A Service Model

Services are generally classified along a spectrum from pure personal service with little tangible product at one end to pure product with little intangible service at the other.

They have characteristics unique to service markets. Most obviously no goods change hands and so no transfer of ownership takes place. A sense of ownership can be encouraged and felt by a variety of marketing efforts. The service however cannot be separated from the service provider though there is provider-customer interaction. They both affect the service outcome. Customers use the whole range of the senses in goods purchase decision making. Service products cannot supply the stimuli to the senses in the same way so creating an experience for the customer is important. It is only experienced after the purchase. It is experienced as it is provided and involves the active participation of the customer. Services not taken up mean a lost opportunity. When demand is steady it doesn't matter but with changes in service demand problems may arise. The quality of the service depends very much on who provides it, and when, where and how. Service quality is therefore difficult to control and variable. Each service experience is likely to be different. It is possible to implement quality control measures.

Service quality can be measured, some aspects more than others. Criteria for measuring service quality have been developed. SERVQUAL is survey method for collecting data relating to customer perceptions of outcome quality and input quality of the process. Maintaining quality in all areas is difficult and mismatches occur between what customers expect and what they perceive to have been delivered. Staff training and empowerment can improve the creation and delivery of a service and can also increase productivity. Measurement difficulties arise there because services are performed not produced. It may also suffer from customer involvement. Measurement in terms of transactions, customers or revenue may reflect badly on staff. Productivity should not be allowed to reduce service quality. Service providers should be quality obsessed with management commitment to high quality standards. Satisfied employees are as important as satisfied customers. Good relations all round mean that staff know the standards required and customers know the standards to expect.