MANAGING THE SERVICESCAPE AND

OTHER PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

 Appreciate the strategic role of physical evidence as it relates to the

marketing of service firms
 Outline the stimulusorganism-response (SOR) model.
 Discuss the major components of the Servicescapes model.
 Describe the managerial use of sensory cues when developing tactical design
strategies
 Compare design considerations for low-contact versus high-contact service
firms.
 WHAT IS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE?
Real evidence, material evidence, or physical evidence is any
material object that plays some actual role in the matter that gave
rise to the litigation, introduced in a trial, intended to prove a fact in
issue based on the object's demonstrable physical characteristics.

WHAT IS SERVICESCAPE?
Servicescape is a concept that was developed by Booms and Bitner to emphasize
the impact of the physical environment in which a service process takes place.
The concept of servicescape can help assess the difference in customer
experience between a fast-food franchise restaurant and a small, family-run
restaurant.
THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF PHYSICAL
EVIDENCE
1. FACILITY EXTERIOR – It includes the exterior
designs, signage, parking, landscape, and the
surrounding environment
2. FACILITY INTERIOR – It includes elements such as
the interior design, equipment, used to serve the
customer directly or to run the business
3. Other tangibles – are parts of the firms physical
evidence includes business cards, stationery, billing
statements, reports, employee appearance and uniforms
Servicescape Other tangibles

Facility exterior Business cards

Exterior design Stationery
Signage Billing statements
Parking Reports
Landscape Employee dress
Surrounding environment Uniforms
Brochures
Facility interior Web pages
Interior design Virtual servicescape
Equipment
Signage
Layout
Air quality/temperature
Importance of managing their physical
evidence
 Packaging the service
 Facilitating the flow of the service delivery process
 Socializing customers and employees alike in terms of
their respective roles, behaviors and relation
 Differentiating the firm from its competitors
1. PACKAGING

The firm’s physical evidence plays a major role in

packaging the service. The service itself is indeed
intangible, therefore, does not require a package
for purely functional reasons.
It reflects the service, similarly in an online
environment, the site’s homepage creates the
package that surround the site’s content – and
sometimes less of a package is a strategic
advantage.
2. FACILITATING THE SERVICE PROCESS

Another use of the firm’s physical evidence is to

facilitate the flow of activities that produce the
service. Physical evidence can provide information
to customers on how the service production process
works. Other example include signage that
specifically instructs customers. Menus and
brochures explains the firms’ offerings and facilitate
the ordering process for consumers and providers.
3. Socializing Employees and Customers
 Organizational socialization is the process by which an individual
adapts to and comes to appreciating the values, norms, and
behavior patterns of an organization.

 For example: Starbucks staff have this called relation with the
customers.
 Social Interactions: nature and quality of customer and employee
interactions.
The physical proximity, seating arrangements define the
possibilities and limits of social episodes.
Socializing Employees and Customers
Physical evidence : Use of Uniforms
 Aids in identifying the  Facilitatethe perceived
firms personnel consistency of the
 Presents a physical performance
symbol that embodies the  Provides a tangible
group ideals and symbol of an employee
attributes change in status
 Implies a coherent group  Assistsin controlling the
structure behavior of errant
employees
THE SOR MODEL

 The stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model was developed to help explain the

effects of the service environment on consumer behaviour.
 It explains the effects of the service environment on consumer behavior
 Three Components
1. A set of stimuli ( sight, sound, touch , taste, and smell
2. An organism component( employees, employees, customers who are recipients of
stimuli)
3. A set of reponses or outcomes(approach)

 Environmental Psychology - Is the science of utilizing physical evidence to create

service environments and its influence on the perceptions and behaviors of individuals
FACILITY LOCATION

The choice location for the firm’s service operation

depends upon the amount of customer contact that is
necessary during the production process.
 PRIMARY TRADING
AREA
Contains an additional 15% to
25% of a store’s customers. It is
located outside primary area, and
customers are widely dispersed.
SECONDARY TRADING
AREA
Encompasses 50% to 80% of a
store’s customers. It is the area
closest to the store and possesses
the highest density of customers
to population and the highest per
capital sales.
FRINGE TRADING AREA
Includes all the remaining
customers, and they are the most
widely dispersed. It typically
contains some outshoppers who
travel greater distances to
patronize certain stores.

Destination store
When one store has better assortment,
promotes more, and/or creates a stronger
image, it may then become a
destination store and generate a
trading area much larger than that of a
competitor with a ‘’me-too’’ appeal. That
is why SnR is connoted as one of the top
membership shopping club.
Parasite store
It does not create its own traffic and
has no real trading area of its own. The
store depends on people who are drawn
to the location for other reasons.
Ex: a snack shop in a hotel lobby
TYPES OF SERVICESCAPES

Self-service environment: customer

performs most of the activities and
few if any employees are involved.
Example: 7eleven, Mini Stop,
and other convenience stores
TYPES OF SERVICESCAPES

Interpersonal services: both customer and

employee must be present in the Servicescape
Example: Tutorial Centers

Remote service: employee only; little or no

customer involvement with the servicescape.
Example: Logistics Companies
Framework for Understanding
Servicescape Effects on Behavior
Servicescapes can create an approach or avoidance behavior

Approach behavior: (positive) - spending money, interacting with employees,

browsing, being brand loyal to a service

Avoidance behavior: (negative) - many customers will not shop the day after
Thanksgiving because of the crowds
Developing and Effective Physical
Evidence Strategy

1. Recognize the strategic impact of physical evidence

2. Map the physical evidence of service
3. Clarify roles of the servicescape
4. Assess and identify physical evidence opportunities
5. Be prepared to update and modernize the evidence
6. Work cross-functionally