Part 2

FOCUS ON THE
CUSTOMER

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2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Customer Gap

Expected
service
Customer Gap

Perceived
service
Part 2 Opener
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2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapter

Consumer Behavior in Services

Search, Experience, and Credence

Properties
Consumer Choice
Consumer Experience
Postexperience Evaluation

Objectives for Chapter 3:

Consumer Behavior in Services
Enhance understanding of how consumers choose and evaluate
services, through focusing on factors that are particularly
relevant for services.
Explore how differences among consumers (cultural differences,
group decision making) affect consumer behavior and influence
services marketing strategies.

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2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Consumer Behavior in Services

1. Review Unique Characteristics
Deeds, Processes, Performances
Intangible, Heterogeneous, Simultaneous, Perishable

2. Traditional Consumer Decision Process

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Figure 3.3

Stages in Consumer Decision Making and

Evaluation of Services

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2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Differences in Stages
A. Evaluation- Pre and Post
1. When and If How Difficult/ Confident
2. Evaluation Qualities

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Consumer Evaluation
Processes for Services
Search Qualities
attributes a consumer can determine prior to purchase of a
product

Experience Qualities
attributes a consumer can determine after purchase (or
during consumption) of a product

Credence Qualities
characteristics that may be impossible to evaluate even after
purchase and consumption
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2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 3.2

Continuum of Evaluation for Different Types

of Products

Most
Services

Most
Goods
Easy to evaluate

High in search
qualities
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Medical diagnosis

Auto repair

Root canals

Legal services

Television repair

Child care

Haircuts

Vacations

Restaurant meals

Automobiles

Houses

Furniture

Jewelry

Clothing

Difficult to evaluate

High in experience High in credence

qualities
qualities
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Evaluation (Cont)
3. Situational Influences
a. Social
b. Task
c. Antecedent States
d. Temporal effects
4. Smaller Evoked Set

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Search
B. Information Search
1. Personal Sources/ Word of Mouth
2. Perceived Risk- function of:
a. the amount of uncertainty
b. the potential negative consequences

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Search (cont)
Types of Risk
Financial/ Economic
Performance/ Functional
Physical
Psycho Social
Time/ Hassle

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Search (Cont)
Perceived Risk Is Greater for Services
Why?
Intangibility
Heterogeneity
Perishability

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2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Perceived Risk
How consumer deal with risk
More Info (Search)
Loyalty
Sub-contracting
Challenges
Difficulty of Search
What can be learned with experience
Variability
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2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Perceived Risk
What are the Managerial Implications?
Generally, reduce PR
Information
Reassurance
Tangibalize Benefits
Guarantees
Trial Period
Category Risk versus Specific Risk
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2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Purchase
C. PurchaseSimultaneous production and consumption
Experience/ Process
1. Service Roles and Scripts
2. Service as Drama
Actors, Audience, Setting, Front
Stage, Back Stage, Props
3. Customer Compatibility
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2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Post Purchase
D. Post Purchase
Word-of-Mouth (WOM)
Attribution
Positive / Negative Bias

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2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Culture
3. Role of Culture (Experience)
a. Interpersonal/ Personalized
b. Language, values, manners, customs, etc.

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2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.