SM: Session 10 Physical Evidence in Services

The physical evidences are the tangible cues that a customer experience. They  are very important Services being intangible, customers often rely on tangible cues, or physical evidence to evaluate the service. The purpose is to create a physical service environment that helps in enhancing customers experience and satisfaction.

Servicescapes

“Servicescape” is a term popularized by two American researchers Zeithaml and Jo Bitner. Kotler has used the term “Atmospherics” for servicescape. Like a landscape, a servicescape creates a mood, a longing, an attraction or a desire to visit the service provider. A customer will enjoy shopping experience in a well-laid out mall.

Servicescape as USP

For high contact services servicescape helps firm to create distinctive image and unique positioning. Service environment affects buyer behavior in three ways:

Message-creating medium

Use of symbolic cues to communicate the distinctive nature and quality of the service experience. For example, ICICI bank uses red colour in their branches.

Attention-creating medium

To make servicescape stand out from competition and attract customers from target segments. For example, unique design of Venetian Hotels with artificial sky and canals is huge attraction for tourists.

Effect-creating medium

Use colors, textures, sounds, scents and spatial design to enhance desired service experience. High contact services like luxury cruise liner give a lot of emphasis to design.

Servicescape as Part of Value Proposition

Physical surroundings help shape appropriate feelings and reactions in customers and employees. In HongKong, the Disneyland experience starts from the Sunnybay MTR. A special Disneyland train takes people to amusement park.

Servicescapes form a core part of the value proposition. For example. For example, MGM has unique lion mascot as promptly place a big statue of the lion as a part of the exterior design.

The power of servicescapes is discovered and used in augmenting the product. Movie theaters are augmenting the experience by providing recliners for the better movie experience.

Mehrabian-Russell Stimulus-Response Model

It is simple yet fundamental model of how people respond to environments. The environment, its conscious and unconscious perceptions, and interpretation influence how people feel in that environment. Feelings, rather than perceptions/thoughts drive behavior. Typical outcome variable is “approach” or “avoidance” of an environment, but other possible outcomes can be added to model like money people want to spend and the level of satisfaction.

The Russell Model of Affect

This model aims to understand feelings in service environments and suggests that emotional response to environments can be measured using two dimensions - pleasure and arousal. Pleasant environments result in approach, whereas unpleasant ones result in avoidance. Arousal amplifies the basic effect of pleasure on behavior. If environment is pleasant, increasing arousal can generate excitement, leading to a stronger positive consumer response. If environment is unpleasant, increasing arousal level will move customers into the “distressed” region. Feelings during service encounters are an important driver of customer loyalty.

On the other hand, lack of arousal makes customer feel sleepy. If the environment is pleasant this will help in relaxing. In the environment is unpleasant the customer will feel bored.

Affect can be caused by perception and cognitive processes of any degree of complexity. The more complex a processes result in more cognition. As the degree of cognition increases other elements become irrelevant. For example, in a restaurant food quality is the most important cognitive process than to service quality, crockery or the background music.

Behavioural consequence of affect explains that pleasant environments draw people, whereas unpleasant ones people avoid. Also if the environment are pleasant people feel exited otherwise bored.

Bitner’s Servicescape Model

This model gives a detail overview of servicescape. The model is developed by Mary Jo Bitner. She identifies dimensions of servicescape namely, environmental dimensions, moderators and holistic environment, internal responses that shapes behaviour.

Dimensions of the Servicescape

The dimensions of servicescape as shown in the diagram are ambient conditions, space and functionality and signs, symbols and artifacts.

The Effect of Ambient Conditions

These are the conditions that has direct contact to the five senses. Customers are likely to notice them consciously or subconsciously. The use of temperature, light, sound and music can create a meaning impact on customers. 

Theme

A theme restaurant with an aquarium, and a waterfall, may provide one kind of atmosphere. For example, The Rain Forest restaurant. A rural theme can bring out plantain leaves instead of plates and different seating arrangements from the usual table and chair. A dance floor may bring in certain types of customers, while others may prefer a quiet ambience. Many retail stores are designed as per the festival themes that influence more purchases.

Music

In service settings, music can have a powerful effect on perceptions and behaviors, even if played at barely audible levels. Structural characteristics of music―such as tempo, volume, and harmony―are perceived holistically. Fast tempo music and high volume music increase arousal levels. People tend to adjust their pace, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to match tempo of music. Careful selection of music can deter wrong type of customers. Restaurant Diners are likely to spend more time inside the restaurant if the soft music is playing in the background.

Smell

An ambient smell is one that pervades an environment. It may or may not be consciously perceived by customers and may not be related to any particular product. Scents have distinct characteristics and can be used to solicit emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses. In service settings, research has shown that scents can have significant effect on customer perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors. Aromatherapy prescribes different impact of different fragrances. For example, herbaceous aroma of lavender fragrance is calming, balancing and soothing. This can be used as muscle relaxant.  

Colour
Researchers have found that colours have a strong impact on people's feelings. The de facto system of colours, defined Munsell System, is made of hues, values and chroma. Hues is the pigment of the colour, value is lightness and darkness and chroma is intensity of pigmentation. Hues are warm (red, orange, yellow) and cold (blue and green). Many firms these days use green colour in their design to showcase green environmental concerns (also known as greenwashing). 

Spatial Layout and Functionality

Facility exterior, includes exterior design, signage, parking, landscape and surrounding environment. Facility interior is made of interior design, equipment, signage, layout and temperature. There are other tangibles like business cards, stationery, billing statements, reports, uniforms that impact the service environment.

The functional utility of the place needs to be kept in mind while designing. If there is going to be a queue, for example, adequate comfortable standing space has to be provided for. Serving arrangements in a self-service restaurant need to take into account scope for expanding the counters during rush hour, with adequate sitting area for people to eat their food in.

Pleasure in Transacting Business

If a bank is pleasantly decorated, with an air-conditioned reception hall and its people greet customers with a friendly smile and in other bank the surroundings are dingy, and poorly ventilated. Broken windows, dirty curtains, unpainted walls, un-swept floors greet customers, it is obvious a customer will choose first bank.

Impact of Signs, Symbols, and Artifacts
They guide customers clearly through process of service delivery. Customers will automatically try to draw meaning from the signs, symbols, and artifacts. Unclear signals from a servicescape can result in anxiety and uncertainty about how to proceed and obtain the desired service. For instance, signs can be used to reinforce behavioral rules.

Post-purchase 

Even after the customer has consumed a service, he may remember the tangible features of the service brand, and look forward to going there the next time, if they were pleasant. Dissonance may set in if he has been in unpleasant surroundings at the service provider.