Nature of Services LEARNING OBJECTIVES or intangibles, + Understand the meaning and nature of service. * Know the unique characteristics of services. In order to appreciate services and their significance in a customer’ life, one must take a thoughtful look at the daily routine, fone takes a serious note, then one would realize that life without services would be impossible and all of us would be rendered crippled. The interac- tion with various service suppliers begin the moment we wake up. Infact, the good night’ sleep is made possible by the security firm that guards our house and police services. When we reach out for morning coffee and breakfast, we use the services of a maid. House clean- ing is done by the housekeeper services; the usage of appliances that run the kitchen is made possible by the power company and the maintenance firms that keep them usable and running. Using toilet makes us a user of municipal services. Then the television that keeps us abreast of latest developments is run on cable services. The call that you make to office to inform that you are getting late and use of transportation is made possible by the provision of services by telephone company and cab or rent-a-car service providers. When kids go to school, they use transportation and education services. The cheque that one issues to repay the car loan gets us in contact with banking service. In the office, the work Most ofthe business organizations or non-business organizations offer something as a product to their customers. The products offered by the organizations difier in their nature. Generally, marketing is associated with goods or tangibles, Buta large proportion of customer spending goes in buying services Atter studying this chapter, you should be able to: + Appreciate the difference between a product, goods and service. + Figure out the managerial challenges posed by service characteristics, + Plan out strategies fo cope with challenges faced by service businesses is done on computers maintained by a service company and the Internet service provider provides access. While con the way back home, when groceries and dry-cleaned clothes are picked up from the nearby store and laun- dry, again two more services are added to our lis. Imagine the number of times a customer comes in contact with services of different kind in a day and how much ofthe total earnings are spend on them. The issue is: Why is it that we do not realize this interface and this generally escapes our attention? On the other hand, if someone has bought a television or as small an object 28a pen, it finds a place in the thought and one tends to be conscious of it. If this is the reality so far as the Customers are concerned, it probably is also true for the people who work for service firms. When something is not there is the conscious, it tends to escape attention. This is largely due to the fact that goods tend to be vis- ible because of the physicality attached to them while services tend to be invisible. Services are something that cannot be seen and observed. itis this characteristic of the services that makes them somewhat different as a marketing entity. Scanned with CamScannerNATURE OF SERVICES What are Services? “The mos striking aspect of services is that they are essentially intangible. [tis because of oe that they generally escape human attention. Customers donot appreciate the services just a5 HY do in case of goods. Services are largely ignored, for there is nothing to show when the money is spent on services. While incase of goods thee is something tangible that buyer get in ex ‘These are the services that ‘hould only be concerned with the services that sting of services discipline s caf competition when marketing goods. These services ‘ces normally, but not always, are mea petiio “s general are cerned with the creation of repair or improvement of a product. One definitior ; Son fox himself or that he chooses not to perform on silat alee net agus here ison the atvtes that are offered by the for himself? Like othe’ . Scanned with CamScanner 3334 SERVICES MARKETING inackoter of services and these create their demand because they lead to satisfaction. In soine services, the marketer competes with the customers themselves. That is, if a customer chong, todo the activities that comprise the service, the business would be lost. For instance, instead of taking services of a gardener or car wash, the customer may create these services by hirasel op herself. However, there is no escape from the marketer if the service cannot be self-created like hairdressing or advice of a physician, Gummesson very interestingly highlights the most fu, damental aspect of services by defining them as ‘something which can be bought and sold buy which you cannot drop on your foot” That is, services are not physical. They are dimensionless ‘They are intangible and therefore they cannot be dropped. ‘What are services? Performed by: People (babysitters, doctors) ‘Machines or equipments (vending machines, Ts) Peorie win machine operators, surgeons) : Rendered for: Serce le: oft (otis and beauty salon, An actly ack ded, serves rer Gea cin hae pororance tors cate for poo} Directed at People (men or women or children}, possessions (money, clothes, cars) and business users (companies) ‘Most of these definitions have highlighted two important aspects of services. First, the services are angible in nature and secondly, they are largely described to be act or activities performed that create satisfaction. However, a more comprehensive view on services is provided by Gronroos." He defines services as ‘an activity or series of activites of more or less intangible nature that normally, nor necessarily take place in interactions between the customer and service employees and/or physical resources or goods and/or system of the service provider, which are provided as. solution to customer problems. This view is better than the other views as it highlights some of the important characteristics of services that facilitate better understanding of thei nature. Some of the distinctive aspects that emerge from these definitions are as follows: {i) Services are intangible. (Gi) They do not result in ownership of anything. (iii) Services are activities performed by the provider. (iv) Customer interaction with the provider is integral to service creation and consumption. ()_ Services are actions bought for their ability to create satisfaction. (vi) Service production may sometimes be tied to goods. Scanned with CamScannerNATURE OF SERVICES Products, Goods and Services storically, tines thereappearto beaconfusionbetween the terms product goodsandserise HET ' marketing literature has been biased in favour of goods. This is because ma co 8 os abe challenge for the firms during the time of industrialization. Marketing theory 1 0S cary nance of concepts and terminology derived from marketing of goods. Itis, therefore, to develop thorough understanding of these terms. sat ‘The product is scat {in terms of what a marketer offers to the curboni at ae isfy them, It is the offering made that becomes an input to create some out —_ satisfaction. It plain terms, it can be defined as the need-satisfying offering of inet terms product is used to signify the total package that is offered by a marketer to the custuic™ It encompasses both the element of goods and services. However, Kotler defines procs’ © ‘anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a want or need!" There is no one tYPS include physical of product that is marketed by various players. Products that are marketed astialloa goods, services, experiences, events, persons, places, properties, organizations, Infors and ideas. ds Narrowing the focus ofthe term to the physical good that a marketer makes often leads to getting trapped in myopia. The idea that customers buy products is misplaced. It prevents the marketer from seeing and visualizing reality, from the customer's point of view. A cus tomer's interest in buying a product is governed by the concern of achieving satisfaction. The product that a marketer makes is only a means o an end, Many marketers often get obsessed ith the product that they often lose sight