Services Marketing Christopher Lovelock Pdf Zip
When productivity is a problem in manufacturing, managers turn to the R&D department or operations for help. In services, however, especially ones where there is a lot of contact with the customer, such in-house groups cannot by themselves improve productivity. Because services involve the customer in production, are labor intensive, and are time-bound, consumer behavior itself is critical. Increasing productivity, then, becomes a matter of changing consumer behavior and expectations, and that depends on enlisting consumer acceptance of the change. The authors describe five instances where managers have been less successful than they might in improving productivity in services because they did not take the needs of consumers into account. Then, drawing lessons from these experiences, they discuss three marketing strategies managers can employ in influencing consumers to become a part of the service process itself.
services marketing christopher lovelock pdf zip
An alternative approach is to develop marketing strategies to manage the timing of demand. Here the goal is to get customers to consume services at different times. But first the question must be asked: What determines consumer schedules?
In situations where consumers control the timing of their demand for services, the marketing problem is to encourage consumers themselves to change. This may be achieved by marketing strategies involving the service itself, pricing, communications, or the format and place of service delivery.