ABSTRACT
Is the marketing of services fundamentally different to the marketing of goods? Or is services marketing just a special case of general marketing theory? This chapter discusses the distinctive characteristics of services and the extent to which these call for a revision to the general principles of marketing. While many of the general principles can be applied to services, there are areas where a new set of tools needs to be developed. Of particular importance are: the effects of service intangibility on buyers’ decision-making processes; the effects of producing services ‘live’ in the presence of the consumer; and the crucial role played by an organization’s employees in the total product offer.
