Services Marketing Differs from Product Marketing
Two national firms, the Prestige Hotel and Pro Fitness chains, strive to deliver quality service to their customers. To do so, they address the four core differences between services and goods. In the following scenario, you will be asked to categorize statements about the customer's experiences and the firm's marketing efforts by the core difference they represent.
Economies of developed countries like the United States have become increasingly dependent on services. For example, service industries like retail and information services account for about two-thirds of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and the lion's share of U.S. jobs. The marketing of services differs from goods marketing because of the four fundamental ways in which services differ from goods: they are intangible, inseparable, variable, and perishable.
You will be shown eight statements describing customer experiences and marketing efforts. Read each statement and categorize the item according to the difference between goods and services that it represents by placing the letter of the item in the correct box in the table below.
Customer Experience Marketing Efforts
Intangibility
Inseparability
Preishability
Variability
a. Hotel Stay
b. Use guest pass
c. Hard to convey value
d. Uses Flexipass
e. Satisfaction guarantee?
f. Off-peak rates
g. Managing staff
h. Conflicting experiences
