Service environment and servicescapes

Question 1

What is the purpose of service environments? (4)

Answer 1

1. Shapes the customers experience and their behaviours
2. Support image, positioning and differentiation
3. Part of the value proposition
4. Facilitate service encounter and enhance productivity

Question 2

What are the different creating mediums for customer experience and behaviours of servicescapes?

Answer 2

1. Message-creating medium: Symbolic cues to communicate the distinctive nature and quality of the service experience
2. Attention-creating medium: Make servicescape stand out from competition and attract customers from target segments
3. Effect -creating medium: use colours, textures and sounds, scents and spatial design to enhance desired service experience

Question 3

How are servicescapes part of the value proposition? (1)

Answer 3

1. physical surroundings help shape appropriate feelings and reactions in customers and employees.
   e. g. Disneyland, Legoland.

” What sets you apart is how you package it”

Question 4

What is the Mehrabian-Russel S & R model (Stimulus response model) ? (4)

Answer 4

1. it is a simple yet fundamental model in how individuals respond to environments that illustrate:
2. The environment, its conscious or unconscious perceptions and interpretation , influence how people feel in that environment
3. Feelings, rather than perceptions/thoughts drive behaviour
4. typical outcomes are variable is approach or avoidance of an environment, but other possible outcomes can also be added to the model

Question 5

Emotional responses to environments can be described along two main dimensions: what are these dimensions? and what is the advantage of the model? (3)

Answer 5

1. Pleasure: direct, subjective response to the environment depending on how much individual likes or dislikes environment
2. Arousal: how stimulated individual feels, depends largely on information rate or load of an environment
3. Simple, direct approach to customers feeling

Question 6

What is the servicescape model? (2)

Answer 6

1. identifies the main dimensions in a service environment
2. Internal customer and employee responses can be categorised into cognitive, emotional and psychological responses -> which lead to overt behavioural responses towards the environment.

Question 7

What are the main dimensions in the servicescape model? (3)

Answer 7

1. Ambient conditions: characteristics of environment pertaining to our five senses (lighting and colour schemes, size/Shape perceptions sound/music temperature and scents)
   = good design can elicit desire behavioural response amongst consumers
2. Spatial layout and functionality: floorpan, size and shape of furnishings, functionality
3. Signs, symbols and artefacts: explicit or implicit signals to help consumers find their way

Question 8

Scents: Effects of selected fragrances on people (4)

Answer 8

1. Eucalyptus= stimulating and energising
2. Lavender= relaxing and calming
3. Lemon= soothing energy levels

Question 9

Colour: What are common associations and human responses to colours? (3)

Answer 9

1. Red= High energy, can excite and stimulate emotions, expressions and warmth
2. Orange= Emotions, expressions and warmth
3. Yellow= Optimism, clarity, intellect and mood-enhancing

Question 10

What is the significance of Signs, symbols, and artefacts? (2)

Answer 10

1. Communicates the firm’s image and helps customers find their way:
   - First time customers will automatically try to draw meaning from the signs, symbols, and artefacts
2. Challenge is to guide customer through the delivery process:
   - Unclear signals from a servicescape can result in anxiety and uncertainty about how to proceed and obtain the desired service

Question 11

What is important to consider when selecting environmental design elements? (3)

Answer 11

1. Consumers perceive service environments holistically
2. No dimension of design can be optimised in isolation, because everything depends on everything else
3. Holistic characteristic of environments makes designing service environment an art

Question 12

What are the tools to guide servicescape design? (4)

Answer 12

1. Keen observation of customers behaviours and responses
2. Feedback and ideas from frontline staff and customers
3. Photo audit: mystery shopper to take photographs of service experience
4. Field experiments can be used to manipulate specific dimensions in a n environment and the effects observed