Marketing of Services

The commercial market for services is huge and expanding world-wide. In India, services sector accounts for the largest share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In fact, it is the growth performance of the services sector which is sustaining the overall growth of the Indian economy in the face of a stagnating agricultural sector. In the wake of liberalisation and openness policies of the Government, the marketing of services has become highly competitive. The focus of service providers has shifted from internal performance to external factors such as customers' satisfaction. Resultantly, quality of service provided has become the key source of differentiation in the market for various services. Quality is usually a slippery concept, easy to visualise yet difficult to define. As per Japanese production philosophy, quality implies zero defects in the firm's offerings. Quality of service is the cornerstone of achieving success among competing services. Various policy measures have been undertaken by the Government of India to make India's services sector internationally competitive. This book deals with the quality aspect of marketing of services, focusing on the following services: banking services, hospital services and services provided by fast food restaurants.