Service Marketing - Essay Example

Service Marketing 0 Introduction Marketing is a very significant aspect of business management. A business is not without production and distribution; thus, business is not without marketing. Moreover, a product is the foundation of a business. In the perspective of macroeconomics, products are categorized into two: (1) goods and (2) services. Nonetheless, the paper will dwell on the service-dominant-products. Furthermore, service marketing concept will be explained including tools, models and supplemental concepts that will pave the way to a better understanding of services marketing as an academic subject and an organizational function. 2.0 Services Marketing Service is defined by Fisk, et al. (2008, p.5) as the rendering of an action or a performance which includes effort. For example, when one orders a bottle of water, the service rendered is the act of serving the bottle of water and not the bottle itself. Furthermore, services refer to intangible activities performed by entities, equipments or both for building value perceptions among customers (Rao, 2011, p.5). On the other hand, management and marketing, as different functions, can only be efficient and effective (Malik, 2007, p.56; McDonald, 2003, p.13 cited in Wenderoth, 2007, p.4); thus, in other terms, both can be right (Malik, 2006, pp.24-25 cited in Wenderoth, 2007, p.4). Marketing is the method of building, distributing, promoting, and pricing of products to assist ease exchange correspondence with customers, and improve and sustain favorable connections with stakeholders in an active environment (Pride & Ferrell, 2012, p.4; American Marketing Association, 2007 cited in Wenderoth, 2007, p.4). Therefore, service marketing is described as intangible, perishable, heterogeneous. Regan (1963) added that it cannot be separated with the process of production and consumption because service marketing involves a synchronized act of (cited in Zeithml, et al., 1985, p.33). 3.0 Services Marketing as an Academic Subject In the earlier times, marketing only focuses on the tangible products. Service marketing was not given any economic value. This is because most of the marketers believed that the success of marketing lies behind the goods and what goes beyond that is not necessary. However, in 1950s, services were placed in a different market. There were new and radical concepts that supported the new market. The field was first established in scholarly articles, which then begun to breathe life in conferences. Many scholars wrote books, dissertations and studies regarding the new field (Maglio, et al., 2010, p.648-649). Furthermore, service marketing has named itself solely on the academic fields. Goods and services have been separated in such a way that a better understanding can be fed to novice or students. These students procure knowledge in this field by providing them the idea of how service marketing works in the business environment. One can actually delineate the nature of service but not the things behind the actual service that grounded the notion to offer the sole concept of service marketing to emphasize the idea of how it really operates in the world today. Not just students will learn the concept of service marketing to better understand how things work in the normal environment, the study will also tell them how they should perform their work in their chosen career, thus, by saying that they are inculcated with the necessary learning to improve tomorrow’s business environment. Dismally, academic marketing has concentrated on improving practices intended to earn the customer orientation of the marketing notion and not the effect of these practices in the firms (Marion, 1993; Svensson, 2007; Webster, 2002 cited in Skalen, 2009, p.795). 4.0 Service Marketing as a Distinctive Function of Business Marketing is significant to business and economy. Money is the lifeblood of a business; without money, business cannot stand by itself even if it has the best talents to do certain tasks. Money drives the operations of the business and marketing can facilitate the profitable operations, not only for the survival of the entity, but also for the whole economy (Pride & Ferrell, 2012, p.18). The pundits have stipulated to metamorphose the focus of marketing from goods and services aligned with delivery to a concentration on the service solely as the method of doing something for a customer (Lusch & Vargo, 2006, p.282 cited in Tynan & McKechnie, 2009, p.507). Marketing is a business conduct; a conduct that influences every facet of organizational culture and behavior. In other words, marketing is the business of business. Aside from profits and retention as functions of service marketing, retention should be on top. This does not just pertain to retaining the right consumers but also the right personnel and the right stream partners (Tynan & McKechnie, 2009, p.512). 5.0 Service Encounter Service encounter was developed in the occurrence of service marketing. It is the manner of interaction between the customer and the service staff. These encounters are complex by nature because it is affected by different external factors, such as the environment. It is also complex because the service encounter shapes the expectation, loyalty, satisfaction and intention of the customer to the firm. It is composed of reoccurring events that are the manner of delivering the service in different periods. Furthermore, during the encounter, the customer enters a “service factory,” where the customer is subjected to different signs by the firm and the service staff (Wells & Foxall, 2012, p.154-155). 5.0 Concepts of Service Encounter In order to understand the concept of service marketing, the subsequent paragraphs will dwell on the fundamental theories, models and tools. These theories, models and tools contribute in the in-depth understanding into consumer behavior during the service encounter, and will help to achieve the goals in the field of service marketing. 5.1 Role Theory According to Fisk, et al. (2008), role theory is the behavioral pattern of an individual that he or she has acquired in the process of social interaction. These behavioral patterns are then used by individual to accomplish the role he or she has taken into account. Furthermore, in a service encounter, both the employee and the customer play a vital role (cited in Wells & Foxall, 2012, p.155). The role theory has been used to determine the targeted consumers, given example, to focus on husband and wife in the study of household sectors. Some practitioners have studied the narrow role of an individual as purchaser and consumer and directed consumers as real people who should balance multiple role demands concurrently, which has provided a depth notion of consumption in daily life. However, Wallendorf (1978) delineated that less notion has been attributed to role theory in the context of marketing (cited in Baker & Saren, 2010, pp.151-152). 