Services Marketing & Management

Elective offered for IIM Nagpur • Jun – Aug 2019

Purpose and Objectives

Purpose

The course will aim at equipping students with tools and management methods that will help them
manage effectively the “service” component of what clients and customers are offered.

“Service” is defined as: all those things (other than the “hard”, “physical” product) that customers perceive
they get/ deserve to get

The truth is that "pure products" are not the only relevant offerings any more ... whether in a B2C or
B2B context. What makes the difference and adds value - is the "service" or “customer experience”
component. To add to this, it is a fact that most economies of the world (with rare exceptions, like
China for example) have 'services' as the significant component of the GDP (manufacturing is typically
a small %) - services play a huge role in all economic activity.

For the PGDBM student, questions to reflect upon would be

● What is the pattern of jobs that B-school pass-outs get - i.e. how many of those are in
'manufacturing' and related areas, and how many in 'services' and related areas?

● If I get a job related to a 'service', how can I ensure I am successful at it?

Objectives

Specifically, by the end of the course, students will have inputs on

● Introduction to 'services', and Focus on the customer;

● Creating a “Service Strategy”/ managing the expectations – making a service promise that will
differentiate one from competitors, and have value in the customers’ eyes;

● Managing service delivery – creating systems and processes, managing service perceptions on
an ongoing basis, using customer feedback systems, the “moments of truth” and the “cycle of
service” tools;

● Managing people for service quality, creating a “customer oriented” culture; and

● Putting it all together - implementing transformation programmes for service quality – the
steps, the do’s and don’ts, ….

Assessment

Assessment will be done through two modes – both are individual (i.e. not ‘group’ assignments)

1. Mid-term - there will be one mid-term assignment to be submitted [40 marks].

1
2. Individual end-term paper - students are required to submit an individual paper at the end of the
course. Two options will be offered – either can be chosen. The topics for the options will be
shared in class 3/4 [60 marks].

2
Services Marketing & Management
IIM Nagpur | Jun – Aug 2019

 
Class Schedule: classes 1-11
Class # Topics/ questions Reading, preparation

1
♦ Moving from 'products'
to 'services' thinking
♦ [E] Five Phases of Organisational Transition​ (Mahesh,
♦ What are the challenges VS)
2 in moving to a 'service
mindset'?
3 ♦ [E] ​The case S​ ullivan Auto World
♦ The Sullivan Auto World
case ♦ [N] The right service strategies for product companies
(Auguste, Byron G., Harmon, Eric P., and Pandit, Vivek,
The McKinsey Quarterly, 2006 V1)
♦   [N] Blocks to Customer Focus​ (Jim Clemmer)
4, 5 ♦ What are the
implications for ♦ [N] Customer Service in a Shrinking Economy​ (Jena
managers/ management McGregor, BusinessWeek Feb 2009)
♦ [N] Solving the Solutions Problem​ (Johansson, Juliet E
et al​, McKinsey Quarterly, 2003 V3)

6 ♦ Customer expectations ♦ [N] Focusing on the Customer​, W

​ einberg​, Allen, The
of services McKinsey Quarterly, June 2007
♦ SERVQUAL ♦ [E] Listening to the Customer​, Berry, Leonard L, and
Parasuraman A, Sloan Management Review, Spr
♦ Customer satisfaction,
1997,V38 N3
7, 8 metrics
♦ [E] Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Shared Services
♦ The Gaps Model
case, from Services ​Marketing,​ Zeithaml and Bitner,
♦ Listening to customers McGraw Hill, 1996
♦ The 'Service Strategy'
♦ What are they best known for?​ exercise (in class)
9, 10 ♦ What it is
♦ [E] ​Extract from ​Service America!,​ Zemke, Ron and
♦ How to evolve it Albrecht, Karl, Dow-Jones Irwin, 1985
(on moodle)
♦ Examples
♦ Positioning of a service ♦ [N] Customer-Centered Brand Management, Rust,
11 Roland T et al, HBR, Sep-Oct 2004
♦ The 2-D model
(Schmenner) ♦ [E] A 3-Dimensional Model for Strategic Positioning
♦ The 3-D model and Benchmarking of Services, Mahesh VS, 1995

3
 ♦ Where does your ♦ [E] How can service businesses survive and prosper?,
organisation fit? Roger W Schmenner, Sloan Mgmt Review, Spring 1986
V27 N3
♦ Moving to the diagonal

 
Class Schedule: classes 12-15
Topics/ questions to be
Class # Reading, preparation
covered

♦ Delivery systems
o Characteristics of ♦ The 'moments of truth' ​exercise​ (class)
effective service
♦ [N] Managing the ​Total​ Customer Experience​, Berry,
delivery systems
Leonard L et al, Sloan Management Review, Spr
12, 13 o Tools, such as ‘cycle 2002 V43 N3
of service’
♦ [E] Service Concept Delivery through System Design​,
♦ Service design Mahesh VS and Stanworth, James, The University of
Buckingham internal publication
♦ Customer experience
design

♦ The role of people in

♦ [E] ​The 'moment of truth' in customer service,
service delivery
Beaujean, Mark, Jonathan Davidson, and Stacey
♦ The frontline employee is Madge, The McKinsey Quarterly, 2006 V1
14, 15 different from the ‘bottom
♦ ​ ahesh, V S, and Kasturi, Anand (2006)
[N] M
rung’ of a factory
Improving Call Centre Agent Performance.
♦ Emotional labour International Journal of Service Industry
Management V17 N2, pp 136 – 157
♦ Stress, related issues

4
Class Schedule: classes 16-20
Topics/ questions to be
Class # Reading, preparation
covered

♦ Training, ♦ [N] ​van Maanen, John (1991) ​The Smile Factory: Work
culture-building (Walt at Disneyland,​ in Frost, P.J., Moore, L.F., Louis, M.R.,
Disney as an example) Lundbergh, C.C. & Martin, J. [Eds] ​Reframing
16, 17 ♦ Productivity – Organisational Culture​. Sage, Newbury Park.
Baumol’s disease ♦ [N] What Ails Us​, Surowiecki, James (2005), The New
♦ Recognition programs Yorker

♦ Service Leadership
♦ Energising everyone,
inverting the pyramid
18, 19 ♦ Intrinsic vs Extrinsic ♦ [N] ​Extracts from ​Thresholds of Motivation​, ​Mahesh​ VS,
motivation Tata ​McGraw​ Hill, 1993
♦ The link between
motivation and quality
♦ Customer loyalty as the
♦ [E] Zero Defections: quality comes to services​, Reichheld
“focal point” of services
F and Sasser Earl W., HBR Sep-Oct 1990
management
♦ [N] The Ultimate Question,​ Reichheld F, Harvard
♦ Building loyalty – the
20 Business School Press, 2006
steps involved
♦ [N] S​ ilo Busting: How to Execute on the ​Promise​ of
♦ The transformation
Customer Focus, Gulati, Ranjay, HBR May 2007
process
♦ ​ he Cycle of ​Success​:. Mahesh, VS, The University of
[N] T
♦ Development of an
Buckingham, 1996
assessment framework