Page 179 - DMGT510_SERVICES_MARKETING

Services Marketing

Notes knowledge of what qualities customers expect so that the corresponding features are taken care
of in the service package.
Thereafter, the service organisation should develop the service concept. Consumer benefits
have to be translated into core, facilitating and support services with a view to defining what
general benefits the service organisation would offer to its customers.
The third stage is that of developing the augmented service offer. Obviously the service
production and service delivery system are to be developed so that the service package is not
only made accessible but the customer is also involved in the delivery process itself.
Careful planning at this stage is essential because if the right service in the right form and in the
right quality and quantity is not delivered, the entire customer oriented plan would collapse.
Therefore, the delivery of the service offer is an inseparable part of development of any service
offer.
Lastly, the appropriate market communication strategy should be prepared and its
implementation plan should be defined not only to inform and persuade the customers but also
to enhance the desired image.

Self Assessment

State whether the following statements are true or false:

14. The first step in developing a service offering is to assess the customer benefits.
15. The customer benefits need to be transformed into augmented service first.
16. Delivery of service offer is an inseparable part of the service offer.

9.5 Service Operations

Though service operation includes the entire service process, the major concern is the service
delivery. Customers tend to perceive the service delivery system as part of the service itself. The
pedagogy (teaching methodology, which can include plain lectures, group works, assignments,
case analysis, projects, business models, role plays, experiential exercises, book reviews, cinema
analysis, etc.) of a professor of marketing in a business school is perceived by the customers
(students) to be a part of the service itself. This makes operational management decisions crucial
to the success of marketing of services. This implies continuous coordination of marketing and
operations personnel.
All the work of a bank can be described in the form of a process. They involve activities,
procedures, schedules, tasks and mechanisms of service delivery. It includes policy decisions of
the scope and scale of customer involvement and employee discretion. For a service marketer,
concentrating on the process part to measure quality for a service marketer is important due to
the intangibility factor.
A service organization’s decision-making process is also part of the service delivery process and
is actually the precursor to all processes. Given below are the service delivery processes of a
management college and its student acquisition process.

174 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY