Interactive services marketing

Synopsis

The Second Edition covers the essentials of services marketing-with particular emphasis on the theater model and the impact of technology. Since a service is intangible, services marketing centers mainly on interactivity and, as a result, this textbook features a dynamic approach to human interactions-both in face-to-face communication as well as connecting through technology. Concise coverage of content enables instructors to make greater use of the textbook web site, reinforcing the emphasis on technology and allowing students to interact with both the printed text and the online material. In addition, the theater continues to act as a model for the industry by encouraging students to compare service workers to actors, customers to audience members, the business to the backstage, and the service environment to the actual stage. In response to reviewers comments, the authors have streamlined this text to five parts by moving or consolidating chapters from the previous edition. The titles for both parts and chapters have also been changed to better reflect the content. Plus, updated pedagogical tools continue to help students synthesize the material: each part opens with an overview, a new model illustrating the text s organization, brief chapter outlines, and a vignette highlighting real-world companies such as Noggintoppers (an online hat retailer). Each chapter also features a short paragraph revisiting the vignette, marginal notes defining key terms, a Summary and Conclusion section, practice exercises, and new Internet exercises.