Focus on the Customer-

Consumer Behavior in Services

December , 2010
 Expected
Customer
Customer Service
gap Perceived Service

Company Service Delivery External

Gap 4 Communicatio
Gap 3 n
Gap 1
to
Customers
Customer- driven service
designs and standards
Gap 2
Company perceptions of
consumer expectations

Gaps Model of Service Quality

The Customer Gap
 The difference between customer expectations and
perceptions.
 Expectations are the reference points customers have

coming in to a service experience.

 Perceptions reflect the service as actually received

 The idea is that firms will want to close this gap –

between what is expected and what is received- to

satisfy the customers and build long-term relationships
with them.
 To close this all important customer gap , four other

gaps – the provider gaps- need to be closed.

The other Gaps

 Gap 1- Not knowing what customers expect.

A gap between company perceptions of customer
expectations and what customers actually expect.
 Gap 2- Not selecting the right service designs and
standards.
The aim therefore should be to focus on the reasons for
Gap 2 and strategies for designing services and
developing standards to meet customer expectations
 Gap 3- Not delivering to service standards

Focuses on how and why the gap can occur and specific
process, people and infrastructure strategies for closing
this gap .
 Gap 4- Not matching performance to promises Therefore
ensuring that promises, once made, can and will be kept
contd
 The primary objective of service
producers and marketers is identical to
that of all marketers, to develop and
provide offerings that satisfy consumer
needs and expectations
 Services possess unique
characteristics that require different
consumer evaluation processes from
those used in assessing goods.
Services: Search versus Experience versus
Credence Properties
 Search Qualities :Attributes that a consumer can
determine before purchasing a product. This include
color, style , price , fit , feel etc. e.g. Automobiles ,
clothing, furniture and jewelery
 Experience Qualities : Attributes that can be
discerned only after purchase or during consumption.
This includes taste and wearability.e.g. Vacation and
restaurant meals
 Credence Qualities: Characteristics that the
consumer may find impossible to evaluate even after
purchase and consumption.
 High in Credence Q

Medical
Difficult

evaluate

diagnosis
To

Auto repair
Root canal
Evaluation of Different types of Products

Most services

Legal services
TV repair
Childcare

High in Exp Q
Haircuts
Vacation
Restaurant
Most goods Automobiles
Houses
Furniture
Jewelery

evaluate
Easy to
Clothing
 Stages in Consumer Decision Making and Evaluation of
Services

Information Purchase
Need Evaluation of
Search and
Recognition Alternatives
Consumpt
ion

Post purchase
Evaluation
 Need Recognition

Begins with a presumption that a need or want

exists
Physiological needs – food , water and sleep
Safety and security needs – shelter, protection
and security
Social needs- affection , friendship and
acceptance
Ego needs – Prestige, success , accomplishments
and self-esteem
Self- actualization – self- fulfillment and enriching
experiences.
Information Search

 While purchasing goods, consumers

make generous use of both personal and
non-personal sources
 When purchasing services , consumers
seek and rely to a greater extent on
personal sources for various reasons.
 Hence the importance of Word- of- Mouth
in Services
 Also since perceived risk is higher in
services than in goods because of its
very nature.
Evaluation of Service Alternatives

 The alternatives are relatively lesser in services

as compared to goods
 In retail shops competitor goods are kept next to

each other .
 In services the customer visits an establishment ,

basically a single “ brand”.

 Also geographical constraints exist

 Also difficulty in obtaining adequate pre-

purchase information about services also exist

 For nonprofessional services , the customer itself

is the competitor.
Service Purchase and Consumption

 Deals with emotions and moods

 Emotions are more intense, stable and pervasive

 Moods are transient feeling states that occur at

specific times and in specific situations.
 The aim is to cultivate positive moods and
emotions such as joy, delight and contentment
and discourage negative emotions such as
distress, frustration, anger and disgust.
 Service provision as drama

 Service Roles and Scripts

 The Compatibility of Service Customers

Post purchase Evaluation

 Since consumers participate to a

greater extent in the definition and
production of services , they may feel
more responsible for their
dissatisfaction when they purchase
services than when they purchase
goods.
 Eg Hair cut , medical diagnosis
 Brand Loyalty
Depends on
 The cost of changing brands ( switching costs)

 The availability of substitutes

 The perceived risk associated with purchase

 Degree of satisfaction obtained in the past.

 Also greater search costs and monetary costs are involved

in switching .
 If consumers perceive greater risks with services they

depend to a great extent on brand loyalty .

 Also repeated usage leads to optimum satisfaction.
 Culture
 It is important in service marketing because of
its effects on the ways customers evaluate and
use services
 Especially in international services marketing

It involves
 Language ( verbal and non-verbal)

 Values and attitudes ( made in china label)

 Manners and customs

 Material culture

 Aesthetics

 Education and Social institutions