5.2 Script Theory A script is a “predetermined, stereotyped sequence of actions that define a well-known situation” (Mudie & Cottam, 1999). People encounter thousands of stereotypical situations in their everyday routine of activities, for example, riding a bicycle, shopping at malls, eating in a restaurant. Script theory has been introduced as proof of how people utilize certain knowledge to understand and cooperate in events they have encountered. Scripts fundamentally tell the consumers what their role should be the series of events and what other customers are likely to do. Customer satisfaction will further depend on whether the service anticipated conforms to the script. A script has provided people with the fundamental reactions, aligned with roles, paraphernalia, event-series, penetrating situations and basic output. Scripts are highly essential as those delineate service delivery as a method (Mudie & Cottam, 1999). 5.4 Theatrical Perspective In relation to Erving Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, many had perceived service encounter as a theatrical performance. This type of service encounter has a goal to build a positive impression to the audience or the customers. It is composed of the front stage, where the performance or the manner of selling is done; the service employees who act as the actors who aim to gain positive impressions from the audience, the audience or the customers, and the manner of delivering the act. In this perspective, the audience or the customers need to engage or gain contact with the actors or the sellers. It is considered as a passive encounter; therefore, the response of the customers will only be brief in between the performance. This is not the normal characteristics of a service encounter that is why employing such perspective needs to have involvement and must manifest and interaction (cited in Muddie and Pirrie, 2006). 6.0 Integration of Services Marketing with Other Functional Disciplines 6.1 Customer Decision Making Consumer decision making process is consisting of need recognition, information search, examination of options, purchase and post-purchase attitude (Lamb, et al., 2012, pp.189-190). In this process followed by the customer, the service staff can integrate the role theory, script theory and theatrical perspective while the customer is seeking information regarding the product. For example, the role theory may be utilized in order for the service staff to identify the role of the customer, e.g. a father. The identified role of the customer will be used to compliment the service to the identified role. As the customer realizes the importance of the said service to his role, he will then be influenced to purchase the product. 6.2 Model of Service Consumption In the manner of consuming services, the customer identifies the process of production as part of the consumption process. In service consumption, marketing is part of the production process which bridges the gap between the customer and producer. The traditional elements of marketing goods act as a support system in the process of the service consumption (Swartz & Lacobucci, 2000, p.15). As the customer takes part in the production process, the script theory will be useful in order to supplement the role of the customer. The experiences the customer had acquired during specific encounters, which will be useful in the production process, will allow the customer to take part in the preordained activity of the consumption process. The participation of the customer, his active or inactive participation, will predict if the customer will be satisfied or dissatisfied with the service being rendered. 6.3 Perceived Risk of Purchasing Services Purchasing services are considered as more complex than purchasing goods. When a customer purchases services, time is being bought; because time is intangible, therefore, the ownership is not identified immediately. With this on hand, there is a higher risk in purchasing services because this type of transaction requires a longer time duration compared to acquiring goods (Bals & Hartman, 2008, p.44). Furthermore, there are five ways in order to reduce anxiety in purchasing. The first manner is to use experiences and learn from the experiences of others; second is to acquire important information regarding the service; third is to do precautionary measure before purchasing, if possible, purchase only from those familiar firms and consider quality and price (Lee, 2007, p.116). In order to lessen the purchasing anxiety, theatrical perspective can be used. In this manner, the customer will be allowed to acquire the information he or she needs in order to decide whether the service suits him or her. An advantage is also in the passivity of the encounter; the customer will not have to invest in the process as long as he or she is convinced. Analysis The concept of the role theory allows an analysis on the different roles that customers may portray in a service encounter. This will help the firm or the service staff to create different approaches on the different roles they see in a prospective individual. The role theory helps the service staff to identify the different roles a customer may do in reality immediately. Also, this will then lead the service staff to identify the needs of the roles depicted by the customer and in line with it the service being offered. On the other hand, the script theory helps the service staff in attaining the targeted customer once they have participated in the premeditated script. The service encounter, as a method, allows the customer to participate not only while the service is being rendered, but also during the production of the service. This brings an interaction on both the service staff and the customer. Moreover, the theatrical perspective allows the customer to choose his process of participation; it can be active or a passive manner. However, this is detrimental for the service staff because most of the time, the customer can choose to be uninvolved, which can lead to a negative outcome. The role theory, the script theory and the theatrical perspective are useful service encounter approaches that can be used in understanding other functional disciplines of service encounter or service marketing. As an example, customer decision making can be understood when the role theory is utilized. In this perspective, service staff can easily identify the role of the customer that may take the service as useful which will result to the customer purchasing or enjoying the service offered. In the model of service consumption, there will be an interaction between the customer and the service staff which can result to foresight of the service to the identified customer. Lastly, to lessen anxiety in the part of the customer, theatrical perspective will be utilized to acquire more information, and choose on how to participate in the manner of the service encounter. Conclusion Marketing plays a vital role in the process of rendering services. In the service encounter, the tolls, models and concepts play an integral part for the success of the service encounter. Also, it is essential in understanding the role of the customer, as well as the service staff. It is helpful because it allows an analysis on the behavior and probable outcome of the service encounter. References Baker, M.J. & Saren, M., 2010. Marketing theory a student context. 2nd ed. City Road, London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Bals, L. & Hartman, E., 2008. Sourcing of services. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Fisk, R. Grove, S.J. & John, J., 2008. Interactive services marketing. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Lamb, C.W. Hair, J.F. & McDaniel, C., 2012. 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