Synopses & Reviews
Hoffman and Bateson's SERVICES MARKETING: CONCEPTS, STRATEGIES, AND CASES examines the use of services marketing as a competitive tool from a uniquely broad perspective. The book explores services marketing not only as an essential focus for service firms, but also as a source of competitive advantage for companies that market tangible products. As a result, real-world examples throughout the book feature a wide array of businesses representing a variety of industries both within and beyond the nine service economy supersectors: education and health services, financial activities, government, information, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, transportation and utilities, wholesale and retail trade, and "other services." The Fourth Edition of this proven book draws on cutting-edge data to cover important current issues such as business-to-business services, technology, and the global market, giving you valuable insights and skills to help you understand?and succeed in?today's business environment.
Synopsis
Get the textbook that combines usability with cutting-edge data. SERVICES MARKETING: CONCEPTS, STRATEGIES, AND CASES is thorough and yet shorter than many of the textbooks you could choose from. And, its emphasis is on business-to-business services, technology, and global services ensures you'll be ready for that first job after college.
Synopsis
SERVICES MARKETING: CONCEPTS, STRATEGIES, AND CASES, 3rd Edition offers a managerial perspective of services marketing, with special emphasis on B2B services, technology, and global services. Briefer than competing textbooks, this text also includes cases to further illustrate concepts and offers unique coverage on creating the seamless service firm to support a customer-focused organizational culture.
About the Author
K. Douglas Hoffman earned his master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Kentucky and his bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University. He has been formally recognized for teaching excellence and has served as past education coordinator for the Services Marketing Special Interest Group of the American Marketing Association. Dr. Hoffman currently is a professor of marketing and has taught such courses as Principles of Marketing, Services Marketing, E-Marketing, Retail Management, and Marketing Management. His primary teaching and research passion is services marketing. He launched the first services marketing classes at Mississippi State University, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and Colorado State University. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Hoffman was actively involved in his family-owned golf course business, served as a distribution analyst for Volkswagen of America, and worked as a research analyst for the Parker Hannifin Corp. His current research and consulting activities are primarily in the areas of customer service/satisfaction and services marketing education. Dr. Hoffman has coauthored two other South-Western/Thomson Learning texts: Essentials of Services Marketing and Managing Services Marketing, both with John E. G. Bateson.Now a private consultant in the services sector, John E.G. Bateson previously served as Group Chief Executive Officer of SHL Group and was a Senior Vice-President and Practice Leader with Gemini Consulting in the Gemini Group. He has also taught as Associate Professor of Marketing at the London Business School in England, and was a visiting associate professor at the Stanford Business School. Prior to teaching, he was a brand manager with Lever Brothers and a marketing manager with Philips. Dr. Bateson holds an undergraduate degree from Imperial College, London, a master?s degree from London Business School, and a Ph. D. in marketing from the Harvard Business School. He has published extensively in the services marketing literature, including in the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Retailing, Marketing Science, and the Journal of Consumer Research. He is also the author of Managing Services marketing: Text and Readings (Dryden) and Marketing Public Transit: A Strategic Approach (Praeger). Dr. Bateson was actively involved with the formation of the services division of the American Marketing Association, where he served on the Services Council for four years and has chaired sessions of the AMA Services Marketing Conference. He also served on the steering committee of the Marketing Science Institute.
Table of Contents
Part I: AN OVERVIEW OF SERVICES MARKETING. 1. An Introduction to Services. 2. An Overview of the Services Sector. 3. Fundamental Differences between Goods and Services. 4. Consumer Decision Process in Services Marketing. 5. Ethical Issues in Services Marketing. Part II: SERVICE STRATEGY: MANAGING THE SERVICE ENCOUNTER. 6. Service Delivery Process. 7. The Pricing of Services. 8. Developing the Service Communications Mix. 9. Managing the Firm's Physical Evidence. 10. People Issues: Managing Service Employees. 11. People Issues: Managing Service Customers. Part III: ASSESSING AND IMPROVING SERVICE DELIVERY. 12. Defining and Measuring Customer Satisfaction. 13. Defining and Measuring Service Quality. 14. Service Failures and Recovery Strategies. 15. Customer Retention. 16. Putting the Pieces together: Creating the Seamless Service Firm.