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Chapter 5Designing the

Service Setting

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Objectives

1. To examine the various features of a service setting

2. To discuss the key considerations involved in designing the service setting

3. To explain the role of the service setting as an aspect of marketing a service

4. To discuss e-servicescapes as a service setting

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What Is a Service Setting?

• A service setting, sometimes called a servicescape, includes all aspects of the physical environment in which the service provider and customer interact.

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Key Considerations inDesigning the Service Setting

• The Duration of the Service Setting– Customer spends significant time in setting

• Service Setting as an Operational Tool– Efficiency lowers operating costs

• Service Setting as a Service Identifier– Product differentiating tool

• Service Setting as an Orientation Tool – Improve customer understanding of service process

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Key Considerations inDesigning the Service Setting (cont’d)

• The Appeal of the Service Setting– An approach environment is a setting in which the

customer feels comfortable and wishes to spend time– An avoidance environment is a setting that the

customer finds undesirable and uninviting

• Service Setting as the Workers’ “Home Away from Home”– Comfortable setting for workers which will facilitate

their ability to perform

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The Service Settingas a Marketing Tool

• Managing Tangible Evidence– Carefully consider the potential impact of even the

smallest physical element.

• Frontstage Versus Backstage Decisions– The frontstage area of a service setting is always on

display to customers, while the backstage is concealed from their view.

• Experimenting with the Service Setting– Allows managers to try out new setting features on a

limited basis before embracing them on a full scale.

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E-Servicescape as a Service Setting

• An e-servicescape setting is any web site on the Internet. E-servicescape settings are subject to the same concepts that apply to managing the tangible evidence of a conventional service environment.– Atmospherics – functional and aesthetically pleasing– Measured for ambient conditions, their spatial layout,

functionality and their signs, symbols and artifacts