Chapter 7: Services Marketing

customer experience

the satisfaction a customer has with every aspect of a brand — its messages, people, service processes, technology, and physical environment — through every service encounter across the entire life of the relationship.

customer lifetime value

(CLV)

the total profit associated with a customer for the duration of their relationship with the brand

encounter errors

customer errors in which there are interaction problems between customer and employee(s)

failure point

any point on a service blueprint at which a possible service failure can be identified

inseparable / inseparability

the idea that services are produced and consumed simultaneously, and almost always done out of necessity with the customer’s participation

intangible / intangibility

the idea there is a lack of ability to see or touch services

line of interaction

depicts the interactions that occur between the customer and the organization

line of internal interaction

shows the division between employees who have direct contact or interaction with customers and those who don’t

line of visibility

shows which activities are visible to the customer from those that are not visible

perishability

the idea that services are created or produced at the time consumers need them

preparation errors

customer errors in which there are customer readiness issues or failures

resolution errors

customer errors in which there is a failure to report problems or take proper post-encounter actions

services

intangible products, often purchased with physical goods

service blueprint

a diagram that depicts a service process and the relationships between elements of the service and how they relate to the touchpoints in the customer journey

services marketing

the process of planning, delivering, and then improving the individual service acts and performances that create memorable experiences when satisfying a buyer’s needs

service recovery paradox

a paradox that occurs when a failure and great recovery results in a customer being more satisfied than if there were no failure in the first place

tangible

any item that can be seen, heard, smelled, or felt, particularly to reinforce a brand image or benefit the customer’s experience

tangibles errors

service provider errors with the tangibles or physical artifacts associated with the service

task errors

service provider errors in which a service process or task is performed incorrectly

touchpoint

any point of contact between a customer and a provider, such as a chat session, the website, an encounter with an employee, and many others

treatment errors

service provider errors in which the customer is not treated properly during an encounter

variable / variability

the idea that services are unique to consumers and are rarely duplicated