Services Marketing

Dealing With Customer Complaints

The Customer is always right!   There are occasions when the customer is right, however there are also times when the customer is not entirely right or when their behavior in making a complaint is such that they need to be appropriately challenged so that the substantive issue is dealt with.

Tactics for Dealing with Customer Complaints

When dealing with customer complaints, mangers can use tactics  based on a five-category scheme called conflict-handling modes: competing, compromising,  collaborating, accommodating and  avoiding.

Competing: (It has been decided that enough is enough, if the customer sues, you’ll meet them in court)

  • Repeat what you have said
  • Remind them that they can have their goods back
  • Warn the customer that you will not continue the conversation if they become abusive
  • Note what is said (possibly need to use in court)
  • Keep calm yourself and remain professional
  • Recognize when the conversation has gone on long enough and terminate it appropriately

Compromising: (The system has not performed to the stated standard and you have a desperate customer)

  • Apologise for the situation and reassure the customer that you’ll deal with it
  • Offer to deliver the goods by express courier at the company’s expense
  • Arrange to telephone the customer the next day to check delivery has been completed satisfactorily

Collaborating: (Your company isn’t at fault, the customer has chosen the wrong product, you need to find out how to progress to an agreeable solution)

  • Listen to the customer — what do they need from the product
  • Prepare to swap products if you can do
  • If no other product is appropriate as the customer how they want to proceed
  • Agree on what happens to the unwanted product — refund, exchange or let the customer keep it.
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Elements of Service Marketing Mix

The service marketing mix is also known as an extended marketing mix and is an integral part of a service. The service marketing mix consists of 7 P’s as compared to the 4 P’s of a product marketing mix. Simply said, the service marketing mix assumes the service as a product itself. However it adds 3 more P’s which are required for optimum service delivery.

  1. Product — The product in service marketing mix is intangible in nature. The product element of the marketing mix includes the tangible good and all of the services that accompany that good to produce the final product.
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Management Control in Services Organizations

The type of control which would be suitable for a particular firm depends upon the nature and complexities of its operations. A suitable control system has to be designed to suit the specific requirements of a particular firm.

Service organizations are those organizations that provide intangible services. Service organizations include hotels, restaurants, and other lodging and eating establishments; barbershops, beauty parlors and other personal service; repair services; motion picture, television and other amusement and recreation services; legal services; and accounting, engineering, research/development, architecture and other professional service organizations.

Characteristics of Service Organizations

1. Absence of Inventory: Services cannot be stored. If the services available today are not sold today, the revenue from these services is lost forever.… Read the rest

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Service Failure and Recovery

Service Failures

Even with the best   service organizations, failures can just happen — they may be due to the service not available when promised, it may be delivered late or too slowly (some times too fast??), the outcome may be incorrect or poorly executed, or employees may be rude or uncaring. All these types of service failures bring about negative experiences. If left unfixed they can result in customers leaving, telling others about the negative experiences or even challenging through consumer courts. Research has shown that resolving the problems effectively has a strong impact on the customer satisfaction, loyalty, and bottom-line performance.… Read the rest

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Service Encounters

From the customer’s point of view, the most vivid impression of service occurs in the service encounters  or “Moment Of Truth,” when the customer interacts with the service firm. This is the foundation to “Satisfaction of Service Quality” — it is where the promises are kept or broken. The concept of service encounter was put forth by Richard Norman, taking the metaphor from Bull Fighting. Most services are results of social acts, which take place in direct contact between the customer and the service provider. At this stage the customer realizes the perceived service quality.

Every “Moment of Truth” is Important — according to Scandinavian Airlines, each one of their 10 million customers come in contact with 5 employees.… Read the rest

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Consumer Decision Process In Services Marketing

Knowledge of the Buyer

In buying decisions many times other people also influence the decision. In services these roles are played by many persons. In purchase of any service six distinct roles are played. They are;

  1. Initiator : The person who has a specific need and proposes to buy a service
  2. Influencer : The person or group of persons whom the decision maker refers to or who advice the decision maker
  3. Gate Keeper : The person or organization or promotional material, which act as filter on the range of services which enter the decision choice
  4. Decider : The person who makes the buying decision
  5. Buyer : The person makes the actual purchaser
  6. User : The actual user.
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