of the customer. Many businesses get wrapped in the product and its technical details. It is the product and its technical specifications that start guiding the entire marketing efforts. They seek to win marketing battle by improving technical details ofthe product. But this very product orientation often becomes a root cause of the decline of firms. Most marketers think that customers are interested in a product and they buy the product. ‘This happens primarily because ofthe physical orientation that guides their thinking. They seek physical product getting manufactured, packaged, shipped and transported, sold in the market and ultimately used or consumed by the customer. But the customer side reveals a different story. Customers view products from a different angle. They see them as deliverer of satisfaction, ‘They are not concerned with products per se, rather their interest lies in the satisfaction of their needs and wants, Benefits are what interest them, For instance, the purchaser ofa drill does not buy the dril rather he buys ‘holes’ and buyer of a movie is not buying the movie as an object rather what he is looking for is “entertainment!” The term product includes everything that stands in between the marketer and the customer. [At the fundamental level isthe basis of marketing exchange. But what isto be appreciated is that both goods and services provide customer satisfaction, They are both included inthe definition of product as both are aimed at providing customer satisfaction. In the wider s both are part of the product. Sometimes, the terms good and product are also ably Inthe process, some attention may be Fad to the servic dimension, which may have Be reaching implications. Confining the concep of product only to goods precept trom crn service area asa means of developing superior responses in saisying customers and eae advantage over rivals. eens “he diference between these terms needs tobe clearly understood, fori the vison ofthe mater aio wht set oms the marino it is necessary to restate and understand the differences between a [A product can include both goods and services element. tis the ‘onltyeneet and service. frm, The gods are defined purely in terms of physical properties offer made by the Implicit in an attempt to define a service isa reference to “Therefore, most of the service definitions are framed atound fea sense of the terms, used interchange. may influence 1g offer. In this connection, marketing ent y: that differentiate Scanned with CamScanner 3536 SERVICES MARKETING distinction is made on the basis ofthe key characteristic However if the service is nat seen asa separate entity but only a alee type of product tha fs more service dominant characteristics, then the diflerences identified between goods ani services would not be fundamental but only classificatory. ‘the distinction between goods and services is not clear unless they can be placed iy dichotomous categories. That is each is classified tothe exclusion ofthe other. In reality it may not be possible to cite an example of pure good that is completely devoid of service elemen and pure service that is devoid of goods element, Levitt highlighted precisely the same dt ficult." He proposed that the distinction between goods and services is arbitrary. The good, and services do not differentiate adequately. There is no such thing as a service industry, rather there are industries where the service component is greater. The distinction is between suppliers whose core part of selling is service and suppliers that use a service element associ ated with a goods element as a source of competitive advantage (Table 2.1), In the world of marketing, there are very few ‘pure’ products or services. Instead, the market offerings can be visualized to be falling on a continuum, with the two ends being tangible dominance and intangible dominance. Shostack presented the idea of tangibility-intangibilty scale to classify market offerings as given in Figure 2.1.” The services of a coaching institute may fall on the intangible dominance end of the scale, while a product like salt might go the other extreme, that is, tangible dominance. Air travel and automobiles share commonality in that both are meant for transportation. So the end customer benefit that is provided appears to be the same, But in some ways, they are opposites. Taking the tangibility aspects of the entity,a car is physical and can be possessed while air travel can only be experienced. ‘The importance of this scale is that it accords intangible-based entities a place and weight commensurate with their true importance. This framework helps in guiding the focus of marketing mix and posi tioning the market entity. For instance, the market positioning of an intangible-dominated entity should be weighted towards the image while that of tangible-dominated entity towards evidence, Pure service and pure products are two extremes of what a company can offer to the market, Generally, an offer to the customers constitutes a combination of goods and services. Among a service ftom the good. Accordingly, Table 2.1 Goods Versus Services: A Comparison Characteristics Goods Services Out put Tangible Intangible Product uniformity Generally uniform output Variable output Value carrier A thing [A process or activities Return Can be returned back Cannot be returned Ownership Possible Not possible Stock Inventoriable Not inventoriable Distribution ‘Mass distribution possible Localized distribution Mechanization Generally high Generally low Customer involvement Low or no involvement High involvement Facility location ‘Near input supply Close to customer Producer status Separable from goods Inseparable from services Customer role Customeras only customer Customer as producer also Production and consumption Separate both in time and in place Must take place simultaneously Scanned with CamScannerMATURE OF SERVICES Tangible dominance ee, ‘Sat solt ink detergent automobile fast ood ad agoncy_sitines consulting teaching Intangible dominance Figure 2.1 Tangibility-Intongibility Continuum these, four types can be distinguished. Firstly, pure physical or tangible product without any ser~ vice element, like the salt, coflee or toothpaste, Second, a tangible product may come with some intangible component in the form of services. Examples of tangible products with a service clement include automobiles, refrigerators, and computers, Here the basic offering of the mar- eter is a physical product, the service element being added to make the product usage cus- tomer-friendly, The service here is the product enhancer and makes it more attractive to the market. The product-accompanying services in the form of delivery, repairs, maintenance appli- cation aids, training and installation become more important as the product becomes more sophisticated in terms of technology employed. Therefore, when one markets a product like a car or a computer installation, the services that accompany these become the critical driver of customer satisfaction and competitive advantage. Maruti in India owes its success to the service network that the company created to ensure that customers enjoy the car, free of botheration. In fact it is one of the key differentiators and sources of supeciority for Maruli in the passenger car industry, Pure goods ‘Sat, Book, Sugar ‘Goods major, Service minor Cars, Computers, Televislons ‘Tangible and intangible equal Fastlood restaurants Service major, Goods minor Airlines, Advertsing, Education Pure service Babysiting, Legal adviee, Poychotherapy Figure 2.2. The Nature of Market Offer 37 Scanned with CamScanner38 SERVICES MARKETING Class interoctive: Ask the students to recollect ond write, on a piece of paper, the lost purchase mode. Collect oll the popers. Develop < tally of whot has been bought ond check how many times services hove been mentioned! Check if itis men- tioned less number of times. Explore why services were omited in their recollection. Hos service intangibilty contributed to this, phenomenon? Another category of entity exists in between, which may be labelled as hybrid, Som of the market offerings have almost equal dominance of goods and services. For instance the product of a fast-food restaurant consists of both services and goods. Third, a marker offer may be service dominant accompanied with some good component. These are seryj majors, but goods minors. The goods element here plays a supporting or facilitating role Examples in this category include air travel, meals in a restaurant, and banking transac. tions, Finally, at the other extreme is a marketable entity which is a pure service. Here what is transferred to a customer is highly abstract and impalpable, for example services offered by a psychoanalyst, consultant and surgeon. Here the customer buys deeds and actions of the service provider which create benefits and are not accompanied with any tangible good element."