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COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Campus

Final Examination SP 2021
Department of: MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

Final Examination Answer Sheet SP 2021

Program/Class: BBA 6,7 and 8 Date: Friday 2nd July, 2021

Subject: Service Marketing Instructor: Dr. Faheem A Khan
Total Time Allowed: 3 Hours (2.15-5.15PM) Maximum Marks: 50

Use this page as a front meter of your answer sheet

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policy as dictated by university
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Submitted by: Iqra Qazi

Registration Number: FA18-BBA-039

For Teacher’s use only

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Total
Marks Assigned 10 10 10 10 10 50
Marks Obtained

Teacher’s Name and Signature:

Dr. Faheem Ahmad Khan
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Start writing from here

Answer 1
Part A

Challenges of Service communication: As we all know communicating and delivering of services is a bit difficult
than delivering products due to lack of physical existence of services. Intangibility causes following challenges:
1. Generality
2. Abstractness
3. Non searchability
4. Mental impalpability
Generality: refers to the services that comprises number of objects, persons or events. These services cannot
be evaluated before they are utilized. It’s difficult to make value proposition.
Example: Airlines, Saloons, massage places etc. There maybe physical objects, people that can show these
services but it cannot be investigated until a person uses them.
Solution: This challenge can be overcome by creating:
 System documentation
 Performance documentation
 Service performance
Abstractness: When something is abstract, it doesn’t have a physical existence. Services like counseling.
Example: companies providing financial and legal advices.
Solution:
 Showing or documenting a customer getting benefits from the service
 Showing customer experience eg: Universities prospect
Non searchability: refers to those services that cannot be searched and are high in experience before we buy or
avail those services.
Example: Gym ( A person can inspect equipments and can see the environment of the gym but cannot tell that
the gym equipments are working properly or not and the gym instructor is good or bad until that person avail the
service.
Solution: This challenge can be overcome by creating:
 Reputation documentation
 Consumption documentation ( customers praising their services)
Mental impalpability: Services that are too complex and multidimensional in order to understand. Customers
donot know the before and after results of using those services and it is too hard for them to investigate about
them.
Example: Plastic surgery
Solution: This challenge can be overcome by creating:
 Service processing episodes
 Case history
 By showing before and after results of the service

Part B
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Marketing communications mix are the ways and tools that are used for the promoting services. For hotel
services following ways should be applied: Production channels and marketing channels
Print media : newspapers and magazines
World of mouth
Digital marketing through social media and other social platforms
Personal communications
Advertising
Sales Promotions
Public relations
Sponsorships

Answer 2:

Following are the basic advices for developing a blueprint for service processes and key components of the Blue
printing:
1. First we should know all the aspects of the services we are about to serve. Identify the process that you
want to be blueprinted. All important activities involved in creating that service and for its delivery
processes.
2. As services are difficult to promote due to lack of physical existence so it is important to give details
about the services to the customers. Details about the services should be defined to gain better
understanding.
3. Two stages are involved in developing a blueprint for service processes. Front stage and backstage.
Front stage is all about the customer experience and the backstage activities are the process behind a
services which customers can’t see. A blueprint should explain a difference among these stages.
4. Physical evidence should be there
5. In case of services the interactions between the customers and staff is so important. They have a great
impact on the value proposition of the services. There should be a clarification of the interactions of
customers and staff in the blueprint and support by backstage activities and system.
6. Service scripts should be created which provides a better description of the service encounter.
7. Recognize potential fail points. Create preventive measures / solutions for them. Design a plan to take
account of a possible future event.
8. Make a execution plan for your service. In which all the important details should be mentioned like time
of completion of a task, maximum customer waiting time in between the service, and the scripts and
details to guide interactions between the customers and staff members.
Key components: key components include
 Physical evidences : any visual aid that will help the customer to understand the service.
 Backstage activities : those activities which customers cannot see. The processes and people involved
in making the service and in the delivery processes.
 Customer’s actions
 Time indicators
 Supporting actions
 Employees actions
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Answer 3
Cycle of failure : a situation in a business where employees turnover rate is high. When employees are
dissatisfied with the organization. When employees’ attitudes and overall outlook of the organization they are
working is bad. When there are narrow designs of jobs to put up low skill levels. An unrewarding environment
with low wages creates a cycle of failure with employees. When there are dissatisfied customers, this is known
as customers cycle of failure. When organizations just focus on attracting new customers and donot doing
anything to retain their existing customers.
The cycle or Mediocrity: when there is low scope in a job. When large firms like bureaucracies offering job
security but not much scope in the job they are offering. A situation where employees are provided with a good
money and job security but their marketing skills are neglected. Such organizations donot provide the best
services to their customers. Customers are unhappy with such organizations and it creates a bad word of mouth
for such organizations. In such big firms employees are resistant to leave the job as they are provided with good
job security but they don’t do any efforts for providing value to the customers.
The cycle of success : the situation where employees are happy and satisfied with their jobs and they are given
productive jobs. Customers are being provided with the best value. Customers are happy and satisfied too.
Firms with cycle of success have high profit margins which allows them to improve their business capabilities.
Part B
Managing people of service advantage:
Following are the ways we can manage people for service advantage:
1. Hire right people for the job
2. Train them
3. Motivate them
4. Provide support
5. Good leadership
6. Provide them with incentives
7. Conduct personality tests.
8. Work for the improvement of employees’skills
Answer 4:
Following are some of the factors that make a customer switch a service :
 Core service failures which includes the billing errors and service mistakes
 When a customer experiences an unpleasant response from the service delivery person.
 When there is negative or no response for customers queries.
 When prices are high. When prices donot match to the service. Eg: deceptive and unfair prices
 When customers experience difficulties to get the services. More waiting time, inconvenience
 When there is a better option to get a service from another provider.
 Customer’s own preferences
 Ethical reasons
 Involuntary switching

Answer 5
Part A
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Customer satisfaction: it defined as ‘ how well services and products are fulfilling consumer’s needs and wants’.
Meeting customers expectations through service and products offered by a company is knows as customer
satisfaction. It is the most important part of the business. The more the customer is satisfied the more you’ll
progress in your business. Every company works hard for delivering value proposition and getting customer
satisfaction. Customers satisfaction contributes in the success and failure of a business. Customer satisfaction is
important in many ways:
 It creates a good image of your business.
 It will help to retain your customers.
 Customer’s life time value is increased.
 It gives you a competitive advantage.
 It makes your business different from your competitors.

Part B
Service strategy is a plan designed which helps the businesses to find what services they should offer and to
whom they should offer. A service strategy contain clear objectives of your business , target audience , ways of
communication and results.