Cambridge Marketing Handbook: Services

Book excerpt: There are only two categories of purchases that people can make: products or services. Each, by its very nature, demands a different approach to marketing and sales. This situation is not new and indeed was highlighted in the early 1800s when French economist Jean-Baptiste Say argued that production and consumption were inseparable in services, coining the term "immaterial products" to describe them. This book takes a fresh look at the world of services marketing (the Servicescape) as we transition from the information age into what is being called the Age of Awareness - a period where individuals move away from information browsing and collection to the application of knowledge, emotion and responsibility to consumption, production and relationships. Revealing the impact of these changes on the marketing of services, it focuses on the role of people and processes in delivering success.