A service is any act, performance, or experiences that one party can offer to another and that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything.

Services are processes that provide time, place, form, problem solving or experiential value to the recipient.

Something that may be bought and sold but cannot be dropped on your foot.

1.       Most service products cannot be inventoried, (Perishability)

2.       Intangible elements usually dominate value creation (Intangibility)

3.       Customers may be involved in production (Inseparability)

4.       Operational inputs and outputs tend to vary more widely , (Variability)

5.       The time factor frequently assumes great importance,

6.       Distribution may take place through non-physical channels.

7.       Services are difficult to visualise and understand,

8.       Other people are sometimes part of the product,

When developing marking decisions regarding goods a marketer must consider only four factors however when marketing a further 3 factors come into play. 

1.       Product

2.       Place

3.       Price

4.       Promotion

5.       Physical Evidence

6.       Process

7.       People

Pre-Purchase stage – Recognition of needs, information search, and the evaluation of alternatives.

Service Encounter Stage – Understanding the customer’s needs and values, mood states, role and script theory, communication style, attribution theory

Post-Purchase Stage – Evaluation, difference between expectations and perceived performance.

1.       Temporal

2.       Psychological

3.       Social

4.       Functional

5.       Sensory

6.       Financial

Mood State – Mood states are known to affect a customer’s perception of the performance of a product. Due to the inseparable nature of service delivery a customer will be involved in the delivery process and therefore their mood will influence the outcomes of the service delivery. Customers in a good mood will evaluate in a more positive way. If a failure does occur their zone of indifference will be significantly smaller.

Role & Script Theory- A service encounter can be compared to a play with the actors being the service staff and customers. Role congruence is necessary to customer satisfaction. Employees need to be careful in fulfilling their roles as outlined by customer expectations.  Scripts allow service employees to quickly respond to guest inquires; overuse may lead to mindless service performance that does not meet customer expectations.  The major benefit of role and script theory is that it controls variability of services.

Control Theory - Service means empowering or giving a degree of control to the customers thereby making a customer confident when using the service. When a customer is empowered with knowledge or control during a service encounter they are more likely to view the encounter positively.

Latin – satis means good enough or sufficient, factio – to do or make

Satisfaction is a customer’s post-purchase evaluation of the overall service experience. It is an emotional state or feeling reaction in which customers needs, desires and expectations during the course of service experience have been met or exceeded.