Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
Chapter 13
Services: The Intangible Product
Tools For Instructors
Brief Chapter Outline
Learning Objectives
Chapter Overview (“Summing Up”)
Extended Chapter Outline with Teaching Tips
PowerPoint Slides with Teaching Notes
Answers to End of Chapter Learning Aids
Chapter Case Study
Additional Teaching Tips
Brief Chapter Outline
Services Marketing Differs From Product Marketing
Providing Great Service: The Gaps Model
Service Recovery
Summing Up
End of Chapter Learning Aids
Chapter Case Study: Zipcar: Delivering only as Much Driving as you want
Learning Objectives
LO1 Describe how the marketing of services differs from the marketing of products.
LO2 Discuss the four gaps in the Service Gap Model.
LO3 Examine the five service quality dimensions.
LO4 Explain the zone of tolerance.
LO5 Identify three service recovery strategies.
Chapter Overview (“Summing Up”)
LO1 Describe how the marketing of services differs from the marketing of products.
Unlike products, services are intangible, inseparable, variable, and perishable. They cannot be
seen or touched, which makes it difficult to describe their benefits or promote them. Service
providers therefore enhance service delivery with tangible attributes, like a nice atmosphere or
price benefits. Services get produced and consumed at the same time, so marketers must work
quickly, and they are more variable than products, though service providers attempt to reduce
this variability as much as possible. Finally, because consumers cannot stockpile perishable
services, marketers often provide incentives to stagger demand.
LO2 Discuss the four gaps in the Service Gap Model.
The knowledge gap reflects the difference between customers’ expectations and the firm’s
perception of those customer expectations. Firms need to match customer expectations with
actual service through research. The standards gap is the difference between the firm’s
perceptions of customers’ expectations and the service standards it sets. Appropriate service
standards and measurements of service performance help close this gap. The delivery gap is the
difference between the firm’s service standards and the actual service it provides to customers.
Closing this gap requires adequate training and empowerment of employees. The communication
gap refers to the difference between the actual service provided to customers and the service that
the firm’s promotion program promises. Firms close the communications gap by managing
customer expectations and promising only what they can deliver.
LO3 Examine the five service quality dimensions.
First, reliability refers to whether the provider consistently provides an expected level of service.
Second, responsiveness means that the provider notes consumers’ desires and requests and then
addresses them. Third, assurance reflects the service provider’s own confidence in its abilities.
Fourth, empathy entails the provider’s recognition and understanding of consumer needs. Finally,
tangibles are the elements that go along with the service, such as the magazines in a doctor’s
waiting room.
LO4 Explain the zone of tolerance.
The area between customers’ desired service and the minimum level of service they will accept is
the zone of tolerance. It is the difference between what the customer really wants and what he or
she will accept before going elsewhere. Firms can assess their customers’ zone of tolerance by
determining the desired and ¬expected level of service for each service ¬dimension, their
perceptions of how well the focal service performs and how well a competitive service performs,
and the importance of each service quality dimension.
LO5 Identify three service recovery strategies.
In a best-case scenario, the service never fails. But some failures are inevitable and require the
firm to make amends to the customer by: (1) listening carefully and involving the customer in the
service recovery; (2) finding a fair solution to the problem that compensates the customer for the
failure and follows procedures the customer believes are fair; and (3) resolving the problem
quickly.
Extended Chapter Outline With Teaching Tips
Services Marketing Differs From Product Marketing (PPT slide 13-8)
Intangible (PPT slide 13-9)
Inseparable Production and Consumption (PPT slide 13-10)
Variable (PPT slide 13-11)
Perishable (PPT slide 13-12)
Check Yourself: Several questions are offered for students to check their understanding of core
concepts. (PPT slide 13-13)
1. What are the four marketing elements that distinguish services from products?
Answer: The four marketing elements that distinguish services from products are that
2. Why can’t we separate firms into just service or just product sellers?
Answer: Another difference between services and products is that services are produced
and consumed at the same time; that is, service and consumption are inseparable.
Providing Great Service: The Gaps Model (PPT slide 13-14)
The Knowledge Gap: Understanding Customer Expectations (PPT slide 13-15)
Evaluating Service Quality Using Well-Established Marketing Metrics (PPT slide 13-19)
The Standards Gap: Setting Service Standards (PPT slide 13-23)
Achieving Service Goals through Training
Commitment to Service Quality
The Delivery Gap: Delivering Service Quality (PPT slide 13-24)
Empowering Service Providers (PPT slide 13-26)
Providing Support and Incentives (PPT slide 13-27)
Use of Technology (PPT slide 13-28)
The Communications Gap: Communicating the Service Promise (PPT slide 13-29)
Check Yourself: Several questions are offered for students to check their understanding of core
concepts. (PPT slide 13-30)
1. Explain the four service gaps identified by the Gaps Model.
Answer: The four service gaps are: the Knowledge Gap, the Standards Gap, the Delivery
Gap, and the Communications Gap.
2. List at least two ways to overcome each of the four service gaps.
Answer: To overcome the Knowledge Gap, firms must understand the customers’
expectations. To understand those expectations, firms undertake customer research and
Service Recovery (PPT slide 13-31)
Listening to the Customer (PPT slide 13-32)
Finding a Fair Solution (PPT slide 13-33)
Distributive Fairness
Procedural Fairness
Resolving Problems Quickly (PPT slide 13-34)
Check Yourself: Several questions are offered for students to check their understanding of core
concepts. (PPT slide 13-35)
1. Why is service recovery so important to companies?
Answer: Effective service recovery efforts can significantly increase customer
2. What can companies do to recover from a service failure?
Answer: Listen to the customer, find a fair solution, and resolve problems quickly.
