Consumer Behaviour in Services

The Services Marketing Triangle

Company (Management)

Internal Marketing
enabling the promise

External Marketing
setting the promise

Cleaning/ Financial/ maintenance banking Restaurant industry services services Interactive Marketing delivering the promise Employees Interactive marketing

Customers

Ways to Use the Services Marketing Triangle

Overall Strategic Assessment
How is the service organization doing on all three sides of the triangle? Where are the weaknesses? Specific Service Implementation What is being promoted and by whom? How will it be delivered and by whom? Are the supporting systems in place to deliver the promised service?

What are the strengths?

Scope of Consumer Behavior

How individuals make decisions to spend their valuable resources ( time, money & effort) What they buy When they buy Where they buy Why they buy How often

Pre-purchase activities

Purchase/Selection Post-purchase activities

Consumer Decision Processes

Decision Making Model
Individual Influence Environmental Influences
Need Recognition
Internal Search

Information Search Pre-purchase Evaluation Purchase

External Search

Consumption, Post-consumption Evaluation & Divestment

Individual Influences
Demographics, Psychographics & Personality Intentions, Attitudes, Beliefs & Feelings

Information Processing

Individual Determinant s of Consumer Behavior

Consumer Knowledge & Behavioral Learning

Consumer Motivation

Environmental Influences
Environmental Influences of Consumer Behavior

Culture, Ethnicity & Social Class

Group, Family & Personal Influences

Overall Model Of Consumer Behavior

How Product Attributes Affect Ease of Evaluation)

Most Goods Most Services

Clothing

Restaurant meals

Computer repair

Haircut

Legal services

High in search attributes

High in experience High in credence attributes attributes

Complex surgery

Motor vehicle

Foods

Chair

Entertainment

Lawn fertilizer

Easy to evaluate

Difficult to evaluate

Perceived Risk in the Purchase Process

Functional Financial Temporal Physical Psychological Social Sensory

Implications for Service Providers

Information Obtained from Personal Sources Intangibility Issues Customer Part of Service Delivery Time is Crucial factor

Customer Expectations and Perceptions of Service

Dimensions of Service Quality

Tangibility
Tangibles: quality of attributes and physical evidence of service.
Equipment is modern-looking. The physical facilities are visually appealing.

Employees are neat appearing.

Materials associated with the service (such as pamphlets or statements) are visually appealing.

Reliability
Reliability: ability to perform the service dependably and accurately.
Promises are kept.

Problems are solved sincerely.

Service is performed right the first time. Time commitments are honored. Error-free records.

Responsiveness
Responsiveness: ability of service provider to respond to customer needs on a timely basis.
Employees will tell customers exactly when services will be performed. Employees will give prompt service to customers. Employees will always be willing to help customers. Employees will never be too busy to respond to customers requests.

Assurance
Assurance: employees knowledge, courtesy, and ability to instill confidence.
The Behavior of employees will instill confidence in customers. Customers will feel safe in their transactions. Employees will be consistently courteous with customers. Employees will have the knowledge to answer customers questions.

Empathy
Empathy: high level of attention to customers.
Company will give customers individual attention. Company will have operating hours convenient to all their customers. Company will have employees who give customers personal attention.

Company will have the customers at heart.

The employees will understand the specific needs of their customers.

Components of Customer Expectations

Desired Service Level: What they want Adequate Service Level: What they are willing to accept Predicted Service Level: What they believe they are likely to get. Zone of Tolerance

Factors that Influence Customer Expectations of Services

Explicit & Implicit Service Promises Word-of-Mouth Past Experience

Personal Needs Desired Service Beliefs about What Is Possible

ZONE OF TOLERANCE

Perceived Service Alterations Adequate Service Situational Factors Predicted Service

Source: Adapted from Zeithaml, Parasuraman & Berry

Zone of Tolerance
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Customers do not notice service performance. A customers desired service expectation is same for all service providers within a category Adequate service expectation level varies for different firms within a category. Zone of tolerance expands or contracts for a customer from time to time. Zone of tolerance varies for different customers. Zone of tolerance varies for service dimensions. E.g. unreliability will be least tolerated. Zone of tolerance varies for first time & recovery service.

7.