Marketing Management, 15e (Kotler)
Chapter 14 Designing and Managing Services
1) Which of the following is a characteristic of a service?
A) The service is essentially tangible.
B) The service does not result in the ownership of anything.
C) The service’s production is majorly tied to a physical product.
D) Services are typically produced and consumed at different times.
E) A client’s presence is not required for rendering a service.
2) Which of the following is an example of a pure tangible good?
A) massage
B) shampoo
C) e-mail
D) restaurant meal
E) air travel
3) To which of the following categories of services does a cell phone belong?
A) major service with accompanying minor services
B) major service with accompanying minor goods
C) pure service
D) pure tangible good
E) tangible good with accompanying services
4) A computer falls into the ________ category of service mix.
A) pure tangible good
B) tangible good with accompanying services
C) hybrid
D) major service with accompanying minor goods
E) pure service
5) Which of the following is an example of a hybrid service?
A) teaching
B) car
C) restaurant meal
D) soap
E) air travel
6) A flight with complementary drinks is an example of a ________.
A) major service with accompanying minor goods and services
B) pure service
C) pure tangible good
D) tangible good with accompanying services
E) hybrid
7) Which of the following is an example of a pure service?
A) air travel
B) psychotherapy
C) baby oil
D) a laptop
E) a restaurant meal
8) Which of the following is true for services?
A) All services are people-based, while goods are equipment-based.
B) Service providers can be both for-profit or nonprofit.
C) All service companies follow the same process to deliver their services.
D) The client’s presence is a hindrance during the service delivery process.
E) Service providers develop similar marketing programs for personal services and business
services.
9) When banks try to make their positioning strategies tangible through the ________ dimension,
they make sure the exterior and interior have clean lines, the layout of the desks and the traffic
flow are planned carefully, and waiting lines are not overly long.
A) people
B) symbols
C) equipment
D) place
E) communication material
10) Some services require that the client be present to conduct the service. Which of the
following is an example of such a service?
A) pest control
B) furniture polishing
C) surgery
D) car repairing
E) tax services
11) Services high in ________ qualities have characteristics that the buyers can evaluate before
purchase.
A) search
B) experience
C) credence
D) privacy
E) storing
12) Services high in ________ qualities have characteristics that the buyer can evaluate after
purchase.
A) privacy
B) experience
C) credence
D) search
E) stock
13) Services high in ________ qualities are those services that have characteristics the buyer
normally finds hard to evaluate even after consumption.
A) trial
B) search
C) experience
D) privacy
E) credence
14) Which one of the following would be considered high in credence qualities?
A) an interior of a house
B) a restaurant
C) a haircut
D) psychotherapy
E) a computer
15) Which one of the following is highest in search qualities?
A) a play at a theater
B) a meal at a restaurant
C) a haircut
D) psychotherapy
E) a computer
16) Unlike physical products, services cannot be seen, tasted, felt, heard, or smelled before they
are bought. This is known as the ________ aspect of services.
A) inseparability
B) intangibility
C) variability
D) perishability
E) heterogeneity
17) Which of the following will most help service providers overcome the limitation of
intangibility of services when positioning itself?
A) using brand symbols
B) sharing services
C) working with larger groups
D) cultivating nonpeak demand
E) creating a service blueprint
18) A brand that is action-oriented and causes consumers to engage in physical actions appeals to
the ________ dimension of brand experience.
A) sensory
B) affective
C) behavioral
D) intellectual
E) social
19) BRZ Shoes targets the youth market with vibrant, visually appealing ads in modern styles.
BRZ ads appeal to the ________ dimension of brand experience.
A) sensory
B) affective
C) behavioral
D) intellectual
E) social
20) BRZ Shoes positions itself as a young, adventurous brand. Its logo and brand communication
try to give consumers a feeling of excitement and bravery. These ads appeal to the ________
dimension of brand experience.
A) sensory
B) affective
C) behavioral
D) intellectual
E) social
21) ________ refer(s) to logos, symbols, characters, and slogans that service providers use in
order to make the service and its key benefits more tangible.
A) Brand engagement
B) Brand orientation
C) Brand elements
D) Brand loyalty
E) Brand equity
22) Which of the following is true regarding services?
A) Services are typically produced, stored, and then consumed.
B) Services are generally low in experience and credence qualities.
