Services Marketing : Concepts and Applications

Course Information

Course Length     : 6 weeks
Estimated Effort  : 3 – 5 hrs per week

Course Overview

The market is constantly flooded with a diverse range of services for consumer application. There are plenty of new services being launched in the market by companies, entrepreneurs, and problem-solvers in various sectors every day.

Be it banking, healthcare, transport, hospitality, airline, communication and connections, as consumers, we subscribe to the services, which available at our disposal, to make our lives simpler, more productive, convenient, and enjoyable. Thus, services have the capacity to transform industries and economies.

This course Services Marketing: Concepts and Applications offered by IIMBx aims to introduce learners to the immensity of opportunities and challenges related to the marketing and managing of services. The participants of this course will gain a thorough understanding of the characteristics, conceptualisation, design, and delivery of services. They will also understand and appreciate the coordinated organisational effort through marketing, human resources and operations in delivering a superior service.

Drawing on research and examples from successful businesses, this course will equip learners with frameworks and models that can be applied in a variety of service contexts. The discussions in the course will revolve around the fundamental concepts of services marketing and best practices across industries and business models.

Professor Shainesh G

Course Instructor
CRM and Services Marketing
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB)

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Course Syllabus

Week 1: Fundamentals of Services Marketing
  • Introduction
  • Nature & Characteristics of Services
  • Service Encounters
  • Consumer Behavior
  • Strategic & Tactical Aspects of Services Marketing
  • Expert Insights
Week 2: Service Product & Branding
  • What is a Service Product
  • Product Level Framework
  • Flower of Services
  • Branding Services
  • Brand Equity in Services
  • New Service Development
  • Expert Insights
Week 3: Price & Promotion of Services
  • Pricing Challenges
  • Pricing Program
  • Revenue Management
  • Internal Marketing
  • Communication Strategy & Implementation
  • Advertising Services
  • Digital Marketing
  • Expert Insights


Week 4: Place & Process Decisions
  • Methods of Service Delivery
  • Role of Intermediaries
  • Franchising
  • Service Process
  • Developing a Service Blueprint
  • Self Service Technologies (SSTs)
  • Application of Service Blueprint
  • Expert Insights


Week 5: People & Physical Evidence
  • Frontline Service Employees
  • People Management Strategies
  • Service Leadership & Service Climate
  • Service Environment
  • Servicescape Model
  • Designing Servicescapes
  • Expert Insights


Week 6: Service Excellence
  • Enabling Service Excellence
  • Delivering Value
  • Service Failure & Recovery
  • Service Quality
  • Customer Loyalty
  • Expert Insights

After completing this course, learners should be able to:

  • Describe the fundamentals of services marketing
  • Explain the strategic and tactical aspects of services marketing
  • Elaborate on branding services
  • Explain- what is a service marketing mix
  • Discuss service value, quality, and excellence

Business students, marketing professionals, service employees, managers in service organizations, entrepreneurs in service space, and anyone who is passionate enough to know about marketing services.