Consumer Behavior in Services

M. Kashif Saeed Assistant Professor of MarketingFall 2015GIFT University Gujranwala

Presentation Agenda

Search, Experience, and Credence Properties

Consumer Choice

Consumer Experience

Post-experience Evaluation

Understanding Differences Among Consumers

Service as Theater

“ All the world’s a stage and

all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances and each man in his time plays many parts”

William Shakespeare

Expectedservice

Perceivedservice

Customer Gap

The Customer Gap

Where Does the Customer Fit in a Service Organization?

• Consumers rarely involved in manufacture of goods but often participate in service creation and delivery

• Challenge for service marketers is to understand how customers interact with service operations• People processing (e.g., motel stay): customer is physically

involved throughout entire process• Possession processing (e.g., DVD repair): involvement may be

limited to drop off of physical item/description of problem and subsequent pick up

• Mental stimulus processing (e.g., weather forecast): involvement is mental, not physical; here customer simply receives output and acts on it

• Information processing (e.g., health insurance): involvement is mental - specify information upfront and later receive documentation of coverage

High-Contact and Low-Contact Services

High Contact Services

• Customers visit service facility and remain throughout service delivery

• Active contact between customers and service personnel

• Includes most people-processing servicesLow Contact Services

• Little or no physical contact with service personnel

• Contact usually at arm’s length through electronic or physical distribution channels

• New technologies (e.g. Web) help reduce contact levels

Managing Service Encounters

• Service encounter: A period of time during which customers interact directly with a service

• Moments of truth: Defining points in service delivery where customers interact with employees or equipment

• Critical incidents: specific encounters that result in especially satisfying/dissatisfying outcomes for either customers or service employees

Continuum of Evaluation for Different Types of Products

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Difficult to evaluateEasy to evaluate

High in searchqualities

High in experiencequalities

High in credencequalities

MostGoods

MostServices

Stages in Consumer Decision Making and Evaluation of Services

Need Recognition in services

Information search in Services

• “Personal risk is high in services as compared to Goods”

• Financial risk• Time risk• Performance risk• Social risk• Psychological risk

Evaluation of service alternates

• Small evoked set in services

“Competing products are not in close proximity as in Goods”

“Difficulty of obtaining adequate information before purchase”

Service purchase

• Consumer experience

• Service as processes

• Service as Drama

• Emotion and Mood

Post experience evaluation

• Word of mouth communication (Get memorable and unique service experience)

• Attribution of dissatisfaction

• Positive or negative biases

• Brand loyalty

Understanding differences among consumers

- Cultural dimensions

- Time orientation

Thank You!

Email: kashif@gift.edu.pk