SMGT 75 SERVICE MARKETING

Managing the Servicescapes and Other Physical Evidence

Kathleen May C. Marasigan

BSBM3-SMP1
 MANAGING THE SERVICESCAPES AND OTHER PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

The Strategic Role of Physical Evidence

The Servicescape, which describes the actual location where the service is generated or
supplied, is one type of physical evidence. Physical evidence serves as a service setting by
generating emotions of longing and a desire to visit or even recommend a service provider.
People attend a luxury restaurant not for the food but for the design of the surroundings, similar
to how well-maintained buses and ones with air conditioning are regarded as ideal service
settings. Service design is crucial in adding value to the product. By giving information,
facilitating the ordering process, and managing consumer expectations, physical evidence
improves the efficiency of the services delivery process (barriers seperate different consumer
group). Establish a cohesive group structure, identify the firm's personal, physical symbol that
embodies the group's ideals and characteristics, facilitate perceptions of consistent
performances, and aid in controlling deviant members. This will help the employee and
customer look more intelligent, better workers, more professional looking, and more interactive.

The SOR Model

The Stimulus-Organism-Response model created by Mehrabian and Russell has been

the most popular approach to researching consumer behavior in a retail setting. This model
uses the three processes of stimulus, organism, and response to explain how humans respond
to environmental inputs (S-O-R). Although the model was initially created for general
environmental psychology, it has now been modified and proven to be effective in a retail
environment by numerous subsequent research. According to this paradigm, external stimuli (S)
might induce the consumer to act in two different ways: approach or avoid. These actions are
brought about by people's internal assessments (O) of various environmental signals.

Additionally, the model proposes that any environment will cause a person to experience an
emotional state that may be described in terms of three distinct dimensions, abbreviated as
PAD:

Pleasure – Displeasure

Arousal – Avoidance

Dominance – Submissiveness

Whether a person feels pleasant, joyous, happy, and satisfied in the scenario is referred to as
their level of pleasure. Arousal describes a person's level of excitement, stimulation, alertness,
and activity. If a person feels in control and free to act in a situation, they are said to be
dominant. The S-O-R model, then, depicts the connection between environmental stimuli,
emotional states, and the approach or avoidance behavior that develops as a result of the
interaction of stimuli and emotion. The most crucial feature of the model for retailers is that it
aids in understanding how various stimuli influence the consumer response. Naturally, most
businesses want their customers to behave more approachably. Since stores that inspire
emotions of pleasure are likely to be the ones where people want to spend their time and
money, it is crucial to understand what environmental characteristics induce pleasure and
arousal in the targeted consumers.

The Development of Servicescapes

Servicescape has been defined as the study of service design, comprising of

environmental aspects as space and its function, signs, symbols, tools, and people who interact
in service environment. According to idea creator Mary Jo Bitner, employees are simultaneously
responsible for providing responses and in this scenario, clients operate with behaviors that may
be assessed. Therefore, based on the measurements that may result from environmental
factors, the space, its purpose, signs, symbols, and people, you can get a detailed picture of the
approach, the satisfaction, and to investigate how long they are willing to spend in a particular
place, and as a result, their willingness to pay and spend. Likewise, the notion of perceived
value in environmental variables is built from the customers vision. (M. J. Bitner, 1992). It is
important to note that Bitner (1992) developed the idea behind Servicescape, which has
motivated other scholars to investigate the phenomena and consider potential mediating factors
across various industries. The execution of organizational goals, methods, and marketing
initiatives have benefited greatly from this. However, there is no proof of a systematic review of
the literature that would allow for the summary, identification, evaluation, interpretation, and
synthesis of reported studies on this concept. Given that people's behaviors are influenced by
their physical environment, and that from it they can develop marketing strategies, the
relationship between marketing and Servicescape in this context is symbiotic. This is because
the service environment is co-created by the organization, its partners, and the customer, who
interact in the same service environment. As a result, the main goal of this work is to
comprehensively evaluate the literature produced after the invention of the word "Servicescape"
in order to account for the concept's development over time. Aspects such as the evolution of
the literature, published papers, scope, involved variables, and methodological viewpoints were
observed in this context. Additionally, depending on the extent, marketing managers can rely on
a consultation framework to construct their new plans. Additionally, they can be interested in
finding out more information about the research of the physical service environment, as well as
in suggesting successful solutions in different situations and reviewing successful examples to
implement in their own company. It can also serve as a foundation for the creation of new
service universes.
Managing the Senses When Creating Servicescapes

The servicescape, or "environmental variables," of a restaurant can affect patron

experience and behavioral intentions (as consumers do not only enjoy the food but also
appreciating the restaurant environment). An elaboration of Bitner's (1992) idea of physical
servicescape, current trends have seen a growing amount of study on the outcomes of social
servicescape in the hotel business. Both ideas emphasize unique facets of the consumption
environment. The physical (human-made features or servicescape) elements of the service
experience were given special attention in Bitner's servicescape framework. Physical
servicescape elements (facility esthetic, ambience, lighting, table setting and layout) have been
confirmed to positively influence customer appraisal which in turn influences customer
satisfaction in the restaurant context also investigated the physical servicescape consisting of
multiple dimensions and confirmed that servicescape can positively influence service quality
and pleasure leading to revisit intentions. On the other hand, the social servicescape highlights
the social facets of consumers’ experience during consumption, specifically when the
employees and customers concurrently share the consumption space

References:

https://tourism.binus.ac.id/2020/12/04/physical-evidence-its-role-and-impact-in-the-service-
setting/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/stimulus-organism-response-model-viliam-vanak

https://www.revistaespacios.com/a18v39n13/a18v39n13p30.pdf

https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/marketing/servicescape/servicescape-meaning-
types-behaviours-roles-approaches-service-marketing/17673