MKT-668: Services Marketing

MKT-668 is a graduate course at Southern New Hampshire University on services marketing.

The catalog notes that many manufactured goods have service components, that economies are shifting toward services, and that understanding the service side of business is a requirement for every marketer in every industry.

The course presents concepts, theories, models and measurements using current literature, cases and experiential opportunities, with a global perspective and coverage of both B2B and consumer services. Students find it hard because service quality is judged through experience, so you must reason about intangible, variable and people-dependent offerings.

What MKT-668 Covers

• Concepts and theories of services marketing: what separates services from goods and why that changes strategy.
• Models: frameworks for service quality, customer expectations and the service experience.
• Measurement: ways to assess service quality and customer satisfaction.
• Global perspective: service delivery and expectations across cultures and markets.
• B2B and consumer services: how buying behavior and relationships differ.
• Cases and experiential work: applying ideas to real organizations and experiences.

Key Concepts Explained

What Makes Services Different

The standard characteristics are intangibility, inseparability of production and consumption, variability and perishability. Each creates a marketing problem: customers cannot inspect the service first, staff are part of the product, quality varies, and unused capacity cannot be stored.

Service Quality Gaps

Many service models define quality as the gap between what customers expect and what they perceive. Gaps can arise between management's understanding and customer expectations, between specifications and delivery, and between promises and actual performance. Naming which gap explains a case is a strong analytic move.

Measuring Service Performance

Surveys, complaint data, repeat use and referral behavior are common measures. Explain what each reveals and its limits, for example that a satisfaction score may not predict loyalty.

Typical Assignments and How to Approach Them

Formats change by term, so rely on your own syllabus for specifics. Work in this course typically includes:

Mapping a Service Journey

Journey maps are a useful way to organize a service case. List the stages the customer passes through, note the visible and behind-the-scenes activity at each, and mark where expectations could be missed.

Once the map is drawn, pick the weakest stage and link it to a model from your readings. That gives your recommendation a clear, evidence-based anchor.

The Extended Services Mix

Because services are intangible and delivered through people, textbooks often extend the four Ps with three more: people, process and physical evidence. Using them shows you are thinking about the service itself.

For B2B services, add questions about contracts, account management and how the relationship is reviewed over time.

Where Students Get Stuck

• Applying product thinking. The four Ps alone miss people, process and physical evidence.
• Describing instead of diagnosing. Name the gap or failure point, then propose a fix.
• Ignoring B2B differences. Business services often involve longer relationships and several decision-makers.
• Thin literature use. Cite current academic sources, not only trade articles.

Study Tips for MKT-668

• Make a one-page map of the service characteristics and the strategies that answer each.
• Pair every model you cite with a concrete example from the case.
• Check the global dimension: ask how expectations might differ in another market.
• Note the difference between service recovery and service quality; cases often hinge on it.

How We Help with MKT-668

Send the case, readings, rubric and your draft. We can prepare a custom analysis, explain a framework, or review your writing for argument and referencing. Work is written from scratch, plagiarism-checked and includes free revisions within the scope of your original request.

GradeEssays is independent of Southern New Hampshire University. Our output is a study and reference aid; your submission must be your own, under SNHU's academic integrity policy.