Services: A service is any act or performance, one party can offer to another, that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product.
Customer Service: It is the service provided in support of a company’s core products. It includes, answering questions, taking orders, handling complaints, repairs etc. These are for building customer relationships and not the ones provided for sale by a company.
Service Marketing Mix: The service marketing mix comprises off the 7’p’s. These include:
• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion
• People
• Process
• Physical evidence.
People: An essential ingredient to any service provision is the use of appropriate staff and people. Recruiting the right staff and training them appropriately in the delivery of their service is essential if the organization wants to obtain a form of competitive advantage. Consumers make judgments and deliver perceptions of the service based on the employees they interact with.
Process: Refers to the systems used to assist the organization in delivering the service.
Physical Evidence: It is the element of the service mix which allows the consumer again to make judgments on the organization. If you walk into a restaurant your expectations are of a clean, friendly environment. On an aircraft if you travel first class you expect enough room to be able to lay down! Physical evidence is an essential ingredient of the service mix, consumers will make perceptions based on their sight of the service provision which will have an impact on the organizations perceptual plan of the service.
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Tangibility Spectrum: Essentially services are intangible but sometimes they may involve the use of some tangible goods. In such cases the title of the goods doesn’t change from the service provider to the customer. But again some services do have a tangible component. There are four types of offer