Deck 1: Marketing in the service economy

Question 1

It has been suggested that in the last 20 years countries like Australia and New Zealand have moved much of their low-technology manufacturing, which is labour intensive, to less developed economies such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and China.What is this process being labelled as?

A)Deregulation
B)Globalisation
C)Hollowing out effect
D)Privatisation
E)Economies of scale effect

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT one of the four generic differences between goods and services?

A)Homogeneity
B)Intangibility
C)Simultaneity
D)Perishability
E)Variability

Answer 2

A

Question 3

IBM, once known mainly as a manufacturer of computers and office machines, now earns most of its revenue from ______.

A)legal services and business consulting
B)software design and services such as IT consulting
C)manufacturing mobile technology
D)a major finance company
E)legal services and global technology

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In a visit to a dentist surgery, which of the following would NOT be classed as physical evidence?

A)Healthy plants in the waiting room
B)Uniforms worn by the dentist and staff
C)Teeth cleaning, x-rays and filling
D)Framed university degrees
E)Business cards listing professional affiliations

Question 5

Activities or amenities that enhance the use of the core offering are called:

A)supplementary product elements
B)extended product concepts
C)supplementary service elements
D)optional extras
E)accessory products

Question 6

In a service encounter, customers obtain value from __________ without any __________.

A)monetary exchanges; transfer of ownership
B)utility exchanges; allocation of ownership
C)utility functions; transfer of results
D)economic activities; tangible elements
E)value-creating elements; transfer of ownership

Question 7

Arrange the following aspects of the customer value framework in sequential order:
1)develop positioning strategy
2)develop distinctive service concepts
3)understand target consumer needs and behaviours
4)create service value propositions

A)1, 2, 4, 3
B)3, 1, 4, 2
C)3, 4, 2, 1
D)1, 3, 2, 4
E)2, 4, 1, 3

Question 8

One of the characteristics that makes services different is that customers have a:

A)production role but no consumption role
B)consumption role but no production role
C)neither production role nor consumption role
D)consumption and advisory role
E)both production and consumption role

Question 9

Soft drinks would be considered as __________ while a lawyer's advice would be considered __________.

A)balanced; tangible dominant
B)intangible dominant; balanced
C)balanced; intangible dominant
D)tangible dominant; balanced
E)tangible dominant; intangible dominant

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a reason for the rapid growth of services?

A)Government deregulation of service industries
B)Banning advertising and promotional activities for professional services
C)Privatisation of previously government-controlled services
D)The emergence of a global middle class demanding more and better services
E)Professional services and franchises competing globally

Question 11

The _________ a product or service is to __________ in advance of purchase and use, the greater the __________ for the customer.

A)harder; evaluate; experience value
B)easier; evaluate; perceived risk
C)easier; pay for; enjoyment; increase
D)more difficult; understand; time risk
E)harder; evaluate; perceived risk

Question 12

During a stay in a hotel, which of the following is NOT a tangible component?

A)The complimentary newspaper
B)The towels
C)The hotel bed
D)The wake up call
E)The room key

Question 13

Which of the following services could be said to be the most intangible?

A)Airline
B)Hotel
C)Consultancy firm
D)Fast food outlet
E)Taxi firm

Question 14

A service is any act, performance or __________ that one party can offer to another and that is essentially __________ and does not result in the __________ of anything.

A)product; tangible; ownership
B)experience; tangible; production
C)experience; intangible; ownership
D)product; intangible; ownership
E)thing; of value; transfer

Question 15

Which of the following types of value is NOT provided by services?

A)Time
B)Experiential
C)Place
D)Problem generating
E)Form

Question 16

Which of the following CANNOT be classified as a consumer service?

A)Architecture
B)Telecommunications
C)Restaurant
D)Football match
E)Airline

Question 17

The phrase 'customers are asked to buy promises' refers to the fact that:

A)intangible aspects are often not delivered
B)consumers try out and then select services
C)consumers cannot try out services in advance
D)intangible aspects can be quantified and measured
E)all services received are the same

Question 18

Which of the following organisations could be classified as a national or global franchise network?

A)Coffee World
B)H&R Block
C)Snap Printing
D)All of the above
E)a and b only

Question 19

Which one of the following is NOT an example of an intangible component of a restaurant meal?

A)The cleanliness of employees' uniforms
B)The waiter or waitress taking a customer's order
C)The availability of credit card payment
D)Calling a taxi on behalf of the customer to take the customer home
E)Advice provided by the wine steward

Question 20

Which of the following could a retailer of flat screen televisions offer as supplementary services?

A)Financing
B)Installation
C)In-home consultation
D)After-sales service
E)All of the above

Question 21

According to Vargo and Lusch's service-dominant logic, customers for services are co-creators of value.Which statement best expresses what this means?

A)Value is delivered only when customers engage or participate during service production and consumption.
B)Service providers handle service production and delivery, but customers consume the service.
C)Customers today tend to be artistic and creative in how they approach services.
D)Customers expect services delivery to include many creatively designed tangible features.
E)Customers must create their own services, rather than paying others to deliver the services to them.

Question 22

Characteristics of a service that consumers find hard to evaluate even after purchase and consumption are called:

A)search qualities
B)experience qualities
C)credence qualities
D)intangible qualities
E)variable qualities

Question 23

In a service delivery system, customers are typically exposed to service people, equipment, other customers, and ______________.

A)the technical core
B)interior and exterior facilities
C)the backstage
D)the human resource function
E)advertising

Question 24

Which of the following best represents a service directed at people's minds?

A)Banking
B)Beauty salon
C)Insurance
D)Laundry and dry cleaning
E)Arts and entertainment

Question 25

Which of the following best represents a service directed at physical possessions?

A)Fitness centre
B)Landscaping and lawn-mowing
C)Education
D)Legal services
E)Beauty salon

Question 26

Although many services require customers to be present for the production and consumption of those services to take place, which of the following services does NOT require customers to be present?

A)University lecture
B)Car repairs
C)Medical diagnosis
D)Fitness training
E)A stay in a hotel

Question 27

Bitner, Booms and Tetreault suggest seven Ps of service by adding which of the following into the traditional four Ps?

A)People, physical evidence and process
B)Physical evidence, place and price
C)Packaging, product and price
D)Process, practicality and presence
E)Price, promotion and place

Question 28

Which of the following mental-stimulus processes are not able to be transmitted to customers in distant locations?

A)Music
B)Teaching
C)Religious service
D)Training
E)None of the above

Question 29

Which of the following statements represents the interdependence of marketing and other functional areas such as information technology?

A)Front line staff in high-contact services have been given more authority and empowered to make decisions.
B)In technology-driven firms, operations managers have primary responsibility for technology infrastructures and interfaces such as websites.
C)Research and development specialists design and implement innovative delivery systems.
D)Human resource strategies ensure that all employees understand the organisation's goals and are provided with required training in customer service.
E)All of the above

Question 30

Which of the following elements of a service business are visible to customers in low contact services?

A)Self-service equipment such as ATMs
B)Advertising
C)Corporate website
D)Billing/statements
E)All of the above

Question 31

Lovelock (2015) suggests service processes can be classified based on which of the following?

A)Whether the activity is directed at people or their possessions
B)Whether the activity is tangible or intangible
C)Whether the individual involved is part of the target segment
D)b and c
E)a and b

Question 32

Which of the following best represents a discrete service encounter?

A)Retail banking
B)Power supplier
C)Mobile phone company
D)Emergency surgery
E)University

Question 33

The role of frontline employees is particularly important because of the ___________ when customers and service personnel come face to face or make contact through media such as telecommunication and mail.

A)marketing mix
B)seven Ps
C)moments of truth
D)physical evidence
E)backstage systems failure

Question 34

Which of the following elements of a service business is not visible to customers in high contact services?

A)Exterior facilities
B)Technical core
C)Service personnel
D)Other customers
E)Interior facilities

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT a way that service marketers can smooth demand levels to match capacity?

A)Offer price reductions at non-peak times
B)Take reservations from customers
C)Use promotional campaigns to increase demand in non-peak times
D)Have necessary facilities, equipment and staff always on standby
E)Charge premium prices during peak times

Question 36

As service delivery systems rely more heavily on information technology and self-service, the __________ component of the service operations system is shrinking and the service itself is moving from higher to lower levels of __________.

A)visible; contact
B)invisible; experience
C)visible; satisfaction
D)invisible; cost effectiveness
E)visible; cost effectiveness

Question 37

A useful way to distinguish between goods and services is to place them on a continuum from ____________ to ____________.

A)practical; impractical
B)tangible dominant; intangible dominant
C)low; high
D)reliable; unreliable
E)prepared; unprepared

Question 38

Since service operations' inputs and outputs tend to vary more widely than those in the manufacturing industry, which of the following variables can affect customer satisfaction?

A)Staff
B)Automatic tasks
C)Attitudes
D)Speed and quality of performance
E)All of the above

Question 39

Lovelock (2015) suggests services can be grouped into clusters based on which of the following marketing-relevant characteristics?

A)Relationships with customers
B)Customisation versus standardisation
C)Degree of tangibility/intangibility of service processes
D)The place of service delivery
E)All of the above

Question 40

Which of the following terms has been used to describe such elements as the physical layout, ambience, background music and seating?

A)Fixed costs
B)Service quality
C)Servicescape
D)Variable costs
E)Backstage

Question 41

Services can be classified according to whether they are customised or standardised.

Question 42

In a value delivery system, which of the following are examples of value-creating elements?

A)Advertising and public relations
B)Unique value proposition and positioning
C)Service quality and website
D)Market focus and segments
E)Economic activities and desired results

Question 43

In a value exchange, customers won't buy unless they perceive that _______.

A)the benefits of an exchange will exceed the costs
B)the service concept proposes a 'me-too' offering
C)the service will transfer ownership
D)they will be allowed to act as advocates for the firm
E)the costs of an exchange will exceed the benefits

Question 44

In services, tangible elements create the most value.

Question 45

In some services, such as fast food restaurants, customers obtain ownership of tangible goods.

Question 46

A visit to a doctor's surgery or a beauty salon is a good example of standardised services.

Question 47

Which of the following is a reason why business demand for services is growing?

A)Companies are outsourcing more tasks to focus on their core business.
B)Service firms face more and more global competition.
C)Service science is becoming a legitimate field of study in its own right.
D)Consumers are routinely using a vast array of services.
E)Some service purchases involve careful thought and memorable experiences.

Question 48

The time taken to provide a service will impact on future customer satisfaction.

Question 49

Intangible elements usually dominate value creation.

Question 50

Customers only buy services where they perceive that the total benefits obtained exceed financial and other costs.

Question 51

Services involve actions and performances and as such can easily be inventoried.

Question 52

The phrase 'mentally intangible' means that it is difficult for the customer to visualise the experience in advance.

Question 53

The services sector represents about what share of Australia's GDP?

A)Less than 10 per cent
B)About 25 per cent
C)About half
D)More than 70 per cent
E)Almost 100 per cent

Question 54

The acronym 'SST' stands for self-service technology.

Question 55

In many countries, increased government regulation has eliminated (or minimised) constraints on competitive activity in such industries as freight, rail services, securities, insurance and energy utilities.

Question 56

In a service encounter, value is created only by the seller.

Question 57

People, other than the service provider, do not affect customer satisfaction ratings.

Question 58

Supplementary services can either be bundled into the initial purchase price or priced separately.

Question 59

The distinction between services and manufactured goods has become increasingly blurred.

Question 60

In what parts of the world is the size of the service sector increasing?

A)In developed economies
B)In developing economies
C)In both developed and developing economies
D)In Australia but in few other countries
E)In most countries but not in Australia

Question 61

Select two specific services.For each service, discuss the degree to which the service process is tangible and intangible.

Question 62

Service marketers only need to be concerned with the traditional four Ps of product/service, place, price and promotion.

Question 63

Using the example of a medical surgery or a hair salon, discuss the generic differences between goods and services and their marketing implications.

Question 64

The service 'performance' can be provided in terms of both tangible and intangible services.

Question 65

Recent years have seen a growing demand for alternative health care services and a trend toward privatisation.How could these forces affect a local medical practice?

Question 66

Using the examples of a retail furniture store, a hotel and a business consultancy, explain why services are more difficult for customers to evaluate.

Question 67

Discuss why service customers are often described as 'partial employees'.

Question 68

Increasingly, services that have previously been the domain of government are being deregulated and privatised.What effect has this had on the need for marketing within these organisations?

Question 69

Booms and Bitner suggest three additional elements in marketing strategy for services.Discuss the three elements as they apply to a bank or a university.

Question 70

A service is 'something that may be bought and sold but cannot be dropped on your foot'.Discuss how well this humorous definition expresses the full meaning of services.

Question 71

New technologies have not radically changed the ways in which many service organisations do business with their customers.

Question 72

When a possession is being processed there is no real need for the customer to be present.

Question 73

How important is the 'service management trinity' to the success of a large scale service organisation?

Question 74

Customers have little interest in what happens 'backstage'.

Question 75

Discuss the relevance of using the theatrical analogy 'backstage' and 'frontstage' to a fast-food operation as compared to a fine dining experience.