ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the way service and experience ‘offerings’ differ from all aspects of physical products in their composition, production process, delivery, and consumption, and why service managers and marketers must consider the appropriate blending of both ‘high-touch’ and ‘high-tech’ interactions to be successful. The four acknowledged differences between service offerings and manufactured goods—intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability—are described, and management and marketing implications of these characteristics are covered as the basis of this chapter. These distinctive features of service lead to different consumer perceptions and behaviors, making it difficult for service providers to ensure consistent quality. The unique challenges that service managers and marketers encounter are discussed, and the importance of adopting a total organizational approach to satisfy customers is emphasized. Service-dominant logic is introduced as one of the most impactful marketing theories, developed through a deeper understanding of the service sector and how a ‘service approach’ is relevant to all businesses.