* ‘The essential logic guiding the drive to correctly understanding the terms like product, goods and services is that it would be beneficial in the development of proper marketing response. The real issue is how valid is the application marketing that has goods orientation in the services marketing situations. That is, can banking or health care services be mar. keted effectively using the same orientation and tools that are used in marketing a product like Surf or Rin? Since marketing entities may move towards intangibility, it may obstruct the use of standard marketing practices and how that is applicable in the case of goods, ‘That is, the greater the dominance of intangible elements in a market entity, the greater will be the divergence from product marketing in priorities and approach. There is a need to explore as to how services are different from goods and what challenges do these create for the marketer. Characteristics of Services ‘The definitions that aimed to describe services highlighted on the key aspects of services that set them apart from the goods. The services have the following characteristics: intangibility, insepa- rability, heterogeneity, perishability and ownership. Intangibility Services are intangible offerings which cannot be touched, smelled, seen on tasted. ‘They art activities or performances executed by the provider. When goods are bought the purchase enhances the physical possession of the buyer, he has something tangible to show for the money he has spent. For instance a good like car is tangible which can be seen and touched. In the advertisement of Tata Indica the good that is a car is visible to eye. A potential buyer can see the car and can form impressions. On the other hand, when services are bought, the buyer does not get anything tangible. A service is a deed, performance or an effort, Therefore it is consumed experienced but not possessed. For example, in an air travel, the buyer does not get anything tangible; he consumes the performance of an airliner and technical and non-technical staff. The services of hospital are also of intangible nature. It offers the service of health restoration and disease removal. A banking account may offer security of keeping money and flexibility of its availability whenever the need arises. A psychiatrist offers counseling services which cannot b? touched and shown to others. Intangibility is the most important dimension of services. They are characterized by thé lack of physicality. Often, services are described using tangible nouns. ‘The usage of tangible nouns obscures the fundamental nature of services that is essentially intangible. For instances ‘hotel is referred to signify lodging rental and airline is used for air transportation. In service’ the performance is supported by tangible element, but one should keep in mind that what is Scanned with CamScanneroo RE OF SERVICES NATU! ed. 100ce moterblice. 8BOOce cer. Time you asked for more. Indica More car per car ATATAENTERPAISE Courtesy of Tata Indica thased by the customer is a performance. It is the pure wel era is a dominant characteristic of service af ual Rather, service products may be rated on degree of in Process of delivering a service which not all services have the same. & Seale, ranging from very high ibility to very low intangibiliy. The services that come wig, intangit re \clude restaurants, fast-food joints and hot ; ‘omponent in continues to be service but they are accompanied by may a higher good or tangible els. In these Cases, the core of, the offer iny tangible components such as chairs, Scanned with CamScanner40 SERVICES MARKETING Customised Facials Pigmentation & Tan Removal —— Nail Art & Extension V eseheel } Double Chin Removal Rediscover yourself in more ways than one, Discover the real you at VLCC, with our Skin Hair and Body care services and therapies. Choose from a complete range of treatments & services. Body Toning & Firming—— SUMING BEAUTY FLINESS ADDRESS Courtesy of VLCC equipments and staff. In these cases, the perception does not allow intangibility to upset buy? behaviour in majar way. Consider the a firm like VLCC which offers a range of beauty servie* like paraffin pedicure, weight loss, body waxing, body toning and firming, nail art and exte™" sion, pigmentation and tan removal, customized facials, hairstyling, and acne and scar remove! All these names signify services rendering of these require performance by people or equipmé#* or both. Services here cannot be demonstrated in advertisement however outcomes can be. $0 Scanned with CamScannerCHALLENGES OF INTANGIBILITY The intanibilty, eccording to Bateson, isthe mest mporant chorale of services. i 9 eral fete thal di guishes services from goods. Intongbilily means ‘palpable’ intangibilty by which © customer eonnet touch @ service product-os well a ‘mental’ intangibiliy by which the service becomes dificult to grasp mentlly. His this aspect of intan- billy in service thot makes services so very diferent from goods, ond therefore, the markating of goods and services is cls very diferent. The choractersies of services ore: + Services cannot be touched. + tis dificult 10 echieve standardization in services. NATURE OF services 41 + Senices do not involve transfer of ownershiP + Patent protection is not possible «+ Production and consumption of services 1 invetoriable. simultaneous: + Senvces ore no +The role of middlemen is different arkting” « adap fone Bateson, Do We Ned Service Maas | Add mig, Rept 75-115, Marken Science Insitute, Boston, 197 the benefit provided by acne and scar removal service would be the clean spot less face. Body toning services provide the end result of well toned body which can be shown by a picture of the same. In some cases tangibles used in creation of services are shown as tangible evidence to facilitate grasping of the meaning of a service. For instance courier companies like UPS or Fed Ex show tangibles used in service creation like trucks and airplanes: On the other hand, the services that tend to get clustered around the high intangibility end of the continuum become more abstract and impalpable, They are not accompanied by supporting tangibles, for example doctor's advice or counselling by a psychiatrist or legal advice. Here the absence of tangible clues enhances the customer’ uncertainty and perceived risk. From the buyer's perspective, the service buying posed a complicated task of coping with greater uncertainty. Intangibility does not allow customers to have a clear-cut idea about the service before purchase. Customers tend to look for evidence that would signal the nature and fitness of service with customer's purpose. Accordingly, the search is directed towards physical evidence that surrounds the service in the form of people, equipment, building and symbols. When the customer attempts to judge and understand a service, particularly before using it or buying it, the service is known by the tangible clues or tangible evidence that surrounds it. Figure 2. illustrates three situations the first involving marketing of salt in which salt is manufactured by the Tata company and made into a physical product which bears the brand name Tata Salt, which the customer takes home and takes ownership of the same. However, in case of an IIM diploma or degree, the prospect takes home degree or diploma certificate, which isnot a servic, rather the physical representation ofa service, the service being intangible, The learning is