Characteristics Of Services
A service is an act or performance offered by one party to
another. They are economic activities that create value and provide benefits
for customers at specific times and places as a result of bringing desired
change. The term service is not limited to personal services like medical
services, beauty parlors, legal services, etc. According to the marketing
experts and management thinkers the concept of services is a wider one. The
term services are defined in a number of ways but not a single one is
universally accepted. The distinct characteristics of services are mentioned
below
Main characteristics of service are –
• Intangibility
• Perishability
• Inseparability
• Heterogeneity
• Ownership
• Quality
Measurement
• Nature
of demand
Intangibility
Services are intangible we cannot touch them are not
physical objects. According to Carman and Uhl, a consumer feels that he has the
right and opportunity to see, touch, hear, smell or taste the goods
before they buy them. This is not applicable to services. The buyer does not
have any opportunity to touch smell, and taste the services. While selling or promoting
a service one has to concentrate on the satisfaction and benefit a consumer can
derive having spent on these services.
e.g. An airline sells a flight ticket from A destination to B destination. Here it is
the matter’ of consumer’s perception of services than smelling it or tasting
it.
Perishability
Services too, are perishable like labor; Service has a high
degree of perishability. Here the element of time assumes a significant
position. If we do not use it today, it labor if ever. If labor stops working,
it is a complete waste. It cannot be stored. Utilized or unutilized services
are an economic waste. An unoccupied building, an unemployed person, credit
unutilized, etc. are economic waste. Services have a high level of
perishability.
Inseparability
Services are generally created or supplied simultaneously.
They are inseparable. For an e.g., the entertainment industry, health experts
and other professionals create and offer their service at the same given time.
Services and their providers are associated closely and thus, not separable.
Donald Cowell states ‘Goods are produced, sold and then consumed whereas the
services are sold and then produced and consumed’. Therefore inseparability is
an important characteristic of services which proves challenging to service
management industry.
Heterogeneity
This character of services makes it difficult to set a
standard for any service. The quality of services cannot be standardized. The price
paid for a service may either be too high or too low as is seen in the case of
the entertainment industry and sports. The same type of services cannot be sold
to all the consumers even if they pay the same price. Consumers rate these
services in different ways. This is due to the difference in perception of
individuals at the level of providers and users. Heterogeneity makes it
difficult to establish standards for the output of service firm.
Ownership
In the sale of goods, after the completion of process, the
goods are transferred in the name of the buyer and he becomes the owner of the
goods. But in the case of services, we do not find this. The users have only an
access to services. They cannot own the service.
e.g. a consumer can use personal care services
or medical services or can use a hotel room or swimming pool, however the
ownership remains with the providers.
Quality
Measurement
A service sector requires another tool for measurement. We
can measure it in terms of service level. It is very difficult to rate or
quantify total purchase. E.g. we can quantify the food served in a hotel but
the way waiter serves the customer or the behavior of the staff cannot be
ignored while rating the total process.
Hence we can determine the level of satisfaction at which
users are satisfied. Thus the firm sells good atmosphere convenience of
customers, consistent quality of services, etc.
Nature of
demand
Generally, the services are fluctuating in nature. During
the peak tourist seasons there is an abnormal increase in the demand of
services. Therefore, while identifying the salient features of services one
cannot ignore the nature of demand. E.g. tourists go to hill stations during
summer season wherein public transport utilities are used substantially. This
indicates that flexibility is the important feature of service.
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