Abstract
This chapter deals with services research, which contains a complex and wide ranging set of issues. In marketing, our clear challenge is to respond to customers in such a way as to increase their satisfaction, thereby increasing the probability of their return. In practice, it is sometimes difficult to establish what makes customers satisfied and, equally, what the organisation can do to make them more satisfied This chapter presents a discussion of services and highlights the main research problems associated with listening to service customers It then provides a summary of the main research methods that can be applied with a degree of confidence to services research problems. Finally, it summarises two holistic models of service quality and looks at the problems and pitfalls of using online data collection methods.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Services marketing |
Subtitle of host publication | a managerial approach |
Editors | J.R McColl-Kennedy |
Place of Publication | Milton, Qld. |
Publisher | John Wiley & Sons |
Pages | 168-189 |
ISBN (Print) | 0470800682 |
Publication status | Published - 2003 |
Externally published | Yes |