COURSE INFORMATION AND SCHEDULE

SERVICES MARKETING
Trimester V (MBA 2015-17 Batch)
Course Professor: Dr. Kartik Dave
Mobile: 09873099223
Contact at: kartik@aud.ac.in

Course Objectives:
The basic aim of this course is to explain why there is a need for special
services marketing discipline, the challenges for services marketing, and how
to deal with them. With this basic purpose, the specific objectives of the course
are:
1. To discuss the consumer evaluation process for services and how a marketer
can influence them.
2. To explain the key ingredients of a service product; outline the service
delivery process and the role of interactive marketing in the services; and
the strategies to manage fluctuations of demand for services.
3. To outline the foundations for setting service prices, explain the ways
service prices can be customized for different segments of customers and
discuss the concept of yield or revenue management and its application to
specific service industries.
4. To discuss the challenges in designing communication program for services,
the key reasons for service communication problems and outline the
strategies for matching service promises with delivery.
5. To explain the concept of physical evidence, the various elements of
physical evidence and its role in services marketing.
6. To explain the different roles of people in a service firm and their
importance in creating service quality and customer satisfaction and to
outline the human resource strategies for customer oriented service delivery.
7. To explain the concept of service quality, the different dimensions of service
quality and why the gaps in service quality happen, and how to close them;
and to explain the different types of service failures, the reasons thereof and
outline the strategies of service recovery in the event of a service failure.
To outline the advantages of developing long-term relationships with
customers, provide guidelines for selecting customers for developing long-term
relationships and suggest a framework for building customer loyalty.

[Pick the date]

Pedagogical Methods:
The course employs a balanced mix of lectures/class discussions, case studies,
and projects.
Lecture / Class Discussion: This time will be devoted to the presentation of
theories, concepts, and analytical techniques useful for services marketing
management. The course outline indicates topic wise chapters of the relevant
textbooks. Students must come prepared to the class by going through the
materials specified against each topic prior to the session on that topic.
Case Studies: In selecting case materials, I have tried to choose cases which fit
the pedagogical objectives of the course and which promise to be interesting to
participants.
The class will be divided into few groups and each group will have 4 students.
The groups will be formed before the second session of the course. Each group
should make two pages synopsis on each case in MS Word and bring it to
class. It should contain major issues, analysis for resolving the issues, and
recommendations on the major issues. The write-ups must be submitted to me
before the beginning of the concerned session. Each group must also come
ready with few power point slides corresponding to their case synopsis.
Project: Managing the Customer Experience through Mystery Shopping
The objectives of the semester group project are to give students an
opportunity to critically apply services marketing theory to a real business, to
experience a market research technique (Mystery Shopping) first hand, and to
draw strategic implications for optimising the customer experience.
In groups, you will describe and analyse the customer experiences at a service
firm of your choice, and make specific recommendations how to improve and
manage the customer experience.
To minimize the chance of problems and conflict occurring among team
members in a group project, it is important that the team members formulate
and agree upon a project plan and timeline from the beginning. It is best to
organize the group into defined areas of responsibility to specialize the efforts,
avoid duplication and improve communications.
1. Your project plan (max. 250 words) should include the following
information: (LAST DATE: October 12, 2016: Submit soft copy)
-The service firm that you have chosen, with a brief justification of your
choice. Your group will need to select three mystery shopping tasks. Include a
brief scenario description for each task (consumption visit or inquiry).

[Pick the date]

2. Servicescape Collage The physical service environment, called the

servicescape, is an important determinant of the overall customer experience.
You can present up to 10-20 photographs in your collage. Each photograph
should be briefly annotated, i.e. what is shown and why it is relevant.
Alternatively, you can create a short video clip (no more than 2:30 minutes)
and upload it to on you tube.
3. Mystery shopping
To gain a better understanding of the customer experience at your chosen
service firm, you will need to conduct some market research.
Mystery
shopping is a tool to observe, in a systematic way, how a service provider
performs throughout each service encounter. It can be an excellent way to
identify possible strengths and weaknesses. Your task will be to make a total of
three inquiries and visits to your chosen service firm, and pretend to be a
potential customer seeking information and/or a visitor.
First, you need to adapt the generic mystery shopping questionnaire.
Second, you need to complete the mystery shopping questionnaire for a total of
three mystery shopping encounters. The three mystery shopping encounters
are:
- Make a phone inquiry
- Make an inquiry in person
- Visit facilities to purchase and consume the service
You will need to define and report on the exact task for each of the encounters
in your completed questionnaires. Please do NOT take the questionnaire with
you the idea is that you look and act like a normal customer! After your
observation you need to complete the mystery shopping questionnaire for each
encounter. Questionnaires have to be typed.
4: Customer Service Experience Report -You need to submit a written report
(max. 25 pages) summarizing your case solution. Your report should include
the following:
- A blueprint of the service experience
-Using your mystery shopping observations, what are the strengths and
weaknesses of the customer service experience at your chosen service firm?
Use the service marketing system.
-How can the customer experience at your chosen firm be improved? Develop
specific recommendations for managing the customer experience based on
your analysis. You need to substantiate your answer with scholarly articles and
reference your work accordingly.

