Marketing of Services is gathering importance day by day. The service industry has been growing during the recent past due to various reasons. Factors like increasing affluence, desire to use leisure time, availability of credit cards and credit facilities, increasing availability of new products and gadgets, etc., have contributed to the growth of service industries in India.

The share of the services sector-which already contributes to almost 50 percent to gross domestic product (GDP)-in generating income and providing employment in both the organised as well as the unorganised sector, is set to rise further in the coming decade. The segments of service industry in India with the highest growth rate include Insurance, Banking, Internet Advertising, Organised Retailing, Live Entertainment, Health and Tourism. Due to this positive trend, opportunities for placement for MBA students are also excellent in the service industries.

A thorough understanding of the concepts, theories and applications of Services Marketing as a subject is, therefore, becoming all the more important for management students. The purpose of this book is to meet this requirement of our students.

This book provides students with the fundamentals of the concepts and theories of Services Marketing, and also their practical applications as practised by service marketers in Indian context. The book is profusely illustrated with examples of service industries in India, to help the students to understand the concepts easily. The chapters are sprinkled with live case studies of services from our country.

This book is written in simple language, using a lucid style, without diluting the conceptual qualities of the subject, and will be a useful textbook for the students and faculty for MBA in most of the universities in India. It will also be useful as a reference manual for service marketing professionals.

Contents :

1. Introduction to Services
2. Service Quality-The GAPS Analysis Approach
3. Consumer Behaviour in Services
4. Marketing Research in Services
5. Relationship Marketing
6. Service Standards
7. Service Design and Positioning
8. Role of Employees in Services Marketing
9. Role of Customers in Service Marketing
10. Service Intermediaries
11. Managing Demand and Capacity
12. Role of Marketing Communications in Services
13. Pricing of Services
14. Physical Evidence in Services
15. Applications of Services Marketing
16. Retail Management
17. Insurance Marketing
Bibliography