Overview
Principles of Services Marketing provides a comprehensive coverage of the issues involved in effective marketing within this highly varied and dynamic sector of the economy. The service sector is clearly differentiated from the primary and manufacturing sectors and its special characteristics addressed.These characteristics include: The central importance of personnel management in the provision of services. The need to maintain high quality and to reassure the purchaser of this quality. The immediacy of service provision and the involvement of the customer in the process. The importance of operations management in the services provision particularly in respect of demand management. The use of services to add value to tangible goods and vice versa.
When appropriate traditional marketing concepts are employed in the analysis but the difficulties in the general application of these concepts is clearly acknowledged. Where necessary models and techniques specific to services marketing are developed.
Principles of Services Marketing gives considerable attention to the specific needs of public sector services marketing and a final chapter assesses the problems and opportunities in the internationalisation of services. Mini cases are used to apply and illustrate the theory. Each chapter includes objectives and there are end of chapter questions.
The text is ideal for all first time students of services marketing. Coverage of basic marketing concepts is included for those students who have not completed an initial course in general marketing but can be easily omitted by those who have.