Chapter 2: Consumer behaviour in services

Question 1

Search qualities

Answer 1

attributes that a consumer can determine before purchasing a product. e.g. car (color, style, price)

Question 2

Experience qualities

Answer 2

attributes that can be discerned only after purchase or during consumption. e.g. holiday, restaurant meal

Question 3

Credence qualities

Answer 3

includes characteristics that the consumer may find impossible to evaluate even after purchase and consumption. e.g. insurance, brake replacement

Question 4

Consumer choice (6)

Answer 4

1. need recognition
2. information search
3. evaluation of alternatives
4. purchase
5. consumer experience
6. post-experience evaluation

Question 5

Perceived Risk

Answer 5

Accompanies all purchase transactions, more risk appears to be involved in the purchase of services than in the purchase of goods because services are typically more intangible, variable, and perishable. Risk can come in various forms: financial, time, performance, social or psychological, any of which may be greater for services.

Question 6

Service as Theatre

Answer 6

The metaphor of service as theatre is a useful framework for describing and analyzing service performances. The skill of the service actors in performing their routines, the way they appear and their commitment to the ‘show’ are all essential to service delivery.

Question 7

Customer Co-production

Answer 7

Service users also play a customer co-production role that can have a profound influence on the service experience

Question 8

Attribution of Dissatisfaction

Answer 8

When consumers are disappointed with purchases, their attribution of dissatisfaction may be to a number of different sources, among them the producers, the retailers, or themselves.

Question 9

Culture

Answer 9

Represents the common values, norms, and behaviors of a particular group and is often identified with nations or ethnicities. Understanding cultural differences is important in service marketing because of its effects on the ways that customers evaluate and use services.

Question 10

Buying Centres (5)

Answer 10

include all people involved in the decision process.
1. Initiator: identifies the organization’s service needs.
2. Gatekeeper: collects and controls information about the purchase.
3. Decider: determines what service to purchase.
4. Buyer: physically acquires the service.
5. User: consumes the service and may not have any influence.