PHYSICAL EVIDENCE & SERVICESCAPE

Physical Evidence
Providing tangible evidence of service performances  Create and maintaining physical appearances buildings/landscaping interior design/furnishings vehicles/equipment staff grooming/clothing other tangibles
 Select

tangible metaphors for use in marketing communications

Objectives
Explain the impact on customer perceptions of physical evidence, particularly the servicescape Illustrate differences in types and roles of servicescapes and their implications for strategy Explain why the servicescape affects employee and customer behavior Analyze four different approaches for understanding the effects of physical environment Present elements of an effective physical evidence strategy

The Sixth 'P': Physical Evidence "A physical object is self defining; a service is not" G. Lynn Shostack "Defining for the service what the service cannot define for itself." Though a customer cannot see a service, but definitely he can see various tangible clues of the service offer like facilities, communication maternal, objects, employees, other customers price, etc.

On the basis of his perceptions on the tangible clues the customer makes the purchase decision. These clues might be both intended and unintended ones and therefore, managing evidence is integral to the service marketing mix.

Shostack even observed that the management of evidence comes first for service marketers.

MANAGEMENT OF TANGIBLE EVIDENCE SHOULD BE ARTICULATED AS A PRIMARY PRIORITY OF SR. MARKETER IN PRODUCT MKTG. TANGIBLE ELEMENT IS THE PRODUCT IT-SELF
TANGIBLE PRODUCT FEATURES MARKETING STRATEGY TO CREATE INTABGIBLE AURA TO GIVE TANGIBLE EVIDENCES

INTANGIBLES

TANGIBLE DOMINANT COSMETICS

TANGIBLE EVIDENCES

F.F. OUTLET

INTANGIBLE DOMINANT

INTANGIBLE IMAGE

Elements of Physical Evidence

Servicescape
Facility exterior
Exterior design Signage Parking Landscape Surrounding environment Facility interior Interior design Equipment Signage Layout Air quality/temperature

Other tangibles
Business cards Stationery Billing statements Reports Employee dress Uniforms Brochures Internet/Web pages

Examples of Physical Evidence from the Customers Point of View

Service Insurance Physical evidence Servicescape Other tangibles Not applicable Policy itself Billing statements Periodic updates Company brochure Letters/cards Building exterior Uniforms Parking Reports/statione Signs ry Waiting areas Billing Admissions office statements Patient care room Medical equipment Recovery room

Hospital

Examples of Physical Evidence from the Customers Point of View

Service

Airline

Express mail

Sporting event

Physical evidence Servicescape Other tangibles Airline gate area Tickets Airplane exterior Food Airplane interior (dcor, Uniforms seats, air quality) Not applicable Packaging Trucks Uniforms Computers Parking, Seating, Signs Restrooms Tickets Stadium exterior Program Ticketing area, Concession Uniforms Areas Entrance, Playiing Field

Typology of Service Organizations Based on Variations in Form and Use of the Servicescape
Complexity of the servicescape evidence
Servicescape usage
Self-service (customer only)

Elaborate
Golf Land Surf 'n' Splash

Lean
ATM Ticketron Post office kiosk Internet services Express mail drop-off Dry cleaner Hot dog stand Hair salon

Interpersonal services (both customer and employeee)

Hotel Restaurants Health clinic Hospital Bank Airline School Telephone company Insurance company Utility Many professional services

Remote service (employee only)

Telephone mail-order desk Automated voice-messagingbased services

"Physical facilities are important in facilitating the delivery of services. A customer must experience a service and this experience is greatly affected by the setting that is visible to customers and the physical assets hidden from view but critical to providing the service". Mcgrarth

The argument here is that physical environment; facilities and atmosphere give enough physical evidence to help shape customer perceptions. Exterior of buildings, office furniture's, layout, color of interiors, and carry-bags, tickets, cash memos, labels, etc., including the corporate identity media.

Types of Physical Evidences: Peripheral Evidence can be possessed as a part of the service purchased. They have little value but they significantly supplement the core service sought.

Essential Evidences cannot be possessed. For car rental service type of car by make and model is essential evidence.

