Page 50 - DMGT510_SERVICES_MARKETING

Unit 3: The Service Marketing Mix and Purchase Process

clear of the criteria of choosing a holiday spot, nor does he have the competence to evaluate the Notes
criteria of decision making. These are high involvement purchasing processes and the customer
would require a lot of time for information search as well as decision-making.

Self Assessment

Match the following sets:
Set A Set B
6. Routinised response behaviour a. Buying general medical services
7. Limited problem solving b. Buying wedding planning services

8. Critical problem solving c. Buying movie tickets
3.3 Purchase Process for Services

Figure 3.1

6. Decision-buy or not buy

3.3.1 Need Arousal

To the customer, the service-buying process implies the service transaction and experience,
while for the marketer it is the service encounter and the service delivery. The buying process is
triggered by some unsatisfied need felt by the customer. The need could be aroused by a variety
of sources or stimulus called cues or drives.
The cue is both commercial and social oriented. Commercial cues are controllable by the service
marketer and can be intelligently engineered to arouse the customers’ needs. They consist of the
following:

z Service Product: This seemingly may not be possible in services because of their
intangibility. But brands and other tangibles can be suitably used to serve as a cue. Thus
Monginis can use its cakes as the cue, while Thomas Cook can use its components of
brands (name and colour) and services to stimulate need. This is one reason why travellers
Cheques come in a handy little wallet — a tangible by product of the service transaction

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