IMIS

Bhubaneswar
COURSE MANUAL
Batch : 2019-21 Services Marketing (C-307) – 3 Credits
Term : III Prof. Rakhi Dutta

Importance of Services
India's services sector contributes more than fifty per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP),
around one third of its employment, a quarter of the total trade, and over half of the foreign investment inflows.
The services industry is one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors in the global market. Its contribution to
the Indian economy is particularly significant, with regard to employment potential and impact on national
income. This sector covers a wide range of activities, such as transportation, communication, trading, finances,
real estate and health, among others. The services industry also provides massive business prospects to
investors.

Course Objectives
The course would help the students to develop their skill, knowledge and attitude towards creating, managing
and retaining service marketing strategies. Service marketing strategies would help meet the challenges
thrown up to marketers of services as services are intangible, variable and involve customer participation
which give rise to problems in service design, delivery and control. The course aims at giving a holistic view of
services marketing with respect to marketing, operations and human resource management involved in
managing services through class lectures, case studies, field work and presentations. The students will get a
varied exposure as the course will span several service industries.

Session Plan

Sessions 1-2
Topic: Introduction to Services Marketing, Course Introduction, Role and Importance of
Services in the Indian/Global Economy, Evolution of Services Marketing, Meaning and
Scope of Services, Characteristics of Services as compared to Goods, Classification of
Services based on Search, Experience & Credence properties.
Treatment: Class Lecture & Case Study
Case Study: Dabbawallahs of Mumbai

Suggested Reading:
Text Book: Services Marketing: Integrating Customer focus Across the Firm; Zeithaml, Gremler, Bitner,
th
Pandit, 5 edition (Ch 1, pg 4-24)
Adl. Reading: Services Sector Survey 2018 - 2019, extracted from http://indiabudget.nic.in

Session 3
Topic: Extended Marketing Mix of Services: the 7 Ps of Services Marketing
Treatment: Class Lecture

Suggested Reading:
Text Book: Services Marketing: Integrating Customer focus Across the Firm; Zeithaml, Gremler, Bitner,
Pandit (Ch 1, pg 25-28)

Sessions 4-5
Topic: Consumer Expectations, Meaning and Types (Ideal, Adequate) of Consumer
Expectations, Zone of Tolerance, Factors affecting consumer expectations, Issues
involving customer service expectation, Expectation management strategies, Service
encounter expectations, Consumer perceptions.
Treatment: Class Lecture and Case Study
Case Study: Naivedyam

Suggested Reading:
Text Book: Services Marketing: Integrating Customer focus Across the Firm; Zeithaml, Gremler, Bitner,
Pandit (Ch 4, pg 83-103 and Ch 5, pg 108-110)
Sessions 6-7
Topic: Understanding Service Quality & Establishing Service Standards, Service Encounters
or Moments of Truth, Measuring Service Quality through SERVQUAL, The Gaps Model
of Service Quality, Gap Reduction Strategies
Treatment: Class Lecture and Case Study
Case Study: HP Gas
Suggested Reading:
Text Book: Services Marketing: Integrating Customer focus Across the Firm; Zeithaml, Gremler, Bitner,
Pandit (Ch 5, pg 116-124 & Ch 2, pg 33-48)

Sessions 8-10
Topic: Service Development and Design, Blueprinting of Service Operations, Components and
benefits of blueprints, Building a Blueprint, Divergence and Complexity in Service
process

Treatment: Class Lecture and Case Study

Case Study: Adonis Mobile Hair Dressers, UrbanClap

Suggested Reading:
Text Book: Services Marketing: Integrating Customer focus Across the Firm; Zeithaml, Gremler, Bitner,
Pandit (Ch 9, Pg 266-284)
Adl. Reading: Designing Services that Deliver; Harvard Business Review, January –
February 1984

Sessions 11-12
Topic: Physical Evidence and the Servicescape, Meaning of Physical evidence, Effect of
Physical evidence on consumer expectations, Roles of servicescape, Responses to
Servicescape, Environmental Dimensions of Servicescape, Strategy for Service
Environment, Designing the Service Environment
Treatment: Class Lecture & Case Study
Case Study: Singapore Airlines

Suggested Reading:
Text Book: Services Marketing: Integrating Customer focus Across the Firm; Zeithaml, Gremler, Bitner,
Pandit (Ch 11, pg 327-350)

MID TERM EXAMINATION

Sessions 13-14
Topic: Role of Pricing, Approaches to Pricing Services and Price Determinants, B-to-B Service
Pricing; Differential Pricing, Price Bundling, Multiple-use Price Discounts and
Customer-focused pricing concepts.
Treatment: Lecture and Case Study
Case Study: Tata Sky-Modular Service Pricing

Text Book: Services Marketing: Integrating Customer focus Across the Firm; Zeithaml, Gremler, Bitner,
Pandit (Ch 17, pg 535- 561)

Session 15
Topic: Customers' Roles in Service Delivery, The importance of Customers in Service Delivery
as Productive Resources and Contributors to Service Quality and Satisfaction, Self
Service Technologies- The Ultimate in Customer Participation, Strategies for Enhancing
Customer Participation
Treatment: Class Lecture

Suggested Reading:
Text Book: Services Marketing: Integrating Customer focus across the Firm; Zeithaml, Gremler, Bitner,
Pandit (Ch 13, pg 404-429)