C) Service providers develop similar marketing programs for personal services and business
services.
D) There is less risk associated with the purchase of services than with the purchase of goods.
E) Provider-client interaction is a special feature of services marketing.
23) The fact that services are typically produced and consumed simultaneously is known as the
________ aspect of services.
A) perishability
B) intangibility
C) heterogeneity
D) inseparability
E) variability
24) Service quality depends on who provides them, when and where they are provided, and to
whom they are provided. Thus, services are highly ________.
A) inseparable
B) tangible
C) variable
D) perishable
E) intangible
25) Which of the following will help a service provider overcome the limits imposed by the
inseparability of services?
A) using differential pricing
B) working with larger customer groups
C) providing complementary services
D) concentrating on physical evidence and presentation
E) standardizing the service process
26) Which of the following steps will help service firms to increase their quality control?
A) standardizing the service-performance process
B) providing complementary services to customers
C) giving personnel authority in handling situations
D) adopting differential pricing
E) cultivating nonpeak demand
27) In order to map out the service process, the points of customer contact, and the evidence of
service from the customer’s point of view, service firms should develop a ________.
A) marketing plan
B) service floor plan
C) Gantt chart
D) business plan
E) service blueprint
28) Jake had an appointment at the doctor’s office, but couldn’t make it on time due to traffic. By
the time he arrived, the doctor had already begun with the next patient. This illustrates the
________ of services.
A) variability
B) heterogeneity
C) perishability
D) intangibility
E) homogeneity
29) When a theater sells matinee movie tickets at low prices, it aims to shift some demand from
the peak to the off-peak period. What is the strategy that the theater is said to be adopting?
A) It is providing complementary services.
B) It is increasing peak-time efficiency.
C) It is using linear pricing.
D) It is using differential pricing.
E) It is sharing services.
30) A travel agency offers weekend discounts for car rentals. What can be deduced from this?
A) It is increasing peak-time efficiency.
B) It is using differential pricing.
C) It is using linear pricing.
D) It is cultivating peak demand.
E) It is providing complementary services.
31) In which of the following cases is a service provider trying to increase nonpeak demand?
A) A fine dining restaurant is promoting a breakfast service in addition to its popular lunch and
dinner options.
B) An upscale restaurant has a cocktail lounge where customers can wait until a table is ready.
C) AXA Bank set up automated teller machines so that its customers could avoid standing in
line.
D) Chesterton College hired part-time teachers as enrollment increased significantly.
E) Big department stores usually hire extra staff to handle the rush during the holiday season.
32) The Caesar Park Hotel generally caters to business customers during the week, but has now
decided to promote mini-vacation weekends for non-business customers as well. What is the
Caesar Park Hotel trying to do?
A) It is implementing premium pricing.
B) It is trying to cultivate nonpeak demand.
C) It is promoting complementary services.
D) It is putting reservation systems in place.
E) It is implementing differential pricing.
33) Cocktail lounges in restaurants are examples of ________.
A) differential pricing
B) cultivating nonpeak demand
C) complementary services
D) reservation systems
E) shared services
34) Which of the following is an example of a complementary service?
A) Big department stores usually hire extra staff to handle the rush during the holiday season.
B) The Caesar Park Hotel generally caters to business customers during the week, but has now
decided to promote mini-vacation weekends for non-business customers as well.
C) More paramedics are on hand to assist physicians during times when emergency admissions
are highest.
D) AXA Bank set up automated teller machines so that its customers could avoid standing in
line.
E) Chesterton College hires part-time teachers when enrollment goes up.
35) Walmart has decided to hire extra clerks during the holiday season. It is said to be ________.
A) matching its supply with the existing demand
B) generating nonpeak demand
C) increasing its customer participation
D) sharing its services
E) facilitating for its future expansion
36) Kaya, a chain of skin clinics, requests each new visitor to fill in their own details on a printed
form. This is a step in ________.
A) increasing its peak-time efficiency
B) creating nonpeak demand
C) increasing consumer participation
D) sharing its services
E) facilitating its future expansions
37) The private nonprofit sector is a provider of services.
38) A service is essentially intangible.
39) A service results in ownership on the part of the client.
40) The production of a service is never tied to a physical product.
41) Soap is an example of a pure tangible good.
42) Salt is an example of a hybrid.
