Strategic Services Marketing

By Prof. Kalpak Kulkarni | IIT Roorkee

Learners enrolled: 275 | Exam registration: 10

ABOUT THE COURSE:

Welcome to the exciting world of Services Marketing! This comprehensive course is designed to provide you with a deep understanding of the unique challenges and strategies involved in marketing intangible services. Explore the key concepts, frameworks, and latest trends in services marketing and gain useful insights to develop effective marketing strategies for service-based businesses. From managing customer expectations to creating memorable service experiences, this course will equip you with the knowledge and skills to excel in the dynamic and fast-growing service industry. Get ready to unlock the secrets to successful services marketing!

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Graduates and Post-graduates from Engineering and Technology Graduates, MBA, MIB, MCom, and Students of Social Sciences and Humanities discipline

PREREQUISITES: Graduates, the course will aim at building fundamentals of Services Marketing with covering contemporary and novel concepts in the area of services marketing at a Beginner’s level.

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: The audience for this course in Services Marketing can include:

1. Undergraduate students majoring in marketing, business administration, or related fields.

2. Graduate students pursuing a Master's degree in marketing or business administration.

3. Marketing professionals and practitioners looking to enhance their knowledge and skills in services marketing.

4. Learners who want to make professional careers in service industries such as hospitality, healthcare, financial services, consulting, and telecommunications.

5. Individuals interested in understanding the unique challenges and strategies involved in marketing intangible services.

6. Researchers and academicians seeking to explore advanced concepts and trends in services marketing.

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Management Studies
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	20 Jan 2025
End Date :	11 Apr 2025
Enrollment Ends :	27 Jan 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	14 Feb 2025
Exam Date :	04 May 2025 IST

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Introduction to Services Marketing:

Understanding services and their unique characteristics
Role of services in the modern economy
Trends and challenges in services marketing
Service marketing mix and value creation
Service ecosystem and stakeholder analysis

Week 2: Customer Experience Management

Customer journey mapping and touchpoint analysis
Designing memorable customer experiences
Personalization and customization in services
Emotional and sensory marketing in services
Technology-enabled customer experiences

Week 3: Service Innovation and Co-creation

Service design thinking and design-driven innovation
Open innovation and collaboration in services
Crowdsourcing and customer involvement in service development
Managing service failures and service recovery strategies
Leveraging customer feedback for continuous improvement

Week 4: Digital Transformation in Services

Digitalization of services and digital service platforms
Online customer engagement and social media marketing
Mobile marketing and location-based services
Artificial intelligence and chatbot integration in services
Blockchain and its applications in service industries

Week 5: Service Analytics and Customer Insights

Data-driven decision-making in services marketing
Customer analytics and segmentation strategies
Predictive analytics for personalized marketing
Sentiment analysis and social listening in services
Ethical considerations in handling customer data

Week 6: Service Branding and Reputation Management

Building a strong service brand identity
Brand positioning and differentiation strategies
Online brand management and reputation monitoring
Managing brand extensions and brand partnerships
Internal branding and aligning employees with the brand

Week 7: Managing Service Quality and Service Recovery

Measuring and improving service quality
SERVQUAL and other service quality measurement tools
Service guarantees and service-level agreements
Service recovery strategies and complaint handling
Cultivating a culture of service excellence

Week 8: Pricing and Revenue Management in Services

Pricing strategies for services and value-based pricing
Dynamic pricing and revenue optimization techniques
Bundling and packaging strategies in service pricing
Subscription models and revenue diversification
Pricing strategies for freemium and subscription-based services

Week 9: Cross-cultural Issues in Services Marketing

Cultural nuances and their impact on service marketing
Adapting services for different cultural contexts
Global branding and localization strategies
Managing diversity and inclusivity in service delivery
Cross-cultural communication and customer relationship management

Week 10: Sustainability and Green Services

Sustainable practices and corporate social responsibility in services
Environmental consciousness and green marketing
Eco-friendly service design and operations
Ethical sourcing and responsible supply chain management
Consumer attitudes towards sustainable services

Week 11: Service Leadership and Employee Engagement

Developing service leadership skills
Motivating and empowering service employees
Service culture and service-oriented organizational behaviour
Training and development for service excellence
Managing service teams and fostering collaboration

Week 12: Emerging Trends in Services Marketing

Innovations in service delivery and technology
Augmented reality and virtual reality in services
Internet of Things (IoT) in service ecosystems
Servitization and product-service systems
Future prospects and challenges in services marketing

Books and references

1. Wirtz, J., & Lovelock, C. (2021). Services marketing: People, technology, strategy. World Scientific.

2. Wilson, A., Zeithaml, V., Bitner, M. J., & Gremler, D. (2016). Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm (No. 3rd Eu). McGraw Hill.

3. Hoffman, K. D., & Bateson, J. E. (2016). Services marketing: concepts, strategies, & cases. Cengage learning.

4. Roy, S. K., Mutum, D. S., & Nguyen, B. (2018a). Services Marketing Cases in Emerging Markets An Asian Perspective. Springer International Publishing.

Instructor bio

Prof. Kalpak Kulkarni

IIT Roorkee

Prof. Kalpak Kulkarni is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. With a strong educational background, he holds a PhD in Management from the prestigious Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay. Prof. Kalpak’s research interests lie in the realm of new-age marketing communications, specifically focusing on the role of advertising content and consumer characteristics in shaping consumer behaviour. His doctoral work on understanding consumers' intentions to share branded viral video advertisements has been widely recognized and published in reputable international journals such as the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, and Journal of Consumer Marketing. In addition to his exceptional research contributions, Prof. Kalpak is a dedicated educator with a passion for teaching services marketing. With his extensive knowledge and expertise, he is committed to imparting practical insights and cutting-edge concepts to help you navigate the complex world of services marketing

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: May 4, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.

Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Roorkee .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team