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Service Marketing Gap Analysis

The unique requirements of the additional 3P’s—people, physical evidence, and process are driven by the particular characteristics of service—intangibility, inseparability, variability, and perish ability. These characteristics also pose more marketing complexities which require different management activities.

All services are experiences—some are long in duration and some are short; some are complex and others are simple; some are mundane, whereas others are exciting and unique. (Wilson, Zeithaml, and Bitner, 2008) The delivery process of the service has been entitled the Servuction System by Langeard and Eiglier. They argued that a bundle of benefits are delivered through both visible and invisible parts which create an experience for the consumer. The experience can be affected by the visible inanimate environment of the organization which is part of the physical evidence, the invisible process for delivering the service, and the people involved in, both the contact personnel from inside the organization and other customers from outside the organization. Each part interacts and may influence the level of customer satisfaction. For example, a clean theater with comfortable seats and a spacious, well-lit parking lot may make the journey of going for a movie more enjoyable though the customer doesn't take any of that back home. Still, the environment of retail stores can influence people’s willingness to stay and the background music can influence traffic flow and the degree consumers willing to spend. Moreover, a physically comfortable setting can accelerate an employee’s better performance and improve his or her emotional state. Undoubtedly, a friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful hotel staff can greatly affect one’s impression of the hotel. The interactive impact also exists in the service process. The process involves in all the activities when the service is produced and delivered. For example, the receptionist of a hotel taking the information to check the...