MKT 325 - Services Marketing - Spring 2010

Mid-Term Take-Home Exam (200 points)

Your answers to these questions are due to www.turnitin.com no later than 11:00 AM, March 29
th


Note: You can use your textbooks, my powerpoints, the Internet, business magazines, etc. to help you
complete this exam. In fact, to do a good job, you will probably have to access outside material. Include
a reference list if/when you do. Do this exam yourself! You may not work with other students. You
will receive a score of 0 on this exam if there is evidence that you have copied others work, or failed to
cite outside sources.

1. (20 points) Describe the four broad categories of services (pages 15-18), and provide a good
example of a service business for each category.
NOTE: Do NOT use examples listed on page 15 of the test. Come up with your own examples.

2. (30 points) Explain in detail how the Zone of Tolerance works. Then, use it to analyze the
behavior of a consumer that visits the same restaurant frequently.

3. (30 points) Compare and Contrast Focus Strategies vs. Traditional Competitive Advantage
Strategies (for example: cost, niche, differentiation)

4. (30 points) Two popular electronic book readers on the market are the Kindle from Amazon.com,
and the Nook from Barnes and Noble. Although these are competitive products, it could be
argued that they have a substantial service component to them as well. Investigate these two
products, and explain what are the core and supplementary services provided by Amazon.com
and Barnes and Noble. Finally, which company do you believe provides the superior service?
Explain.

5. (30 points) Explain in detail several ways that technology has impacted how many firms deliver
and manage their service offerings.

6. (30 points) Suppose you want to develop a service business and your target market is college
students. This business entails selling test-taking and paper-writing services so that students
can pay you to do their work for them. From a revenue management perspective, answer the
following questions:

A) Does your business seem to fit the characteristics provided in the five bullet-point conditions
listed on page 147? Explain in detail.

B) Explain how you would define/construct buckets and fences to maximize your revenue.

7. (30 points) Why is it so important for service organizations to use corporate design to
differentiate themselves? Explain some of the ways organizations use corporate design.
Provide at least two examples of service firms that use corporate design effectively. DO NOT
use examples that are already mentioned in Chapter 7.