Services Marketing
The objective of this course is to prepare students for advanced careers in marketing management by enabling them to understand and ultimately being able to influence consumers' behavior by means of advertising and other marketing communications, while maintaining high ethical standards. In doing so, students will first be introduced to important key concepts and theories of consumer psychology. Next, students will be exposed to the concept of integrated marketing communications as well as the planning, creation, and capturing the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
Course code
MKT431
Course type
BSc Course
Weekly Hours
2,0
ECTS
3.0
Term
FS 2024
Language
Englisch
Lecturers
Prof. Dr. Matthias Gouthier
Please note that exchange students obtain a higher number of credits in the BSc-program at WHU than listed here. For further information please contact directly the International Relations Office.
Course content
The course is limited to 40 participants!
Introduction to services marketing
- Definition of services and their characteristics
- Importance of services and service industries
- Specialties of services marketing
Managing customer relationships
- Customer centricity of service companies
- Service attributes, expectations and experiences
- Customer satisfaction, delight and loyalty
- Dual value creation
Service design
- Service design and customer journey analysis
- Service environments
- Blueprinting
Service delivery
- Service profit chain and employee engagement
- Service orientation and culture
Service outcomes and implementation
- Service quality
- Service excellence
Class dates
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| Thursday, 07.03.2024 | 15:30 - 18:45 |
| Friday, 08.03.2024 | 08:00 - 11:15 |
| Thursday, 14.03.2024 | 15:30 - 18:45 |
| Friday, 15.03.2024 | 08:00 - 11:15 |
| Thursday, 21.03.2024 | 15:30 - 18:45 |
| Friday, 22.03.2024 | 08:00 - 11:15 |
| Tuesday, 16.04.2024 | 09:00 - 12:00 |
Learning outcomes
The objective of this course is to enable students to understand and apply the fundamental paradigms, concepts, and tools of services marketing to build profitable and lasting customer relationships by designing and delivering the best possible services to customers. Successful participants of this class should be able to:
- Acknowledge the critical roles of perceived service quality, experienced customer satisfaction, customer delight, and customer loyalty.
- Reflect on the value of a customer.
- Outline the key properties and managerial implications of a contemporary services marketing approach.
- Analyze the processes, structures, and mechanisms that shape perceived service outcomes.
- Design efficient and effective services.
- Measure the service quality provided by a firm.
- Implement a management system of service excellence.
Literature
Essential reading:Jochen Wirtz and Christopher H. Lovelock (2022).Essentials of Services Marketing, 4th edition, Pearson. Additional literature:Jochen Wirtz and Christopher H. Lovelock (2021).Services Marketing: People, Technology, Strategy, 9th edition, World Scientific.
Learningmethods
Lecturing, in-class discussions, service practices
Exam
Final exam (100 percent)