Services Marketing

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Communicate ideas, applied knowledge and arguments with brevity and clarity.
• Undertake relevant (industry) secondary data gathering; identifying, justifying and using appropriately robust sources effectively to support arguments.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Identify, evaluate and apply relevant services marketing theories to solve complex problems and justify innovative marketing actions for services organisations.
• Apply critical interpretation and analysis of services data to generate recommendations for services organisations.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• How marketers effectively create, manage and measure customer / user experiences in a services marketing context.
• The nature, characteristics and measures of services marketing, critically exploring how it differs from goods marketing.

Indicative module content includes (subject to minor changes):

oThe fundamental differences between services and goods marketing / 7P’s of services marketing

oThe Servicescape: curating the service environment

oServices buyer behaviour concepts including perceptions, expectations and gaps

oDeveloping meaningful customer / user experiences and encounters, co-creation and relationships

oDeveloping and measuring service quality

oEffective complaint handling and service recovery

oService innovation, self-service technologies, channels and design

oEffective management and leadership of service employees

oService Dominant Logic and its relevance in the services marketing context

oThe role of services marketing in a global market arena

oEthical and sustainability issues and debates in the service context

Teaching and learning methods

Students will learn through a combination of lectures and self-study. Lectures typically comprise of theoretical/managerial content, class discussions about relevant topics and mini case materials.

Resources & Reading list

General Resources

Journals. Harvard Business Review Journal of Service Research Journal of Services Marketing Journal of Marketing Journal of Consumer Research

Textbooks

Hoffman, K. Douglas and John E.G. Bateson (2017). Services Marketing: Concepts, Strategies and Cases. South-Western Cengage.

Wilson, Zeithaml, Bitner, Gremler (2021). Services Marketing: integrating customer focus across the firm. London: McGraw Hill.

Palmer, A. (2014). Principles of Services Marketing. London: McGraw Hill.

Wirtz, J. and Lovelock, C. (2016). Essentials of Services Marketing. London: Pearson.

Almquist, Eric, John Senior and Nicolas Bloch (2016). The Elements of Value: Measuring – and Delivering – What Consumers Really Want. Harvard Business Review.

Assessment strategy

Exam

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

In-class activities

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback:
• Final Assessment: No
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External