Existing literature on service marketing focuses on service facilities constituting the service evidence. In their scheme of thinking the physical environment is one of the three elements. The other two elements of evidence are communication and price. Berry & Parsuraman

Communication

environment

price

The Three Elements of Service Evidence

TANGIBALISE THE SERVICE

Marketing Communication of Services

TANGIBALISE THE MESSAGE

Marketing Communication for Services

These three elements of service evidence are not mutually exclusive rather they influence each other and therefore, in the above figure they are shown linked to each other.

What is important to note is that the service organizations need to manage the evidence they use in a planned and systematic way to overcome the marketing challenges created by the intangible characteristic of services.

To manage the evidence one should attempt to make the service more tangible.

Before a service organization translates intangibles into more concrete clues it must ensure that it knows precisely its target audience and the effect being sought by the use of such tangible clues and also that it has defined the USP which should be incorporated into the service to meet the needs of the target market. Majaro

The physical environment is a composite impression of ambience design and social relationships. She accordingly termed these three factors into ambient factors, design factors and social factors. Julie Baker

The ambient factors relate to the background conditions below the level of a customers immediate awareness.

The design factors on the contrary are those Visual stimuli that exist at the forefront of a customer's awareness.

The social factors relate to interactive environment comprising of people.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

AMBIENTFACTORS

DESIGN FACTORS

SOCIAL FACTORS

Air Quality (t e m p e r a t u r e, h u m i-d i t y, Circulation). Quality of Scent. Degree of Circulation.

Aesthetics of A r c h i t e c t u r e, color scheme, material used, shape and style of accessories. F u n c t i o n a l dimensions of design in terms of layout, comfort.

A p p e a r a n c e, behavior and number of service personnel. Quality and quantity of other customers.

Ambient, Design and Social Factors of Physical Environment

Future Hotels

Future Hotels

Hilton Maldives

The Ultimate Submarine Atmosphere

Cap dAgde France

Hotel Puerta Americana / Spain

Sweden Ice Hotel: The rooms have hardwood floors, satellite TV service and stereos. (McMahon, 2005).

Sweden Ice Hotel

The service environment is: An environment surrounds, enfolds and engulfs and one can only participate in it. Environment has a definite impact on the senses in more that one way. It is impossible to build an environment, which does not have any impact. Doswell and Gamble

 Peripheral and central information is always present in the environment. The environment always provides more information than what can actually be processed. Environments imply purpose and action. Environments contain meanings and motivational messages. Environments imply aesthetic, social and systemic qualities.

Creating an ideal environment is a difficult task, nonetheless the role of the environment can play us marketing the service product cannot be ruled out. The service environment has a definite impact not only on customers but the employees too.

Roles of Physical Evidence Obviously the primary role of evidence management is to support the organization's marketing programme by making it possible to manage both intended and unintended clues which can given adequate evidences to a customers and there by influence perceptions. Interestingly the physical evidences also influence employees, which ultimately interact with customers during the service delivery.

A Framework for Understanding Environment-user Relationships in Service Organizations

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSIONS HOLISTIC ENVIRONMENT INTERNAL RESPONSES
Cognitive Emotional Physiological Employee Responses Perceived Servicescape Customer Responses Individual Behaviors Cognitive Emotional Source: Adapted from Mary Jo Bitner, Servicescapes. Physiological
Social Interactions between and among customer and employees

BEHAVIOR

Individual Behaviors

Ambient Conditions Space/Function Signs, Symbols, and Artifacts

Parsuraman and et. el., identified six specific roles of evidence

Depending on the competitive situation, marketing objective and the resources an organization can use evidence for some or all of the above roles, though these roles are not mutually exclusive.

Arising out of the above reasons the services organization are expected to use a two prong marketing communication strategy aimed at not only tangible-izing the message but also the service:

Shaping first Impression Socializing employees Managing Trust

Providing Sensory Stimule

ROLE OF EVIDENCE

Facilitating quality of service Changing the Image

Role of Evidence in Services Marketing

Review
Explain the impact on customer perceptions of physical evidence, particularly the servicescape Illustrate differences in types and roles of servicescapes and their implications for strategy Explain why the servicescape affects employee and customer behavior Analyze four different approaches for understanding the effects of physical environment Present elements of an effective physical evidence strategy