transferred to the pupil bythe institution through a series of classroom and outside interactions involving the service provides (professors) and equipments (LCD, for example), “This service may come associated with tangibles like notes and note that the physical structures surrounding the service are not the service, associated physical elements. Many services do not come with anything tangible intangibles For instance, the service provided by a counsellor ora movie theatre, conversation session sith the counsellor does not lead to any physical transfer service is experienced by the customer, Services are activities not things. However, physical elements may vices either to support their creation or to facilitate consumption see Rathmell2” The intangibility oF non-materiality of services does not the customer through eyes, nos, skin or ear, and tongue, People us books. But itis important to ‘These are only ‘These are pure ‘The siting and of things, The be asocited with ser- ‘ording to oF suggested by allow them to be sensed by seth senses oem, Scanned with CamScanner42 SERVICES MARKETING Product Company ‘Transfer-tangibl to intangible Customer takes salt Packet Satiness to be added Figure 2.3 What Constitutes the Core of a Good and a Service? What is Bought by the Customer? draw inferences about things that surround them. The coffe is tasted, fabric is felt and fragrance is smelled. A good is palpable, but a service is impalpable. A customer is governed by his or her concern for value. In goods, the value is created by a physical object like salt ora television set. Like consumers of goods, service customer is also interested in the value at the ends, but the real issue is that the value is not embedded in some tangible good of which buyer takes ownership. ‘The value is generated by a complex amalgam of people and equipment performances. Iti this lack of materiality or physicality of services that renders thetr illustration and display difficult,and consequently it makes formation of judgments about the services dificult for both the customers and providers. According to Bateson,” the intangibility isthe most important distinction between goods and services, which sits at the root of all other differences that arise between the two. [MOLECULAR APPROACH — Marketers risk getting stuck in the tongibilly-intangibility dichotomy. A true appreciation of the noture of market entity fe essentiol, Shostock developed the ‘molecular model’ thot sugges thot o market enfity may be made of both the ton- gible and intangible elements. And both ofthe elements may Be es crucial but moy not be equally dominant, In some cases, tangibles may be the dominant unit ofthe market en- fin, while in others, intangibles may be the dominan! ur Fer example, 0 cor or automobile (Tota Indica) is foram! ceminant and an aitine (Kingfisher) is intongibles domindrh These have two different nuclei, In oir tronsporiaion: © oper doo not gain physical ownership of o rongiblehings while 0 cor buyer acquires ownership of the car, Although transportation is common in both the coses, the nuclei ere different, In one ase, the nucleus is vehicle, while in the ‘other, it is transportation. Salt is tangible dominant, while teaching is intangible dominant Morut Suzuki's core business opparentlyis marketing of cars, bu it very successfully extended its tangible dominant entity (hucleus being cor by enveloping it wth intangible elemen's This ellows it to offer 0 very effective solution to custom ers’ transportation need. The intangibles that surround the ‘onaible element include the service network, breakdown gmergency service, driving Koning, cor repurchase and Scanned with CamScannerdisposol, financing ond in company like Kingfisher A\ tangible core services surance. On the other hand, 0 eines enhances its bosicaly in. br enveloping i wth attractive fight ote 'eals, ground staif at the airports, gifs The following are the marketing implications * tis much easier to develop appreciat the tangible entity B Zepcelerec ity Tongibles can be photographed ond physically examined, NATURE OF SERVICES 43 ive terms. + His eosier to measuce tangibles in avantittive fe + Exact duplication is much eosiet Services, on the other hand, ore ep tive, Hence, they cannot be touched, Quontitaive measurement of services 13 difcul. In absence the presence of tangible el centre of mathe entity customer seeks f0 obtain {rom the langibes suerounding the service. sean Adapted from Shostack, G.L. "Breaking free from Produ Marketing’, journal of Marketing, pil 1977, pp-73-80- emerol and subjes displayed ond sed ugely complex an re erent of the knowledge “The marketing implication of this tendency of the buyer is thet the marketer must try to “angibilize the intangibles, see Figure 2.4, The service marketing efforts must be focused on enhancing the service reality by managing the evidence. Customers tend to arrive a the mean- ing of service using the process of deduction. The evidence that surrounds the service plays a critical role in reality in customer's mind. The goods matketer, on the other hand, has physical product; therefore, the positioning emphasis tends to be on building abstract associations. For instance, marketer of a bank credit card who wants to promote the idea of ‘lexbility’ may use abelly dancer in different positions that exhibit ultimate flexibility of the body ~ a tangible clue that would help customer appreciate the service idea better. A toilet soap marketer may use abstract concepts like freshness or beauty. ‘The management of evidence should be deliberate rather than accidental. It can play a great role in the construction of reality in customer mind. ‘The service marketer, through careful management of evidence, can differentiate services which otherwise may appear to be simi- ler to customers, For instance, the use of leather upholstery, teak furniture, wooden partitions, well-dressed staff in business suits, flooring and other communication materials can position a professional as sophisticated and business-minded. Similarly, the airlines offer almost identical services in so far as the travel to different destinations is concerned. Yet, the scope to differenti- ate and create desired images exists via evidence that surrounds the core offering of travel. They can control their image by careful orchestration of the deor of plane, signage, staff dress, cutlery, communication materials and offices. The scale of intangibility can be a useful tool in devising prescription as to the degree to which a marketer should focus on tangible evidence or intan- gible abstractions. It may be postulated that market positioning will be inversely related to the dominance in terms of tangible or intangible dominance. Spotless bulldng Clean white ow staff dress _Safidess | Fleguiar cleaning ES waibllty of trash bins —————_tesnbing | Antiseptic smell to Hospital positioning = clean & hygenic Figure 2.4 Tangibi Scanned with CamScannerdg or services may Be stratepialy ood oF or service MAKE [sn ids with services to serve the cys, SERVICES MARKETING “ ther B* ase jon of market cape ether purely 8° eptualiza ‘A rigid conceptual en Bee ve Clos ineracve: yp in eis CU TT th 0006 eter of cas DUI dos er oe. aeerenmon fora marketer to mix atl appears to be the msgomer’s point of View. Of hay nc aka : < ; sa pre gods er tomer better. For instance, ai ke Feient offering from tomgneurance services. A cy cases goods or exclusively then it would be SCH A preakdown. fiance Mess of Maruti or GM op cugmoried wih Fe na ea Ore eee ed te come sc service elements therefore, sone of the elements mE Tar vein, Pure SEEMS cation is SUTTOUned cond vice versa Ford isthe provision ‘transport ments, Fr inst@nces . Toe ve exomples Series ve sully accompanied with tangible O77” Opp and above all professors of two marketers in by tangibles like books, teaching notes, cases, Seal t00ds ond senice ecfiecives billy cand computers] Inseparabili “They are produced and corel ostan stadt « fharacterized by simultaneity of production and consumption. They: a marital to-explore the Seenceeae tanatiecied yo art redaction and consumption are separated by composition of ‘consumed at the same time. Unlike