Exam 11: Services Marketing

The changing service environment has exposed inefficiency and poor management in many service industries.

As a result of layoffs in the technology industry, many trained computer professionals have found themselves unemployed and have formed third-party tech support companies like Geek to Go and GeekXpress to help ultimate consumers with computer installation and operating problems. Forty percent of the business done by these types of companies who operate in the consumer market occurs between Christmas and the end of January. As a result, Geek to Go and GeekXpress are likely to experience problems with:

In the provider market, a nonprofit organization may try to set the price by asking for $25 donations; this method is not always successful.

_____ allows an organization to offer an individual a price that considers the value of retaining the person's loyalty, maximizes the probability of a service being purchased, and optimizes the service revenue.

Anyone seeking a mate knows it is challenge. Relatives that were once the source of introductions to potential spouses are often not available, especially for immigrants. Add to that the desire for certain visa status and--as in the Indian community--caste, and the pursuit of a spouse grows even more difficult. An estimated 80 percent of all marriages in India are arranged. In the United States the percentage of arranged marriages rate for natives of India drops to 40 percent. Even if the marriage is not arranged, many singles from India look for someone who understands their heritage, tradition, and language. So some Indians turn to matchmakers like Kahanda Kakade who operates Vivah Mela. She personally interviews individuals who have come to her to find a spouse, and she will visit families if asked. -To maintain service quality, Kakade must:

A car repair shop attempts to differentiate itself from the other repair shops in town by washing the customer's car for free before it is returned. What is the principle weakness with using this as a method of differentiating the business from the competition?

An article in the Miami Herald about FedEx new home delivery service, which will operate 6 days a week and be able to make deliveries to residences as late as 8:30 P.M., is an example of:

A one-time visit to the tanning beds at Summer's Glow Tanning Salon is $3. You can buy a yearlong pass, which will give you unlimited usage of the salon's tanning beds for $99. This yearlong pass is one way a service provider can deal with service:

The Renaissance program encourages high school students to strive for good grades. To raise funds for the program, the art teacher created a T-shirt, which is given to anyone who donates more than $50 to the program. The T-shirt is an example of:

When Matthew and Patricia returned to their hotel room after dinner, they found the bed turned down and a piece of Godiva chocolate laying on each pillow. The hotel was using the bed turndown and chocolate as a way to indicate the quality of service provided by the hotel. The hotel is using _____ in its promotional strategy.

Karen Harris is the owner of Dog Gone It, a dog waste removal service. For a fee of $40, she comes to your house and cleans and disposes of all wastes she finds in your yard. Some yards have considerably more than others, but she still charges everyone the same fee and provides them with the same guarantee of a cleaner and healthier yard. This is one way to deal with the _____ characteristic of services.

Virgin Atlantic ran ads in which the airline showed a traveler sleeping in the airline's new seat and emphasized features such as six feet of space, an individual TV and game console, electric seat controls, lights, and laptop power connection. Virgin Atlantic is using a(n) _____ to show the benefits of flying on its airplanes.

An individual who volunteers to clean 10 litter boxes every day at a shelter for homeless cats is a(n) _____, a member of the cat shelter's target market.

The admission fee to the Wren's Nest, former home of Joel Chandler Harris, is $5 on weekends and $3 on weekdays. In terms of the service provider's marketing mix, this is an example of a _____ strategy.

Some photo-processing centers like to have the film processing equipment in the front of the store for everyone to see how efficiently and steadily its employees can process film. Consumers have proof when they see advertising that tells how quickly the centers can turn film into pictures. This shows how _____ can be used by services.

Hoover's online is a service that provides up-to-date competitive research on businesses. Its slogan is "The Business Information Authority," and it used the colors orange and purple in its advertising and on its Web site. The slogan and the use of color are both intended to:

Classic Auto restores older Corvettes inside and outside. Every car the shop has restored to its original condition is photographed with its satisfied owner. That photograph and one taken of the car before restoration are placed on the wall that is seen by anyone entering the shop. Classic Auto is using a(n) _____ strategy to promote its service.

The Federal Trade Commission, the Social Security Administration, and the Public Housing Authority are all examples of nonprofit organizations.

Because by their nature services are heterogeneous, management should:

Customers assess service quality by: