Services Marketing - Chapter 3: Developing Service Concepts

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering core and supplementary service concepts, the Flower of Service framework, service branding alternatives, and new service development categories.

Service Product

Comprises all elements of service performance, both tangible and intangible, that create value for customers.

Service Concept

A representation of a service offering consisting of a core product accompanied by supplementary services.

Core Product

The central component of a service concept that supplies the principal, problem-solving benefits customers seek.

Supplementary Services

Service elements that augment the core product, facilitating its use and enhancing its value and appeal.

Delivery Processes

The procedures used to deliver both the core product and each of the supplementary services to the customer.

Shostack's Molecular Model

A diagrammatic concept illustrating how tangible and intangible elements are weighted and combined to augment a core service product.

Flowcharting Service Delivery

A technique for documenting customer service sequence over time to understand the total customer experience and distinguish core elements from supplementary elements.

People Processing Services

Services directed at people's physical bodies, requiring customer presence during delivery, such as an overnight hotel stay.

Possession Processing Services

Services directed at physical possessions belonging to customers, such as repairing a DVD player or maintaining machinery.

Mental Stimulus Processing Services

Services directed at customers' minds, such as television weather forecasts or entertainment events.

Information Processing Services

Services directed at customers' intangible assets or information, such as health insurance or financial services.

The Flower of Service

A framework consisting of a core product surrounded by eight clusters of supplementary services, divided into facilitating and enhancing elements.

Facilitating Services

Supplementary service elements required for service delivery or needed to aid in the use of the core product, including Information, Order Taking, Billing, and Payment.

Enhancing Services

Supplementary service elements that add extra value, appeal, and differentiation to the core product, including Consultation, Hospitality, Safekeeping, and Exceptions.

Information (Flower of Service)

A facilitating service element where customers obtain details on how to acquire and use a product or service, such as schedules, directions, prices, and conditions of sale.

Order Taking (Flower of Service)

A facilitating service element where customers establish their commitment to buy through applications, order entry, or reservations and check-in.

Billing (Flower of Service)

A facilitating service element providing clear, accurate, and intelligible descriptions of amounts owed, such as periodic account statements or machine displays.

Payment (Flower of Service)

A facilitating service element offering simple and convenient transaction options, such as self-service payment, direct-to-payee transfers, or automatic deduction.

Consultation (Flower of Service)

An enhancing service element that adds value by offering tailored advice, personal counseling, or customized management consulting to meet specific customer needs.

Hospitality (Flower of Service)

An enhancing service element that treats visiting customers as welcome guests, providing greetings, waiting amenities, food/beverages, washrooms, and security.

Safekeeping (Flower of Service)

An enhancing service element involving care for personal possessions brought by customers or goods purchased and rented by them.

Exceptions (Flower of Service)

An enhancing service element providing flexibility for special requests, handling complaints or compliments, problem solving, and restitution when service does not go as planned.

Branded House

A branding strategy where a single corporate brand covers all products and services offered by an organization, such as Virgin Group.

Sub-brands

A branding strategy combining a corporate brand with distinct product category names to communicate specific offerings, such as Raffles Class at Singapore Airlines.

Endorsed Brands

A branding strategy where the individual product brand is dominant but endorsed by a recognized corporate parent brand, such as Courtyard by Marriott.

House of Brands

A branding strategy where an organization maintains standalone, individual product brands for each offering, such as Procter & Gamble (P&G).

Corporate Brand

A high-level brand identity that is easily recognized, holds meaning for customers, and represents an organization's specific way of doing business.

Product Brand

A targeted brand level that helps a firm communicate the distinctive experiences and specific benefits associated with a single service concept.

Major Service Innovations

New core products created for markets that were previously undefined.

Major Process Innovations

The creation and application of new delivery processes to provide existing products with added customer benefits.

Product-Line Extensions

Additions of new service offerings to a firm's current line of products.

Process-Line Extensions

Creating alternative delivery procedures or channels for existing service concepts.

Supplementary Service Innovations

The addition of new or improved facilitating or enhancing supplementary elements to an existing service.

Service Improvements

Modest positive changes made to the overall performance of current service products.

Style Changes

Visible non-functional changes in service design, physical appearance, graphics, or staff scripts.

Reengineering

Analyzing and redesigning service processes—such as running tasks in parallel—to eliminate dead time, improve speed, and boost productivity.