goods te Prodi ket. For example, na move aren im \duction cannot be sepatal ¥ i SEE ee eect ey consumed atthe same time; a dentist conducts theatre, the entertainment service is generat a check-up and the patient simultaneously consumes iin airlines lights generate ServiC® Cape of consituent goods to be able to consume the service as they ond service elements sering wih the ity which has to be consumed at the same time. In order pan aa treated, the presence ofthe buyer sa must In the sme way asthe service cannot be separated cose. Demorsirale from the service creator its use demands that consumers must also be present at the same time; Landed al otherwise, the service would be wasted, The services tend to be performances in real time in which ements Hat the customer-provider interaction and cooperation is a must, The customer’ interaction with the faround the nucleus provider or service system makes the sevice marketing very different from goods marketing, In manufacturing, the goods are separated from the factory and the buyer usually has noth- ing to do with the factory (see Figure 2.5 that differentiates Surf detergent by HUL and Bukhara restaurant of ITC hotel in terms of separability dimension). Goods move out of the factory fol owing channels of distribution and reach the buyer through a network of intermediaries. In ser- vices, because of inseparablity of service from the provider, either the provider must go to the Hindustan ‘A pack of Surf unilever's detergent-good Market ‘manufacturing is separable (retailer) ‘Customer plant from the pant Bukhara ema Customer service inseparable Encounter between provider and customer -| critical defining moments for service's Success and failure Fi igure 2.5 Goods are Separable from Producer, and Services are Inseparable Scanned with CamScannerare produced in factory matting proces incase of goog pone HOE Nl p ton, whereas the services are sola and produc reat att of ods makes ee! and peration oF manufacturing funetig gs tet Sus te ‘ieedmi and, Aparoae between each. other as the boundaries are aids own Bien offane- ec. operand pen Deen he em contol af operations : Wes can be pursued with gr reset once the products This allows marketing to enjoy emanating ae and customer contact The aualy check a i irketin \is pre-empts t! ility of passing of Pe nepebta Angdear ee Eo oes ‘is inseparabllity of service produatinn and consumption necessarily brings the service provider and customer together. There has to be a customer-provider interface for service exchange to take place. In some pitvices, the interaction is close, personal and intimate. For instance, doctor-patient, . rchotherapist-paten,beautcian-custmer and server enna restaurant. This indivisiblity casts custome Tina role of a service creator, Unlike goods, where 'y buys and picks the G00ds from the point of availability, in services, customer is closely connected with the creation of Service experience, ‘The customer interaction with the service proves may be of different types. In some ser- vices, the customer needs t. uring the entire course of service experience, such as halreut, surgery or classroom lecture, The services like dry-cleaning or car repairs require cus- services. The customer must initiate and terminate the services The customer Interaction in these casesis limited tort he beginning and at the end. In da tis interface may be separated by some media that pertnec cence delivery froma distance. In such situations, the interface is mediated anditienep ne wen ‘The cases in this, weed tebe distance education and cable entertainment. ‘the customer in sack ealens need to be mentally present. The services are directed at customer mind. Depending upon the proximity and directness, service businesses become personal in nature. ‘When the customer contact with the system is limited, the services are easier to manage. These seme operate more or less lke goods manufacturing systems. The degree and duraien of par- tation of customer directly afets th efficiency and uncertainty in the systern, The perceived control perspective suggests that asthe customer tends to play more active and ‘greater role in the Three rate the service provider wil have to give up more contol in favout of the customen ‘The customer presence imposes restrict i operation, Giving up control in favou lar lines, customer participation increases uncertainty because the custo Strictly controlled like machines. Despite elaborate "uncertainty would still surround as to how actually Management ofthis interface throws up new managerial challenges for service The inter- ‘ctionalapectsaf service delivery assume significance. One strategy to deal with hic aspect of Fetome interaction isto use technology o minimize it. Itcan bea poverfl tool ifthe sefces femisnot able to manage the interaction wel Foristanceifa human tlle issatisfy custom. ars because of poor interactional quality, it would be better to employ mechanized tellers, But ‘when the interaction cannot be dispensed with the only way to succeed 'm. The stages of production, storing, fen can be divorced in place. Goods "tticipate in production process, ‘The nee of production, selling and consump- and consumed simultaneously." Ing of goods much simpler, The marketing S do not ove preater flexibility in dist placed between th mer behaviour cannot be Drocedures that guide and regulate customers, they behave when the encounter takes place. ‘ ‘stobuild competencies {Rmanaging the same. The sucess of services where the interface i dines and longer depends ton the how aspect of service. The frm needs to develop manage tencies that this interaction with the customer be 'ment systems and compe. comes the point of leverage and advantage. Scanned with CamScanner NATURE OF SERVICES 4546 SERVICES MARKETING ‘Service provider: Deotor a Flows- information, cooperation, tangibles, Flows: attitude, information, personality ‘cooperation, sills tangites, oon attitude, customers aes ‘shlls Customer Figure 2.6 Exchange/Flows at Encounter Level: Opportunity and Threat Figure 2.6 depicts what happens at a customer-provider encounter. Service encounters are marked with flows of different kinds, The success of incident or moment when the provider and customer meet is determined by how well information and physical material between the two, besides interpersonal dimension involving attitude, care skill, service orientation, personality, attractiveness etc flow from one to the other. ‘The customet-provider interface may vary in its duration and intensity. Since customer comes to the service factory to create and receive the service, the service factory becomes the marketing battleground. Therefore, what happens in the factory indirectly becomes the con- cern of the marketing, Managing. service factory, therefore, necessitates coordination between the functions that interface with customer. That is, marketing and operations come face-to-face with each other, achieving harmony and coordination between these two functions so that that they do not conifict and contradict with each other. Any situation of conflict would affect the customer experience, Similarly, the manager needs to address the i ings and ambience. A firm may offer good technical service but the created and delivered may mar the quality perception. An excellen may destroy the inherent goodness of the food and overall kill the ‘The physical proximity of customers may add further complic and delivery process, Not only is the provider and customer interface to be managed, rather another interface has become the critical determinant of perceived service quality. When a cus- tomer bas to move in the service factory a tendency that service willbe created ig thy of other customers becomes another reality that has to be taken cate of. hen experience or a teaching session i formers tee pre unstance, cinema a college involves the custor i ; 5 mets to be present in a number i the-inem orcas. The important question that atises here ls, Can thie gee eet ignored from the management efforts? And i his mix ofthe customers be a it hi il . Servies therefore tend 0 be shared experiences,” Sh Mill be the likely consequences? ‘The Figure 2.7 shows how pas demographic dimensions lke age and occupation’ and in wae of managing surround- environment in which it is it meal in a poor ambience experience. ations to service production Sengers travelling a railway coach may differ both in terms of Psychographics like personality and Scanned with CamScannerNATURE OF SERVICES ot 9er3 in g Allway cong "c08ch-diferent motivation and ie styles Trader requires space t cary Tmarchendis® Business traveler wants to wor onproject report telexaton Youngsters: inorested in songe and ontertainment Fi -" ‘Sure 2.7 Shared Nature of Services and Differing Customer Interest and Motivation ean faa between customers often sits at the root of dissatisfying experience all. ers, if not managed properly, may have devastating consequences for the service firm. The experience may end up dissatisfying everyone in the system. A fundamental inconsistency between the customers has to be managed by bringing right customer mix in the system, A single system cannot deliver services to a diversified group of customers who place varying demands on the system. This points to the necessity to sharply focus on the segmenta- tion and customer attraction aspects of the service strategy. Similarly, how customers behave in the system also affects the working ofthe firm, The behavioural aspects of customers when they jointly create service foreach other need tobe taken care of, Tati, some aspects of one’s behaviour may become perceived negative for others. For instance, noise, laughter, order, push- ing around, touch and sight ned to be harmonized so that service setting is perceived to be e targeted audience. services, where @ service provider has to rely on the inputs provided by the custanor for shaping up the service product, customer cooperation is key to sevice manage- castor any services, customer cooperation fundamental For instance, what would the vToetor oF management consultant do if customer is brought to share the problem. A techni- cally competent service provider may i be ject in soliciting the customer cooperation. In these situations, technically the onus of rie ‘ailure may be transferred to the customer for not providing cleat information, but taal i failure of the service provider. That is, the ser- not From failed in enacting systems and procedures for extracting customer cooperation. Some of the strategies (0 meet challenges emanating out of inseparability are mentioned in Figure 2.8, i element in services is provider-customer interaction; hence, peopl ae ‘The crucial eleme rae, commitment and interpersonal angl People-related issues like satisfaction, mor acter ofa serviceftom its provider reventenge ee rane. “The inseparability cna om its provider prevents the use of ; ices impossible. Unlike goods, mass-production be mass-produced in acceptable to th In customized marketing of servi services cannot and Scanned with CamScanner48 SERVICES MARKETING Class interactive: Ask the closs porticipants to recollect some dissatisying service experience and write it on 0 piece of paper. Explore what proportions of the dissalistying expriences ore coused by poor service encounter involving service personnel ond customer. What con the marketer do to ‘avoid such problem in future? Se Manage tangible Clear communication Koop ampoyae® to convey of expected customer mmatva red image instru and energized desired imag behaviourinstructiong Le Face to face Inseparability Elicit customer cencounterinterpersonal |__| of serviceand | —»| _cooperation-incentives training and service attitude provider 0 good customers ‘of personnel [Proper recovery Keep customer Reduce customer capability when informed of progress dissimilarity or use itas failures occur and reduce anxiety ‘opportunity Figure 2.8 Coping With the Consequences of Inseparability a central Jocation and shipped across the markets located at different places from the place of production. The service availability, therefore, tends to be localized. The simultaneity of pro- duction and consumption does not allow the services to be stocked and shipped to the areas of demand, Therefore, in order to actualize service exchange, itis necessary that either the provider moves to the customer as is the case with plumbing and at-home bride make-up services or the ‘customer moves to the point of supply. The latter is generally the case when the customer goesto beauty salon or hospital, This localized nature of services has been primarily responsible for less competition that prevailed in service markets for a long period of time, Variability Service output tends to be variable. That is, unlike goods, services suffer from lack of standard ization, The customer experience with a service firm tends to vary, although he may be buying the same service product. For example, two visits to a doctor may not yield similar experi ence, and perceived service ina restaurant on two occasions may not be the same. Our banking experience shows that sometimes an encounter with the same persoa, equipment and facility's happy: while in the other itis frustrating. Perhaps, itis this service variability that makes aservice buyer uncertain about what isin store for him even ifthe service bought is not for the frst time Figure 29 depicts the fluctuating service quality levels caused by variations in the performances of people involved in service creation. Customer 1 enjoys the wow experience, but Customer 2 {subjected to poor experience, Customer 4 received good quality of service. And the third ard fifth experiences with the service is at ‘OK’ evel thereby meaning neither good nor bad. Goods companies have achieved great height in achieving standardization, The precise eng neering of machines and quality procedures help weed ot defects rom the operation process The total quality management school, which has found widespread acceptance in mronufacturng attempts to prevent defects from creeping into the production process, The quality that has taken place in the context of goods langely ovves its success to the twa bles product. Tangtbility of the output facilitates quai reasured on dimensions and hence variations ality has been so much that goods marketers are now ait i +e What inakes the stendarditation a problem in covet ieee acteristics of intangibilty and inseparablity The involvement ofhur rere ene ea advancement the tangible character of the ty monitoring and control. Physical goods can be can be controlled. ‘The advancement in achieving mans in service creation and Scanned with CamScannerNATURE OF SERVICES 49 Service quaiityy experience 1 2 3 4 5 . ‘Service experience across customers /or time periods Figure 2.9 Service Quality Variations TeumPtion makes the engineering and controlling ofthe performance of people machine-like. ‘The service encounters take place in realtime. The production and consumption takes place a the same time, which prevents puting qulity contra in between the two. In goods, quality control is easy because ifthe product des not conform with the specifications, it can easily be put off from passing on the next process. Because ofthis luxury, goods marketers are able {o ensure greater quality levels of their products. But if something goes wrong in services, the service experience is made poor in that instant and nothing can be done to correct the situation, A poor service cannot be returned. For instance, an evening tea that is spoilt by the discourteous behaviour of the customer contact stafata restaurant cannot be replaced. ‘The lack of precision in services often stems from the difficulty in determining and imple- menting service specifications. In goods, tangibility permits the development and enforcement of standards. The variations are easy to detect. ‘A major difference between product matketing and service marketing is that we can't control the quality of our products as well as PRG contzl engineer ona production line can contol the quality ‘of his product. When you buy a box of Tie, you can be sure that it will work to get your clothes clean, When you buy a Holiday Inn room, you are sure to get some lesser percentage that it will work to give to a good nights sleep with out any hase or people banging on walls and al the bad