Case Study Assessment of Angling Experience

Case Study Assessment of Angling Experience Question 1: Define and discuss using relevant example from the case, the special characteristics of services that distinguish them from tangible products. Services are one type of products with several special characteristics which are really different with tangible products. The major special features of services are more intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability, and perishability. Those characteristics are also reflected in John’s case. 1. 1 IntangibilityCompare with the tangible products’ tangibility, the main characteristic of services is intangibility which was shown through a set of actions. Intangibility characteristic of service describes that services cannot be seen, felt, tasted, or touched thus one cannot display or store the service. However, it is usually felt by tangible goods or physical evidence. Moreover, service cannot be inventoried, easily patented, and easily displayed or communicated. From Johnâ€℠¢s case, John gives his customers guide of fishing and a series of fishing itinerary.These all are the intangible things to anglers. It cannot be touched, felt, or seen by his customers. However, his customers enjoyed their tours and gain fishes after his guiding. Thus, this can be said that customers got John’s services. Compared with his services business, John used to be selling the tangible goods, either the rods, artificial flies or oilskins the department sold are tangible. Moreover, because of the intangibility, pricing John’s services is difficult. Compared with physical goods, pricing services are not easy. Same tangible goods also sold with a same price.In this case, the two couples got different price after serviced. It seems that they gained a same series of services, but the feelings and appraisals are different. 1. 2 Heterogeneity Heterogeneity concerns the potential for high variability in the performance of services (Bitner et al. , 2009). Contrast to s ervice, tangible goods is standardization. Most of a type of physical goods is produced by one product line. There are no major differences among each one of them. However, like two leaves, there are not two same services processes.Providers’ performances are not same every time, and the customers’ requirements are not same too. In detail, service delivery and customer satisfaction depend on employee and customer action, and also some uncontrollable factors. In our case, when John worked in the fishing department, he wondered at how each piece of fishing equipment in a product line varied so little. It shows that tangible products are standardization. However, then, John provided services to two couples, and got the distinct result. First couple was very satisfaction, and second couple was unhappy, though John was same hard working.The different based knowledge, objectives and nature conditions determines the different results. The first couple have a good knowledge an d experience of fishing, they enjoy in fishing. However, the second couple was the fist time fishing and their purpose was to relax and see the country. Moreover, the weather was great during the first time, but worst during the second time. Those factitious and uncontrollable elements influenced John’s two services processes. 1. 3 Inseparability Inseparability of production and consumption involves the simultaneous production and consumption which characterizes most services.Compare with goods are first produced, then purchased, and then consumed, services are first booked, then produced and consumed simultaneously (Carmen & Langeard, 1980). It seems like that customers and employees affect each other. In this case, we can know that because of the high degree of adaptability of the first couple, John interact well with them. However, another two anglers gained the unsatisfied service because of their bad communication. All customers and employees even the partial customers p lay an important role in whole process because services’ inseparability.Furthermore, because of this feature of services, mass production is difficult. The production and consumption are simultaneous. Hence, John lost a group of anglers in December due to he cannot service two groups in a same time. 1. 4 Perishability The final characteristic of service is perishable. Tangible goods could be stocked, contrast by services cannot be saved, stores, resold or returned (Valarie & Dwayne, 2009). In this case, John used to promoted department’s inventory system and just keep the rod that can be sold later. It shows that physical goods can be stored. However, John can not saved his services and provide it later.So, he lost a group of customers in December. Hence, the service is very different with the tangible goods. By these characteristics, some problems are discussed next question. Question 2: Explain, using examples how the problems stemming from the special characteristic s of services are impacting on John’s guiding services. 2. 1 In General Due to the four characteristics of services, some problems are derived. Some problems are unavoidable and some of them can be avoidable. The problems generate from intangibility including hardly controlling, easy to be copied and unable to evaluate the quality.Heterogeneity causes problem about quality measurement. Inseparability not allows mass production of service. Moreover, perishability makes return or resold of service impossible. Several of these problems impact on John’s guiding service as well. 2. 2 Problems Created by Intangibility Intangibility shows the following marketing problems. Firstly, services cannot be stored, thus when requires reach the peak or foot it is hard for managers to control. Secondly, services are so difficult to be patented that it is convenient for its competitors to duplicate them.Thirdly, customers are not able to realize the quality of service because service is invisible and cannot be touched. John’s new guiding service is not easy to store. Thereof, during December there was a peak period of fly fishing and John are not qualified to provide efficient service. On contrary, in the next two week of November there were no customers visiting Tasmania for chasing trout. Since John provides guiding service, he cannot remove December's service to November. It is beyond the scope of his control. The guiding service that John operates is easy to be imitated.There is another fishing guide who ran in Launceston. The service it provides is similar with John’s. This is a threat to John. The market share for John in Australia is cut down. Furthermore, the feature of intangibility determines the service value is hard to be understood by consumers. John’s guiding service is not an exceptional. Customers have no idea what a guiding service is. The marketing manager of a large sporting equipment retailer in North America would not know what a guiding service is if John did not send him the information about this service. 2. 3 Problems Created by HeterogeneityThe most severe challenge that heterogeneity creates is difficulty of quality measurement. Since criteria for judging the quality of service is based on customers’ notion, managers are not possible to control it. In the case, there was an American couple who are both good anglers. They have more fishing experience than John. In this trip, John learned more from this experience and the couple also had a great time. They even pre-booked another two weeks for the next fishing season. It is just because the American couple thought this trip was so wonderful that they measured this service is worthwhile.However by November, the Canadian's week of trout fishing is no that smooth. It became less happy because of lacking experience of fly fishing causes few landed trout and entire week raining. Even worse, one of the customers sprained an ankle. In these two e vents John provided the same service however he received different results. John cannot ensure whether his supplies are original. In December John introduced the New Zealanders to another fishing guide in Launceston. This increased the chance of heterogeneity because different suppliers are not possible to offer the exactly the same services. Take the health industry for instance.Several suppliers provide a same kind of service, nevertheless consumers’ perception is different. Some customers consider it as good service whereas another do not satisfied with it. This is because different provider’s service is distinctive due to the nature of human beings. 2. 4 Problems Created by Inseparability According to Zeithaml, Dwayne and Gremeler, because services often are produced and consumed at the same time, mass production is difficult (2009). The service producers generate service and the service is consumed by customer at the same time, therefore service is impossible to b e produced in large amount.The consumers who John received accepted his service while he provided it. It is absurd that John created services such as airport picking up and dropping off first then the customers enjoyed them. For example, the helicopter sent an urgent fax to John informed him that they were not available until after mid-February. It frustrated John that he was not able to transport his clients to the best fishing area. In addition, for John it is inconvenient for him when he has several customers to pick up or drop off. It is typical in November, John received two contacts that require a fly fishing in the first week of December.The worse thing is that neither of the customers could change their original arrangement. John could not separate his services. 2. 5 Problems Created by Perishability The factor of perishability leads to the problem that service cannot be returned. Service is consumed at the same time when it is manufactured, thereby once the service is provi ded it cannot be returned or resold. In November, two Canadian customers who were doing fishing for relax received an unhappy experience. Lacking experience of fly fishing they landed few trout. The entire week’s heavy raining prevented them from lake fishing.Moreover, one of the anglers sprained an ankle while crossing wet rocks. Even though John understood that the Canadian did not enjoy their fishing trip, he had no way to go back. John cannot take the service back because time cannot be reversed. For instance, customers who have an ugly haircut cannot ask the barber to undo it, because the service of haircut is perished (Clemes, 2002). 2. 6 Problems Difficult to Avoid Due to the problems derived above, gaps generate naturally. Customer Gap Customer gap appears because of the distance between customers’ expectation and perception.Customers have their own expectations based on their experience and objectives. In this case, the Canadian customer who came to Australia for relax do not have the experience of fly fishing. They consider the service could offer them a wonderful time. However, the insufficient experience of fishing made them catch few trout. Adding the bad weather and the injury, the Canadian dissatisfied with the trip and request a reduced charge. This gap is relatively huge and John needs to improve his service. Provider Gap Firstly, John serves his customer by the same way.For the fishing skillful couple and unskillful people, John took the same measure. Secondly, John not communicated well with its customers. The customers who chose his service in the first week of December were transferred to another service provider. The problems presented above are the major reason why John’s business went down. In conclusion, because of the special features of service, there are several problems should be considered and solved. Marketers of services face some actual and distinctive challenges which should be solved by the utilization of marketing mix.Question 3: Explain how John could use the extended marketing mix elements to help manage the problems caused by the special characteristics of services. The question 2 mentioned some problems caused by the special characteristics of service. Marketers like John could use the marketing mix to manage those problems and plan a whole strategy of their business. The traditional marketing mix will help John to manage the problem from production, place, promotion, and price (Kotler & Armstrong, 2006). Because of intangibility characteristic and the limitations of John’s service, he can add both tangible products and services in his business.For example, he could be the agent between his customers and fishing departments. Then, customers can purchase fishing equipments which are fit to them, because John known them clearly. Moreover, due to intangible and perishability of service, John’s promotion ways are not enough. John can exploit more methods like put some advertising in the relevant websites, sponsor fishing competitions and some things like that. However, because of the distinct features of service, the traditional marketing mix can not cover all problems. It extended three more elements which are people, physical evidence, and process (Booms & Bitner, 1981) . 1 People People element is defined as all human actors who play a part in service delivery and thus influence the buyer’s perceptions in the service environment. Thus, customers, employees, and the customers in the service environment all play the important roles (Bitner et al. , 2009). With use this element, John can do following things to manage those problems. First, because John just has himself as an employee, he lost some opportunities. Then, John need employ more employees to help him supporting his business. After that, because guiding service is a high skill service, John should train his employees.John also can bring a reward system based on the satisfaction of employees to avoid the problems of service quality. Another role, customers, also draws marketers’ attention. Marketers should education their customers before provide service. Because guiding service need customers’ deeper involvement, John could send a video of basic knowledge and potential risk of his services to his customers. Then, they can interact better. 3. 2 Physical evidence Physical evidence is the cue that customers depend on to assess the quality of service and service providers to put forth their significant information (Lovelock, 2004).As John’s guiding service, it already had some physical evidence. However, there are still some limitations as mentioned before. Firstly, John needs to increase all kinds of materials that reflect his guided trip. Thus, customers will maximally understand his service. For example, John should enrich his website. He could upload some videos about guided fishing trips. Potential customers can be divided into two se ctions as experienced customer and inexperienced customer. For those experienced customers, the information should be about new fishing areas or new activities.For the inexperienced customers, it should provide skills or equipment for fishing. Secondly, it is suggested that John needs to have his own transporting vehicles to send customers. One side is to avoid the situation of lacking hiring sources, the other side is to fit different customers’ need. For instance, if the customers who require a short trip then John could provide them cars to go fishing. Sometimes, customers have their vocation that they get plenty of time sailing is a perfect option. Furthermore, for these long distance customers and money is not a problem for them aeroplane is chosen to send them to the best fishing area.In this way, the customer gap could be narrowed since their needs are fulfilled. Lastly, John could provide some souvenir after trips. Thus, customers may actually realize what they have o btained from the service. 3. 3 Process Process is the actual procedures, mechanisms, and flow of activities by which the service is delivered (Zeithaml, Bitner & Gremler, 2009). John could use blueprint to depict the service process. By using the blueprint, John may find out the customer segmentation. For example, John may categorize consumers as experienced ones and inexperienced ones.Then John could offer two different processes for each group. For the experienced ones, John could present a more customized process which customers could choose their favorite rod and apply their own ways of fishing. As for the immature consumers, John should provide them a standardized process. It may offer the same rod for customers and consumers have to stay in a specified area. John also needs to educate his customers especially the inexperienced customers. He could hire a fishing coach to instruct anglers the procedure of fishing. Through this way, unskillful clients will not fish blindly. 3. 4 ConclusionService as intangible products distinguishes from physical goods. Besides the traditional four Ps, the three Ps are mainly used to enhance service. John’s guiding service may become prosperous if he makes use of the three Ps. Word Count: 2496 Reference List 1. 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