[Pick the date]

-Briefly discuss the usefulness of the mystery shopping technique a) As a

market research tool b) As a tool to learn about services marketing
- Copies of completed Mystery Shopping Questionnaires as an appendix.
5. Executive Summary Presentation
Each group is required to make an in-class presentation of your key findings.
The final project report will have to be submitted to the undersigned before
November 28, 2016.
Primary Teaching Book & Reading Material:
1. Services Marketing: V Zeithaml, Gremler, Bitner and Ajay
Pandit, 5th Edition TMH,2010
2. Services Marketing: Christopher H. Lovelock & Jochen
Wirtz (Fifth Edition 2004); Published by Pearson/Prentice
Hall (Refer 7/e also)
Other Suggested Readings (Books):

Service Management and Operations: Cengiz Haksever, Barry Render,

Roberta S. Russel, and Robert G. Murdic (Second Edition 2003);
Published by Pearson Education (Singapore) Pte, Ltd

Service Management Operations, Strategy and I.T Fitzsimmons

Fitzsimmons ( Irwin / Mc Graw Hill)

Essentials of Services Marketing :

Hoffman and Bateson

Concepts, strategies and cases

Publishers)

( Fort worth : Harcourt College

Services Marketing : The Indian perspective Ravi Shanker

Services Marketing

Adrian Palmer ( Mc Graw Hill)

The Service edge

Ron Zemke and Dick Schaaf ( Plume)

Students will be expected to go through the following News Papers &

Journals:

Economic Times
(Brand Equity)
Business Standard
(Strategist)
Business Line
(Brandline)
Harvard Business Review
Emerald Digital Journals

and

[Pick the date]

Ebsco Digital Journals

Service Management and Marketing Gronroos ( John Wiley)

Services Marketing

Helen Woodruffe ( Pitman Publishing)

Moments of Truth

Jan Carlzon

Services Marketing

C. Bhattacharjee

Evaluation:
Students will be assessed on the basis of case analysis, project, class tests, class
participation, and end-term exam. The weightage given to each of these units is
listed below:
Case Studies (4 Case Submissions)
Mid Term Assessment
Project Report and Presentation
End Term Assessment

20%
20%
30%
30%

Class Participation: Learning is totally dependent on the degree and quality of

discussion generated in class. Each student is expected to be present in every
session and contribute to class discussion.

Topics to be covered: (Cases will be given from time to time)

Session
No
1, 2, 3

Session-wise Plan
Understanding Services
The objectives of this topic are to explain what services
are and why there is a need for special services
marketing concepts and practices; to outline the basic
differences between goods and services and the
resulting challenges to services marketing arising out
of these differences; to explain the distinctions between
different services and how to avoid the services
marketing myopia; to explain the important role of
internal and interactive marketing in services
marketing and consequently the need for expanded
services marketing mix; and to emphasize the
importance of a relationship approach in developing
successful services marketing strategies.

Reference
Chapter/ Case
Services
Marketing:
Christopher
H.
Lovelock (Chap1, 2 & 3)
Services
Marketing:
Valerie
A.
Zeithaml & Mary
Jo Bitner (Chap1)

[Pick the date]

4,5

Understanding Service Consumers

The objectives of this topic are to bring out the
differences in the consumer evaluation processes
between goods and services in different stages of
buying process; to explain the different levels of
service expectations and factors those shape the
consumers expectations; to explain the different
factors influencing the consumers perceptions of
service; and to outline the different types of service
quality and the various determinants of the service
quality.

6,7

Managing Service Quality

The objectives of this topic are to explain the concept
of service quality and the different dimensions of
service quality; to outline the different determinants of
perceived service quality; to explain the Gap Model of
Service Quality, why the gaps happen, and how to
close them; to discuss the SERVQUAL instrument and
its uses in measuring the level of service quality; and to
explain the different aspects of costs of quality and
outline the lessons of service quality research.

