Glencoe Secondary Marketing Essentials DECA Connection Glossary

Business Services Marketing

Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

active listening A form of listening in which a salesperson is thinking while listening and evaluating what is being said; more than just hearing a customer's words.

actors Jargon for service employees who work together to perform a service for the "audience" (the customers).

adaptation A sales strategy of adapting service offerings based on the local market conditions.

adaptive selling A selling strategy in which the salesperson adapts his or her social style to the customer.

approach environment A service environment in which the customer feels comfortable and wants to spend time.

atmospherics All the elements of in-store décor that influence customer's feelings and reactions, including lighting, furniture, sounds, scents, temperature, and style.

audience Jargon for a business's customers.

avoidance environment A service setting that customers want to avoid because they find it uninviting or undesirable.

backstage The area away from the service area and customers, where actors plan and execute service for the audience.

communications system Any system a business uses to inform their customers about products and influence them to buy.

compatibility management A strategy of selecting a customer mix that ensures customers will be comfortable with each other when business forces them to be in close proximity and are likely to interact.

complementary services Any services offered in addition to a business's core service that assist the customer in using the service.

components of the service experience Service workers, the service setting, the service customers, and the service process.

consultive salesperson A salesperson who takes the initiative to define customer needs and recommend a set of solutions.

controllable marketing variables Any factors that a service business can manage or change in order to deliver excellent service to customers.

customer mix The mix of ages, genders, socioeconomic backgrounds, knowledge or experience, ethnicity, etc., of a business's customers.

customer orientation A business strategy that focuses marketing efforts based on known customer needs.

customer service All services, other than proactive selling and the core product, that a business provides to facilitate its relationship with its customers.

demarketing A business's efforts to discourage customer demand.

double-barreled training An effort to improve employees' technical and social skills.

encirclement strategy A business strategy in which a company takes a proactive stance and challenges the market leader on several fronts at the same time.

environmental scanning The practice of monitoring a business's internal and external environment for changes that pose threats or opportunities for the business.

ethical environment A business's culture and code of values that guide the company and its employees.

facilitating services Any services related to the production and marketing of a physical good.

flanking strategy A business strategy in which a company takes a proactive stance and challenges the market leader in an area not currently contested.

follow-the-leader strategy A business strategy in which a company copies moves made by the market leader.

frontstage The area of a service setting that is visible to customers and where salespeople interact with customers.

heterogeneity A characteristic of a service business that makes it difficult to standardize the quality of service provided.

innovator syndrome The inability of an innovator to maintain its initial competitive advantage.

intangibility A characteristic of a service that means you cannot see it or touch it.

internal marketing A strategy of treating a company's employees as customers, and providing for their wants and needs.

machinable mail Mail that can be sorted by bulk mail machinery.

magalogue A mail-order catalog that includes paid advertisements and, sometimes, editorial copy.

market expansion strategy A business strategy in which a company that is already the market leader tries to expand existing services into new markets.

maximum capacity The maximum number of customers a service company can serve at any one time, based on the facilities, the personnel, and the equipment.

micromarketing The process of directing marketing efforts toward individual customers.

moment of truth The moment during interaction between a customer and a company that the customer uses to evaluate the service delivery.

name drain The loss of the names and addresses of a business's customers.

NCOA National Change of Address; a system created by the U.S. Postal Service to limit the amount of mail that is undeliverable-as-addressed.

negative option The opportunity to refuse a selection, usually by returning a postcard or calling within a time period; often used by book and music clubs.

new connects A list of the new names added to connected lines of telephone, gas, or electric utilities.

optimum capacity The ideal number of customers that can be served by a company effectively.

participants Everyone, including customers and workers, who are involved in a country's service production.

performance The interaction of the actors and the audience in the setting.

perishability A characteristic of services that means that they must be performed in a timely manner and cannot be stored for later.

physical evidence The physical aspects of a service setting that communicate the nature of the service.

proactive strategy A business strategy in which a company tries to anticipate changes in a market and the competition, and make the first move.

process of service assembly The procedures and flow of activities that contribute to the delivery of a service.

professional services All services that can be provided to businesses, or are provided by specially trained professionals, including law, real estate, accounting, advertising, architecture, construction, engineering, and consulting.

reactive strategy A business strategy that primarily changes in reaction to changes by a competitor.

recovery Any efforts by a company to win back a customer after a service failure.

sales force mix A combination of different teams and strategies in a sales force to service large, medium, and small customers.

script The steps in the service process, ordered chronologically and from the customer's point of view.

selective perception A process through which different consumers will perceive the same information differently based on their individual needs, motives, and past experiences.

service capacity The physical facility in which a service is performed.

service encounter A customer's actual interaction with a service company.

service framework A conceptual representation of the components that make up the service and the customer's experience with a company.

service identifier The features of a setting that provide a distinctive identity for a service organization.

service manager A manager who develops marketing strategies for a service, and who has profit and performance responsibilities for that service.

service process The various steps and processes in the provision of a service to a customer.

service quality For a company, this is the extent to which the service provided matches the company's intent and specifications; for a customer, this is the extent to which the service meets their expectations.

setting All the aspects of the physical environment in which the service occurs.

simultaneity A characteristic of a service that means that the production and consumption of the service happen at the same time.

smoothing demand A strategy for managing demand, encouraging customers when a company's service productivity is underused, and deflecting patronage when the company is too busy.

standardization A business goal of providing the same service in the same manner all over the world.

strategic business unit (SBU) A semi-autonomous unit within a business dedicated to a specific service or set of services, or dedicated to a certain group of customers.

symbolic atonement A gesture made by a company to show a customer that the company takes full responsibility for the customer's disappointment and is willing to pay a price for the failure.

tangibilize An effort to make the service more concrete to customers, and to help customers understand the service better.

three P's of services marketing Participants, physical evidence, and process of service assembly.

upside down organization A form of business organization that puts a company's frontline personnel at the top of the business structure, the management in the middle, and the CEO or president at the bottom.

vividness Efforts to tangibilize a service through the use of concrete language, tangible objects, and dramatization in advertising.

word of mouth A process by which customers tell other potential customers about their experiences with a service company.