things that can happen to you in hotel le service businesses canbe cased ona cae indicating the extent of equipment dominance and labour dominance then an stesment can be made a to which busines likely to expos ence more problems of vaiaily. The bbour-itensive services ae likely to exhibit greater ere tion in output than the equipment-intensive services As the human element in the creation of services increases the problem of arity alo increases. The sevice personnal being hone ings, cannot be expected o mln complet uniformity in ther esponses, Emotion moods, felings and stress influence them toeaibit perfrmancesthat devise from the se Personnel, no mater how well irained cannot mach the conssteney of machines Inconsistency in services can take diferent forms. For instance, i can be found when the service products vary between differen outer service between Nirula outlet in Cannaught place may be diferent Colony even though both are part ofthe same chain and promise x “Another typeof inconsistency can be observed between the services Service inconsistency of services s. For instance, quality of from its outlet in Defence fe same quality everywhere, experienced at two different Scanned with CamScanner50 Intangibitity Inseparability Hi Human involvement _[——* SERVICES MARKETING Abstract standards Lack of concrete dimensions, Customer provider interlace Diticuty of setting hhumerical standards Variation in Effect of mood, emotions: performance personality and quality ure 2.10 Factors Responsible for Service Variability points in time at the same place. This variation both across time and across place in caused Targely by the human involvement in service creation. en samtitag the operations take place in a particular fashion and predictability ba to be igh. Wherever and whenever mistakes occur they can be isolated and corrected for they will not occur in future, But in services, how the interaction evolves makes the encounter unique every time, Therefore, every service encounter is filled with its own uniqueness. Though some Parts ofthe service delivery can be monitored, controlled and regimented by quality contzol mechanism, not all of them can be. But sometimes services develop in unpredictable fashion, causing deviations to occur that have not been provided for. For instance, in a restaurant, a ser- vice member may slip and drop things on the guests and thereby ruining their evening. These areas of vacuum often force the providers to use their judgement” and help service recover from the situation of failures. Getting out of failure situations demands that staff takes the correct decisions. But how to get the frontline employees behave correctly is another challenge that ser- vice marketer has to pay attention to. When the rule Books become silent in providing prescrip tion, then a capability needs to be built that workers are able to behave in a customer-oriented fashion. In this context, creation of service-minded culture becomes essential As Is obvious from the discussion hitherto, variability is a consequence of involvement of People in service cretion and delivery People element here refers to both the customer and the provider So far asthe providers are concerned, services demand great care is taken tn recratt Tent selection, training and development of the staff, especially the ones who interes with the customers, Human resources need to be taken as an investment rather than an expense, Ecredal in interaction intensive services. Consistency of performance, to» Breat extent, can behaviours that matter to customers, and if the customers are non willing to accept variations in them, then these behaviours can become the focus of company training efforts, Figure 2.11 depicts the possible strategies to deal with variability. Some service firms attempt to standardize the services like the way set for performance. The hat works at back office and support is engi- Customer encounter level, Finally, if the cus- ‘by machines, itis good idea that machines Scanned with CamScannerNATURE OF SERVICES Train for consistent performance Setting quantitative standards and their enforcement automatic vending machines and automatic hanes ins so that consistency is enhanced. i becomin, weakness of customer interaction and variability into advantage by i volvement can bees ee Player Thus instead of offering standardized sevice customer ling the outcome. This st y giving him more active role and greater flexibility in control- customization and saga nteBY #8 workable only when the customer attaches importance to tion slows down the a pPation is perceived positively rather than asa burden. The customiza- a wn the service creation and prevents operating on a higher scale. To cover up for opportunity forgone, the marketer has to make up for the losses from the fewer customers. Therefore, customer should be willing to pay premium forthe services; only then this strategy would be work. Servic és can turn their we Perishability Unlike goods, the services are characterized by perishability. This unique character of services means that they cannot be stored like goods can be. Services cannot have inventories. A wool marketer produces well in advance to meet the booming demand for wool products in win- ters. And when he is not able to sell off his stock, he can store his unsold inventory to meet the demand in the next winter. Imagine that an airline light with a capacity of 200 passengers is faced with the demand of air travel by 300 passengers or only that of 50 passengers. When. demand exceeds the service capacity, the potential opportunity of marketing the service is lost and when the demand i falling short ofthe service supply, the excess supply cannot be stored to meet the excess demand in the next cycle (see Figure 2.12 for bus transportation in which tip number one suffers from 22-passenger trips who could have used the bus services). In both of the cases, it amounts to loss of revenue. ‘The heightened vulnerability of services to the loss occurring due to insufficient demand or excoss demand stems from the feature of perishabilty. Services cannot be stored. Since services are deeds, performances and activities whose production and consumption takes place simul. taneously, they have to be consumed when created or else they tend to perish in the absence of consumption, The business of goods is reltvly easier to manage from this angle, foods canbe stored and sold at later time inthe absence of customer deman time. Services, on the other hand, go waste if they are not consumed, “The ephemeral character of services doesnot allow a sevice company to maintain abate to adjust supply tothe varitionsin demand especially when texceedthe capacity Aslongasdemand for services coincides with te capacity, pershablty does not pose any serous problem, ‘Unused capactyina service business rather ik havings running tap ina sink wth no pug the low because nd at one point of, Scanned with CamScanner St52 Class interactive: Divide the closs into groups and ‘assign them diferent services like cinema, restaurant, metro or public transportetion Askindividuel groups to visit these services ot different poinis of the day ond observe how demand moves along the doy, Discuss the causes and effects cof this movement of demand SERVICES MARKETING _—— jus capaciy- ceeupin’ et rished-2 ayia | a —— ip eee Figure 2.12 By Nature, Services Perish if Not Used A fe ssent to receive it!” The wasted unless customers, or their possessions that require se abe flow through buffer gods companies can smoethen the tutions in demand by TB re andi stocks or relaxing on the production of goods. Inventory sto : oer ‘on account of lack of it. ayailable to goods companies, while service compas ae as rliates the business of serees The inability to separate the services in tim: Con aad consumption the Bese etinai spectelto wo smu First the services| anna te seh sre eft ance, Sony can produce its high-end televisions in a facto a ship a awe to red asia in New York. The i a ee She physical products like Toyota cars, Thomson televisions, Dell comp Se nde shi Dove sous posite jus ease they cul be separted in ime and place, Seo, even hau open and cutee mixbecome port tes