Services Marketing Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm

Conduct a critique of the following service management ideas, theories and techniques, specifically with reference to purpose, application and limitations and with regard to how these service management ideas, theories and techniques might contribute to the development of a business.

Vargo, Stephen L. and Robert F. Lusch (2004a), “Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing,” Journal of Marketing, 68 (January), 1-17.

Nowadays, services dominate economy and generate most new jobs. This service encounter report aims to compare and contrast my own real-world service experiences using services marketing theories. Firstly, it will compare my two satisfactory encounters journals in East Coast Car Rentals and Ambient Hotel Colina to get the most satisfactory one. Secondly, two dissatisfactory encounters in Ray White Alderley and Myer will be compared to gain the least satisfactory one. Finally, I will give 3 recommendations for the least satisfactory encounter. Theories of level of tangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability, and perishability; level of customer service;

The purchasing goods & services have throughout the years begun to lead to a new perception of consumer relationship and in ways businesses conduct their operations. Not only is a business concerned with the buying and selling of goods & services but to further maintain that relationship with their customers to correlate between both parties. As this being the prime functionality of businesses, each business must differentiate themselves with other businesses offering different and wholesome services, which overwhelms their competitors, thus adding their own individualistic value to the marketing

David J. and John F. 2009, Foundations of marketing, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill higher Education,5: 120-122

3. (TCO H) Marketers recognize that the marketing of services is different than the marketing of a product because of the different characteristics that distinguish them from physical products. How do marketers communicate the value of services to consumers? How do they make these intangible services appear tangible to the consumer? What are some marketing strategies that might be employed with services to

Marketing has become more and more important, especially as the purposes of marketing expanded into performing marketing researches. Through marketing researches, it is asserted that marketing starts with a real customer need. Classic marketing, has, nonetheless, focused on making the need that will draw customers, and this stresses the advertising power of marketing (Woodall 2007, p.1284). This is also called the sales concept of marketing (Woodall 2007, p.1285). An example is how advertising lures people into buying a brand, because of the

The shift towards a service-oriented business environment in the UK has been influenced by several economic, ideological and political changes that took place during the 1980s and the 1990s.

Tangible goods, or rather manufactured goods, have been the dominant medium of exchange for centuries. However, recent decades have proved that it is no longer the case as there has been a prevalence of being service oriented (Vargo and Lusch, 2004:1-2). Services, as defined by Vargo and Lusch (2004), are  “the application of specialized competences (knowledge and skills) through deeds, processes, and performances for the benefit of another entity or the entity itself (p.2).” Utilizing services gives businesses an edge, a competitive advantage, particularly in an evolving competitive market, something which Metalfrio is definitely part of (Vargo and Lusch, 2004:9).  Those businesses that learn to adapt tend to do well. In addition, Vargo and Lusch (2004) write this shift to services is also a shift from producer perspective to a customer perspective (p.2). Thus, it leads to more of a collaborative effort where co-creation leads to adding value to the service rather than a product having value (Vargo and Lusch, 2004:6). Also, customers rather develop relationships with those that can provide a range of related services over an extended period of time, thus allowing businesses retain their clients for the long term (Vargo and Lusch, 2004:13). Overall, service oriented marketing is a direction that businesses should be headed towards to ensure that they can remain relevant and competitive in the

To be successful in business, "a consumer does not buy a whole of physical components of the product but it is usefulness, function, satisfaction of consumer's needs, solving the problem, etc" (Dubrouski, , p.1). "That is why the product is a whole of tangible and intangible components which means satisfaction of consumer's needs and desires, solving the problem"(Dubrouski, p.1). Companies and managers must learn to utilize marketing research, as well as, strategy skills to fulfill customers' satisfaction. Management has to focus on exclusive marketing challenges presented by the new era of the 21st century. Management has to be able to utilize inventive, dominant, and cost effective marketing techniques that will support the future success of the organization. Companies must meet,"the increasing importance of services as part of a product (offer, offering package) which cannot be neglected" (Dubrouski, p.1). Exploring the purpose of market research, as well as, evaluating the importance of such research, facilitates managers in realizing the importance of marketing to an organization's success and to be globally competitive.

Thinking in terms of the market (not marketing) is essential in the highiy competitive arenas of today,

This paper includes a study about Zappos Online Retailer Company. The purpose of this study is to do a detailed analysis of the current situation of this company and the service issues that they are facing in order to find solution to reach their goals.

Qns: Discuss the 4 major characteristics of services and the marketing strategies available for the service organization.

Recently, I have read two pieces of article related to a services marketing issue. One is titled “Relationship VS. Traditional Marketing” by Murad Ali and the other one is “Relationship Marketing” posted by Margaret Rouse. In “Relationship VS. Traditional Marketing”, Murad Ali introduces the definitions of relationship marketing and traditional marketing, displays the differences between them and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages respectively. Murad Ali thinks that it is a good choice to combine the relationship marketing with traditional marketing when companies practice in the real world. The former one can expand the market and attract new customers and the latter one can retrain them as long as possible. (Murad, A., 2007) In “Relationship Marketing”, Margaret Rouse considers that relationship marketing is a kind of strategy whose goal is to make the best use of customers’ behaviors such as the word-of-mouth promotion and collect customers’ information making contributions to building a good image of the company. She makes a contrast between relationship marketing and traditional transaction marketing. Besides, she introduces CRM and marketing automotive software to implement the relationship marketing strategy. (Margaret R., 2014)

Further, are firms operations necessarily dominated by the practice of these marketing activities? Empirical evidence is required to answer these questions. The second research issue requiring empirical investigation follows from the discussions by Bass, et al (1976) and Gronroos (1994a). They make strong statements that the concept of Marketing reflects a "new paradigm" in marketing thought and practice. Unless the term "paradigm" is used loosely however, a paradigm shift implies that a change has occurred, to one "...whose world view replaces that of an existing world, and whose underlying assumptions replace those of an existing research model" (Stern and Hammond 2004).