Chapter 2 Customer Behavior in Service Encounters A

Chapter 2: Customer Behavior in Service Encounters

A Framework for Developing Effective Service Marketing Strategies Three-Stage Model of Service Consumption Prepurchase Stage: Search, evaluation of alternatives, decision Service Encounter Stage: Role in high-contact vs. low-contact delivery Post-Encounter Stage: Evaluation against expectations, future intentions

Evaluating a Service May Be Difficult p Search attributes help customers evaluate a product before purchase n p Experience attributes cannot be evaluated before purchase—must “experience” product to know it n p Style, color, texture, taste, sound Vacations, sporting events, medical procedures Credence attributes are product characteristics that customers find impossible to evaluate confidently even after purchase and consumption n Quality of repair and maintenance work

How Product Attributes Affect Ease of Evaluation Most Goods Most Services Difficult to evaluate* Easy to evaluate Clothing Restaurant meals Computer repair Chair Lawn fertilizer Education Motor vehicle Haircut Legal services Foods Entertainment Complex surgery High in search attributes High in experience High in credence attributes *NOTE: Difficulty of evaluation tends to decrease with broad exposure to a service category and frequency of use of a specific supplier Source: Adapted from Zeithaml

Purchasing and Using Services p Functional—unsatisfactory performance outcomes p Financial—monetary loss, unexpected extra costs p Temporal—wasted time, delays leading to problems p Physical—personal injury, damage to possessions p Psychological—fears and negative emotions p Social—how others may think and react p Sensory—unwanted impact on any of five senses

Service Encounter Stage The moment of Truth…. “'A service business's performance is made up of the sum of its countless interactions with its clients” A moment of truth is when an interaction occurs between a customer and the service provider that can leave a lasting positive or negative impression on a customer.

High-Contact and Low-Contact Services

Distinctions between High-Contact and Low-Contact Services High Contact Low Contact Medium Contact • Customers visit service • remain throughout • Contact is physical • Contact is tangible • Little or no physical contact with service personnel • Trend of Self Service Active contact between customers and service personnel Contact usually at arm’s Medium-Contact length through electronic Services Lie in or physical distribution between These Two channels Includes most peopleprocessing services New technologies (e. g. the Web) help reduce contact levels

The Servuction System: Service Production and Delivery Service Operations (front stage and backstage) Service Delivery (front stage) Where inputs are processed and service elements created Where “final assembly” of service elements takes place and service is delivered to customers Includes facilities, equipment, and personnel Includes customer interactions with operations and other customers Service Marketing (front stage) Includes service delivery (as above) and all other contacts between service firm and customers

SST- Self Service Technology

Service Marketing System for a High-Contact Service SERVICE MARKETING SYSTEM Service Delivery System Service Operations System Other Customers Interior & Exterior Facilities Technical Core Equipment Other Contact Points Advertising Sales Calls Market Research Surveys The Customer Billing/Statements Misc. Mail, Phone Calls, E-mails, Faxes, etc. Website Service People Backstage (invisible) Front Stage (visible) Random Exposure to Facilities/Vehicles Other Customers Chance Encounters with Service Personnel Word of Mouth

Service Marketing System for a Low-Contact Service (Fig 2. 11) Service Operations System SERVICE MARKETING SYSTEM Service Delivery System Advertising Mail Technical Core Self Service Equipment The Customer Phone, Fax, Website, etc. Backstage (invisible) Other Contact Points Front Stage (visible) Market Research Surveys Billing/Statements Random Exposure to Facilities/Vehicles Word of Mouth

Theater as a Metaphor for Service Delivery “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances and each man in his time plays many parts” William Shakespeare As You Like It