Creating Services and Managing Service Delivery

Process
The objectives of this topic are to explain the key
ingredients in a service product; to bring out the
distinctions between core, facilitating, and support
services; to outline the service delivery process and the
role of interactive marketing in the services; to explain
the different levels of customer participations in the
creation of service and the strategies to enhance the
customer participation in service production and
delivery.
To outline the concept of service blueprinting and its
benefits; to explain the process of developing customer
defined service standards; to explain the various
strategies to manage fluctuations of demand in the
creation and delivery of services; and to discuss the
various service delivery intermediaries.

Services
Marketing:
Christopher
H.
Lovelock (Chap2)
Services
Marketing:
Valerie
A.
Zeithaml & Mary
Jo Bitner (Chap2, 3, & 4)

Services
Marketing:
Christopher
H.
Lovelock (Chap14)
Services
Marketing:
Valerie
A.
Zeithaml & Mary
Jo Bitner (Chap18)
Services
Marketing:
Christopher
H.
Lovelock (Chap4, 8 & 9)
Services
Marketing:
Valerie
A.
Zeithaml & Mary
Jo Bitner (Chap8, 9, & 14)

[Pick the date]

Pricing of Services and Revenue Management

The objectives of this topic are to discuss the ways in
which pricing of services differ from that of goods; to
outline the foundations for setting service prices
costs, perceived value, and competition; to explain the
ways service prices can be customized for different
segments of customers; to discuss the concept of yield
or revenue management and its application to specific
service industries; to explain some of the service
pricing concepts such as price bundling, captive
pricing, two-part pricing, loss-leadership pricing and
result-based pricing; to discuss ways in which price
competition challenges can be met; and finally, to list
down the steps for better pricing of services.

Services
Marketing:
Christopher
H.
Lovelock (Chap6)
Services
Marketing:
Valerie
A.
Zeithaml & Mary
Jo Bitner (Chap16)

10, 11
Service Communication and Branding
The objectives The objective oof this topic are to explain the role of
communication in services marketing; to discuss the
challenges in designing communication programme
for services and the key reasons for service
communication problems; to outline the strategies for
matching service promises with delivery; to discuss
special issues of advertising for services and lay down
guidelines for services advertising; and to explain the
special role of promotion in marketing of services

Services
Marketing:
Christopher
H.
Lovelock (Chap5)
Services
Marketing:
Valerie
A.
Zeithaml & Mary
Jo Bitner (Chap15)
Services
Marketing:
Christopher
H.
Lovelock (Chap10)
Services
Marketing:
Valerie
A.
Zeithaml & Mary
Jo Bitner (Chap18)

12

13

Managing Physical Evidence of Service

The objectives of this topic are to explain the concept
of physical evidence and the various elements of
physical evidence; to illustrate different types of
servicescape, the roles played by the servicescape, and
its effects; to outline the environmental dimensions of
servicescape; to explain the design considerations for
high-contact and low-contact services; to discuss
different approaches for understanding servicescape
effects; and to provide guidelines for effective physical
evidence strategy.
Managing People in Service Industry
The objectives of this topic are to explain the different
roles of people in a service firm and their importance
in creating customer satisfaction and service quality; to

Services
Marketing:
Christopher
H.
Lovelock (Chap7

[Pick the date]

14

outline the human resource strategies for customer

oriented service delivery; to explain the importance of
internal marketing in delivering the promise made to
customers (through external marketing) by effectively
managing the process of interactive marketing
(managing the moments of truth); and to provide a
guideline for people in service organizations and
suggest appropriate service oriented organizational
structure.
Service Failures and Recovery Strategies
The objectives of this topic are to explain the different
types of service failures and the reasons thereof; to
discuss the customer options to deal with service
failures and specifically about the complaining
behaviour of customers; to outline the strategies and
tactics of service recovery in the event of a service
failure; to explain the concept of service guarantee and
its role in promoting and achieving service quality; and
to discuss the objectives of customer feedback system,
the tools generally used for such feedback, and the
analysis, reporting, and dissemination of customer
feedbacks
Managing Relationships and Building Loyalty
The objectives of this topic are to define relationship
marketing and outline the advantages of developing
long-term relationships with customers; to explain the
economics of customer loyalty. In that context discuss
the concepts of customer lifetime value and customer
equity; to provide guidelines for selecting customers
for developing long-term relationships; and to suggest
a framework for building customer loyalty.

11)
Services
Marketing:
Valerie
A.
Zeithaml & Mary
Jo Bitner (Chap11)

Services
Marketing:
Christopher
H.
Lovelock (Chap13)
Services
Marketing:
Valerie
A.
Zeithaml & Mary
Jo Bitner (Chap7)

Services
Marketing:
Christopher
H.
Lovelock (Chap12)
Services
Marketing:
Valerie
A.
Zeithaml & Mary
Jo Bitner (Chap6)

2 Sessions are for mid term and end term assessment.