 The Molecular Model
This diagrams are oversimplifications of the mix of elements that
ultimately comprise the airline experience and car ownership.
From a managerial view, an elaboration of this models would identify
the tangible and intangible components that need to be effectively
managed. For example, a successful airline experience is not just
determine the safe arrival of passengers. The airline molecular model
could easily be expanded to:
- long-term and short-term parking (intangible element)
- shuttle services / service schedule (intangible element)
- rental car available (intangible element)
- flight attendants (tangible element)
- gate attendants (tangible element)
- baggage handlers (tangible element)
Similarly, the automobile model could be expanded to include:
- salespersons on the showroom floor (tangible element) -
financial arrangements (intangible element) -
finance manager (tangible element) -
mechanics and service representatives (tangible element)
 The Molecular Model
The point of developing molecular models is to develop an
appreciation for the intangible and tangible elements that
comprise market entities.
The molecular model also demonstrates that consumers’
service knowledge and goods knowledge are not obtained in
the same manner.
With tangible dominant products, goods knowledge
is obtained by focusing on physical aspects of the products.
Whereas consumers evaluate intangible dominant products
based on experience that surround the core benefit (see
figure) of the product.
 The Servuction Model
Forming the Service experience: The Servuction Model
A model used to illustrate the factors that influence the service
experience, including those that are visible to the consumer
and those are not.
There are 2 parts in servuction model such as 1.
Visible part- Visible to the customers. 2.
Invisible part- Invisible to the customers.
Visible part consists of three parts-
a. The inanimate environment
b. Contact personnel / Service provider.
c. Other customers.
Invisible part includes-
a. Organization b.
System.

.
 The Servuction Model

Inanimate Customer
environment
Invisible A
organizatio Contract
n and personnel/
system service Customer
provider
B
Invisibl Visible
e

Bundle of service
benefits received
by Customer A

Figure: The Servuction Model

 The Servuction Model
1.a) The inanimate Environment.
All the non-living features that are present during the
service encounter.
Example: Furniture, flooring, lighting, music, odors,
wall hangings, countertops etc. of a professor's room.
1.b) Contact personnel's / Service provider:
Employees who interact with the customer.
Contact personnel's
Parking attendants
Receptionists
Host / Hostess
Service Provider
Waiter / Waitress
Dentist, Physicians
College Instructor
 The Servuction Model
1.c) Other Customers – Have impact on customers.
Customer A: The recipient of the bundle of benefits that is created
through the service experience
Customer B: Other customers who are part of (share) customer
A’s experience
Example: Sharing doctor’s advice for similar disease.
2. The invisible part: organization and system
It is that part of a firm that reflects the rules, regulation and
process on which the organization is based. Although they are
invisible to the customer, they have a profound effect on the
consumer’s service experience. This part determines factors such
as information, number of employees, policies of organization.
Finally servuction system is what creates the experience for the
consumer, and it is the experience that creates bundle of benefits
for the consumer. Perhaps the most profound implication of the
model is that it demonstrates that consumers are an integral part
of the service process.