The intent of this course is to give students a thorough understanding of the unique marketing opportunities and challenges faced by organizations that sell and deliver services. Throughout six sessions, the course will introduce, discuss, and analyze several topics important to the marketing and management of service businesses.
Various frameworks for understanding service marketing and management will be discussed, such as the service marketing mix and the gaps model of service quality, and will serve as a basis for identifying and diagnosing key issues in service delivery. The focus of the course will be on examining the key concepts, strategies, and decisions in services marketing that can be used to examine such issues. Various tools will be introduced, such as the service quality gaps audit, the service blueprint, and the service guarantee, to enhance student understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges faced by organizations that sell and deliver services. The ultimate goal of the course is to help each student become an effective service manager, leader, and champion.
Topics to be addressed include:
1) The recapitulation of fundamental services marketing topics, including:
- differences in marketing goods versus services
- differences between “service offerings” and “customer service”
- the seven elements (7 Ps) of the service marketing mix
- customer expectations and perceptions in service delivery
- determinants of customer loyalty and retention in service businesses
- service recovery strategies
2) The “Gaps Model of Service Quality” as a framework for understanding service delivery
3) Service blueprints: key concepts and how it can help in designing excellent service delivery
- Lehrende/r: Alegra Kaczinski
- Lehrende/r: Marc Linder