concern xr, cooperatior | ee yo omcines yomeanpte yor ele uno tha can 7 putin between the production and consumption, This forces the service firms to develop quality sys tems that ensure est the fst time approaches because if something goes wrong the first time, there is no scope for corrections in the second time. Each service experience tends to be unique. Itis not repeated. So ifa night is spoilt ofa guest in a hotel, it cannot be returned and reworked. A wrongly extracted tooth by a dentist cannot be returned and reworked. There is no second time in service. Further, the quality control technique of sampling to examine defect rate cannot bbe used in services for there exists no stock from which a sample can be drawn, Inventory in goods-producing firms has implications for functional management, "The stock of goods acts asa line that separates the boundary between the production and marketing fanctions. Up to the production, the responsibility is essentially that of manufacturing func- tion. Once the stock is passed on to the marketing, then Soods transportation, availability, pro- motion or other marketing-related tasks are taken care separation of responsibil independence permits smooth functioning of the orga 48 functional overlap does not exist. In services, marketing and operations functions face-to-face with each other ‘The customer mor Pezations tea for service consumption, This interplay of marketin, ns of 10 serious conflicting situations, Accordingly, achieving harmon: ‘narketing isa must for services to be delivered in a customer-ore nization. The conflicts are avoidable, on the other hand, lack of inventory brings in the i and operations often leads between the operations and oriented fashion, tostetchandopeateatascaleitisnot design r formance of the bus, deteriorates, often. comii 2 often coming to aha. At the sane; Gly agg tableand disaistying. Periods ofexcesetnn ee uality and it has damaging efectg Spee - It may make employees Scanned with CamScannerNATURE OF SERVICES 53, -————_, Simuttanoty of Production and roducen an Pressure.on qually >————__ Non storabi [+] Post production qty check ica Intangibiity (no physical output) Demand capacity imbaleree Figure 2.13 Causes and Effects of Perishabilty frustrated, unspirited and demoralized. On the other hand, for customers, it is also a similar experience due to inconsistent quality and uncaring employees. Inthe periods of excess capacity or lean demand, the service firm suffers direct loss on account of under-utilization of resources. The fixed costs tend to upset the productivity and profitability considerations. Employees in the absence of customers feel bored, redundant and under-utilized. The service companies need to address such serious issues that stem out of lack of imbalanced demand and supply. Managerial Challenges “The previous discussion demonstrated that services are different from goods. Their unique char- acteristics of intangibility, inseparability, inconsistency and perishability open up new manage- rial issues and challenges. These problems are unique to services businesses. Goods businesses are less likely to encounter them; if they would encounter them, then the nature would be very different. “The general body of management knowledge is based on Industrial Revolution and the goods producing industries that represent the “old stadium’. The service- sector revolution and the services industries represent the “new stadium’. Yet we have not evaluated the rules of, management to determine which still apply and which do not!"* In order to manage a service business successfully, understanding the critical departures that services characteristics create is very essential for the formation of strategy and manage- rial response. Therefore, the management agenda must focus on issues that are Key to creating, customer satisfaction and retention. A description of how service characteristics lead to unique ‘managerial challenges is given in Table 2. ; One may observe that service products ate those outputs where the intangible component dominates in the marketing entity. The firms that offer these to customers must recognize that intangible natue ofthe entity throws up new challenges for effective management of marketing operations. The challenge facing these firms, therefore, is how to carry out necessary adjust- ments in their marketing approach and tools that their negative implications are minimized and .d into advantage building. their unique characteris turne SUMMING UP One ofthe most important aspect that st services apart from goods i intangiily, Services escape human attention. They are largely ignored for there is nothing to show when they are bought Services are ‘activites, Denes or satisfaction that are offered bythe marketer Serving Scanned with CamScanner540 SERVICES MARKETING Table 2.2 Service Characteristics and Managerial Issues Characteristics Intangibility Inseparability Variability Perishability Consequences + Services are difficult to understand, grasp + They are difficult to demonstrate, display, and communicate Services products are difficult to define + Quality specification, measurement and control is difficult «+ Service providers tend to be driven by ‘operational view and miss the purpose ‘of operations + Services are difficult to protect through patents «+ Intangibility prevents storage of services «+ Intangibility makes the pricing decisions complicated + Customer in the service factory + Customer participation in service creation process + Simultaneous production and consumption + Ditect provider and customer interface + Customer exposed to service systems environment + Impact of atmospherics on customer’ quality perception + Centralized mass production difficult Greater uncertainty in the system + Occurrences of un-programmable situations Customer-provider friction and conflict on account of proximity and interface «+ Failures and recovering from slip downs «= Presence of other customers in the system-shared experience «Inconsistency in service output «+ Lack of standardization Difficulty in the creation of specifications “How aspect of service important to customers 2 Technical and functional quality of service 5 quality measurement, monitoring and contol dificult 1 tise of objective and subjective criteria by customers «+ Lack of inventories 1 Loss of opportunity and revenue during insufficient demand «+ Simultaneity of production and consumption 2 No separation of services in time and place + No separation between production and marketing + Lack of quality check afer production + Effect on perceived quality + Excess capacity or excess demand situations + Customer waits + Overcrowding Managerial Issues + From customers’ perspective, services buying is not the same as buying of goods + Knowledge of consumer behaviour not only essential but critical for steategy development * Facilitate consumer in buying process + Tangiblize services to enhance communicability + Physical evidence management + Brand building for assurance and risk management + Company image to counter effects of intangiility + Use of personal sources of information to promote services + Reliance upon opinion leadership + Creation of service culture to manage cus- tomers directly + Service orientation and a sense of service mission in employees + Management of service operations from customer's perspective + Integration of marketing with operations «+ Art of relationship selling end relationship building + Internal marketing + Empowerment of service workers to enhance responsiveness and recovery + Proper selection and training of frontline staff + Focus on developing correct customer mix + Multi-site operations + Service standardization + Quality control + Use of machines and technology to eliminate variations + Focus on human resource management + Technical and functional skill building *+ Control of people and time + De-marketing and demand stimulation + Malti-skil training + Customer wait management * ‘Doitright first time’ culture + Reservation system + Customer as co-producer * Creative use of marketing mix to smoothen peaks and valleys + Yield management + Employee motivation management Scanned with CamScanner