Page 190 - DMGT510_SERVICES_MARKETING

Unit 10: Role of Employees and Customers in Service Delivery

the involvement of the staff with conventional marketing activities. Analysis of the four groups Notes
and the consequent roles will reveal also the importance of the people factor to the following:
The efficiency and effectiveness of the service firm

Customer responsiveness

Image and positioning of the firm, especially where lacking any relevant tangibility to

service. They form the major part of differentiation of the service firm.
Opportunity to create additional value, as Singapore Airlines have successfully adopted.

The four groups or roles are illustrated below:

Figure 10.1: Roles of Employees and their influence on Customers

Frequency or
periodic custom er CONTACTORS MODIFIERS
contact

Infrequent or no
custom er contact INFLUENCERS ISOLATEDS

Involved w ith N ot directly involved w ith
conventional m arketing m arketing m ix
m ix
Contactors: They possess above-average customer intuition, having very frequent contact with
customers. They are very involved with all front line marketing activities like sales, promotions,
handling customer enquiries and also complaints. They are often involved in the strategy aspects
of marketing but are definitely deeply involved in the executions of these strategies.

!
Caution They make the maximum impression on the customers and are wholly
responsible for Moments of Truth.
They are the ones who are to be trained to deal with customers, and situations - and require
being highly motivated on a continuous basis. Selection of these personnel should be based on
the parameter of their customer intuition, attitudinal characteristics and responsiveness.
Modifiers: These role players have regular encounters with customers and also go on to build
the Moments of Truth of a service firm. Nevertheless, they occupy lowly points of interaction
with the marketing activities. They constitute receptionists, switchboard and call centre personnel,
and direct sales agents of banks, Para banks and insurance companies.

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