"Services Marketing" recognizes that services present special challenges that must be identified and addressed in real circumstances. The heart of the book's content is to develop strong customer relationships through quality service. The book also focuses on knowledge needed to implement service strategies for competitive advantage across industries. Hence, frameworks for customer-focused management, and strategies for increasing customer satisfaction and retention through service are included in the fifth edition.
In addition to standard marketing topics (such as pricing), this text introduces students to entirely new topics that include management and measurement of service quality, service recovery, the linking of customer measurement to performance measurement, service blueprinting, customer cocreation, and cross-functional treatment of issues through integration of marketing with disciplines such as operations and human resources. Each of these topics represents pivotal content for tomorrow's businesses as they attempt to build strong relationships with their customers.