43) A hybrid consists of unequal parts of goods and services, with services being in the majority.
44) A pure service requires a capital-intensive good, but the primary item is a service.
45) All services require the client to be present.
46) The search qualities of a service are the characteristics the buyer can evaluate before
purchase.
47) Credence qualities of a service are difficult to evaluate before purchase, but easy to evaluate
after consumption.
48) The experience qualities of a good or service can be evaluated after purchase.
49) Furniture is high in credence qualities.
50) While goods meet personal needs, services meet business needs.
51) Services have five distinctive characteristics, one of these being “pure service.”
53) Service companies try to demonstrate their service qualities through physical evidence and
presentation.
54) Inseparability in the context of a service means that there is a provider-client interaction
involved as the provider is part of the service.
55) A service provider can work with larger groups to get around the limitations of
inseparability.
56) The quality of services is independent of who provides them.
57) A demand side strategy that can produce a better match between service demand and supply
is differential pricing.
58) List and briefly explain with examples the five categories of service offerings.
59) List and briefly explain the four distinctive characteristics of services.
60) List three steps that service firms can take to increase quality control over services and
reduce variability.
61) Several strategies exist for managing the supply and demand of services. List the strategies
for managing each and give an example of each strategy.
62) There are five categories of service offerings depending upon whether or not the service
component is minor or major. In which of the five categories would you place a haircut?
63) Give an example of a pure service provided by a company.
64) Bryson’s is a mid-sized hotel chain that is entering a competitive market. The chain needs to
differentiate its service from that of competitors, positioning itself as a hotel with excellent
service at an affordable price. However, the intangible nature of services makes this difficult to
demonstrate. How can Bryson’s convey its message effectively to prospective guests using
marketing tool of place?
65) In developing a service blueprint, The Flower Shop has outlined each step in the delivery
process of the service it provides. Which characteristic of services is The Flower Shop
attempting to minimize?
66) Fingerpainted organizes art camps and craft activities for children. The company has noticed
that demand is highest during summer vacations and drops during the year. What can
Fingerpainted do to attract customers at other times of year?
67) Customers today want separate prices for each service element, and they also want the right
to select the elements they want. Customers are said to be pressing for ________ services.
A) complementary
B) perishable
C) variable
D) unbundled
E) shared
68) Often, a service problem arises from a customer’s lack of understanding or ineptitude. Which
of the following can help to minimize customer failures?
A) giving customers exclusive primary service packages
B) redesigning processes to simplify service encounters
C) using differential pricing and shared services
D) minimizing service intangibility
E) working with more customers at the same time
69) Customers want unbundled services, with separate prices for each service element and the
right to select the elements they want.
70) The highest-ranking companies in a 2013 Forrester study of services that meet customer
needs and were easy and enjoyable to do business with included Marshalls, TJ Maxx, JCPenney,
and Marriott Hotels & Resorts.
71) When golf courses provide rules for playing and behaving appropriately, and customers
encourage other customers to follow the same rules, they are encouraging customer citizenship
via customer coproduction.
72) Customers cause many service failures, and the number of customer-caused failures is
increasing.
73) A person who has a bad customer experience is more likely to talk about it, but someone
who has a good experience will talk to more people.
74) Define customer failures and list four methods to tackle them.
75) Provide four examples of companies that used solutions to service failures.
76) Debbie’s is a specialty bakery that sees a huge volume of orders during the holiday season.
The owner knows that orders triple during the three-month period and the current staff cannot
handle the volume. What supply strategy can Debbie’s use to handle the demand?
77) What are the four factors that customers who thrive in customer contact positions have an
internal drive to do?
78) Bryson’s is a mid-sized hotel chain that is entering a competitive market. The chain needs to
differentiate its service from that of competitors, positioning itself as a hotel chain with excellent
service at an affordable price. How can it achieve this using internal marketing?
79) How has the explosion of videos online affected service firms?
80) ________ marketing refers to the normal work of preparing, pricing, distributing, and
promoting the service to customers.
A) Interactive
B) Internal
C) External
D) Promotional
E) Direct
81) ________ marketing refers to training and motivating employees to serve customers well.
A) External
B) Promotional
C) Direct
D) Internal
E) Interactive
82) ________ marketing describes the employees’ skill in serving the client.
A) External
B) Internal
C) Promotional
D) Direct
E) Interactive