ABSTRACT

According to the World Trade Organization (WTO, 2016), commercial services accounted for about 22 percent of world exports in 2014. International services are 'traded' in several different ways according to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS, 2001). In truth, there are few pure goods or pure services. Raddats and Easingwood (2010) offer a different typology based on whether services are focused on product or customer and then whether the services are provided for the firm's own products or include other companies', or even competitors', products as well. Lovelock (1992) describes the service management trinity, the three key functional areas actively involved in making services work: marketing, operations, and human resources. Product support is an often overlooked marketing tool. A critical aspect of the success of a service business is the overall corporate culture established by top management. An important part of developing or improving a service is the development of the blueprint.