Sessions 16-17
Topic: Delivering Service through Intermediaries and Electronic Channels (Distribution)
Service Distribution-Direct, Franchising, Agents and Brokers, Electronic Channels,
Issues involving Intermediaries, Strategies for effective service delivery, Centralized vs.
Decentralized Management Structure in Services
Treatment: Class Lecture and Case Study
Case Study: Lakme India Salons

Suggested Reading:
Text Book: Services Marketing: Integrating Customer focus Across the Firm; Zeithaml, Gremler, Bitner,
Pandit (Ch 14, pg 435-457)
Sessions 18-19
Topic: Concepts of Demand and Supply in Services, Capacity Constraints and Demand
Patterns, Matching Strategies, Managing Demand and Capacity, Yield Management,
Management of customer waiting lines.
Treatment: Class Lecture and Case Study
Case Study: MTNL

Suggested Reading:
Text Book: Services Marketing: Integrating Customer focus Across the Firm; Zeithaml, Gremler, Bitner,
Pandit (Ch 15, pg 461-491)

Sessions 20-21 Student Presentations

Session 22
Topic: Customer Retention, The impact of Service Failure and Recovery, Customer
Complaining Behavior, Customers’ Recovery Expectations, Customer Defections,
Service Recovery Strategies, Service Guarantees
Treatment: Class Lecture and Case study
Case Study: September 11, 2001: Rebuilding a Firm-The Ultimate Service Recovery

Suggested Reading:
Text Book: Services Marketing: Integrating Customer focus Across the Firm; Zeithaml, Gremler, Bitner,
Pandit (Ch 7, pg 184-210) (Ch 8 pg 223-251)

Sessions 23-24
Topic: Promotional Strategies in Services Marketing, Integrated Services Marketing
Communications, Strategies to match Service Promises with Delivery
Treatment: Lecture and Case study
Case Study: The Incredible India Campaign

Suggested Reading:
Text Book: Services Marketing: Integrating Customer focus Across the Firm; Zeithaml, Gremler, Bitner,
Pandit (Ch 16, pg 501- 508)

Case Assignment:
The written case assignment has to be submitted individually on the case to be assigned separately to
each student.

Project Details:
The student groups (groups of 5) shall study a service company/organization of their choice. They will
first do secondary/preliminary study on their own and then talk to the head/manager of the
organization during their visit to it. They will have to present a study report on the 7Ps of Services
Marketing and another significant facet as applicable in the service of their choice, as applicable to/
followed by the company. They will have to also give suggestions for improvement based on the gap
found between their findings and the ideal (as per their class room inputs). After submission, the study
report has to be presented in the class.

The assigned project report needs to be submitted at least two sessions before the presentation
sessions.
* Detail project guidelines given below.

Components for Evaluation Marks

Quiz test (2 nos.) - 10
Case Assignment - 10
Project Submission - 10
Classroom presentation - 10
Mid-term examination - 20
End-term examination - 40
Total - 100

Text Books
Services Marketing: Integrating Customer focus Across the Firm, Valarie A Zeithaml, Dwayne D Gremler, Mary
Jo Bitner, Ajay Pandit, Tata McGraw Hill, 5th E, ISBN 978-0-07-066007-6.

Service Marketing-People, Technology, Strategy; Christopher Lovelock, Jochen Wirtz, Jayanta Chatterjee,
Pearson, 6E, ISBN 978-81-317-2597-9
nd
Services Marketing: Operation, Management and Strategy, 2 edition: Kenneth E. Clow, David L. Kurtz
Reference Books

Marketing of Services, Douglas Hoffman, John E G Bateman, Cengage Learning, ISBN 978-81-315-0531-1.
Services Marketing, Rajendra Nargundkar- TMH,1/e,2004
Services Marketing, Govind Apte, Oxford, 2010
Services: Marketing, Operations and Management, Jauhari, Dutta, 2010-Oxford Press
* Service Marketing Project Guidelines
• Form a group of 5.

• Identify a service organization you would like to study (Do not choose statutory govt. organizations
which do not provide much scope for observing how marketing is done by them)-you may choose
organizations operating in travel and tourism industry like travel agencies or travel websites, health &
hospitality industry like restaurants and hotels and hospitals, logistics industry like transportation and
courier, telecom services industry, aviation industry, beauty business industry, DTH business, real
estate business, education & training business, financial services business like banks, securities
companies, etc. Try to bring variety in the services among different groups. Once you have finalized
your organization, get it approved from the course instructor.

• Study the seven Ps as applicable for services (take care to give proper emphasis to the P/Ps which
is/are significant in case of your chosen organization) and any other important aspect as applicable
in the organization.

• Study the marketing strategies adopted by them (including promotional activities, any tie-ups, any
partnership, any event organized, with objective to build awareness, attract customers and increase
the volume of business)

• Finally, based on your observations, give suggestions for improvement.

• First do your secondary research to know about the organization and its national strategies. Then you
may fix an appointment with the right local authority to know about specific local strategies for which a
visit may be needed. Try to utilize your free periods for your visits but go with instructor’s prior
permission. Take detailed guidance and direction from instructor before the visit. Do not visit
without proper understanding of why you are visiting someone.

• Submit your observations/findings/suggestions in form of a hardcopy report for each group within 1-2
sessions post mid-term. This means that you need to try and finish your planning and information
collection by the end of mid-term.

• Each group has to also present its report in the class through ppt. presentation of 15-20 minutes
duration (where all members need to be present), after submission of the hard copy report. The
presentations have been scheduled from 20-21 sessions and will be conducted on random basis.

• For any further queries/assistance, feel free to contact the instructor in groups.