Case Study RyanAir

Table 10.1 Dimensions of Brand Experience

Sensory

• This brand makes a strong impression on my visual sense or other senses.

• I find this brand interesting in a sensory way.

• This brand does not appeal to my senses.

Affective

• This brand induces feelings and sentiments.

• I do not have strong emotions for this brand.

• This brand is an emotional brand.

Behavioral

• I engage in physical actions and behaviors when I use this brand.

• This brand results in bodily experiences.

• This brand is not action-oriented.

Intellectual

• I engage in a lot of thinking when I encounter this brand.

• This brand does not make me think.

• This brand stimulates my curiosity and problem solving.

Source: Joško Brakus, Bernd H. Schmitt, and Lia Zarantonello, “Brand Experience: What Is It? How Is It Measured? Does It Affect Loyalty?,” Journal of

Marketing 73 (May 2009), pp. 52–68. Reprinted with permission from the Journal of Marketing, published by the American Marketing Association.

customer satisfaction. Service firms can also design marketing communication and information

programs so consumers learn more about the brand than what their subjective experience alone

tells them.

Perishability Services cannot be stored, so their perishability can be a problem when demand

fluctuates. To accommodate rush-hour demand, public transportation companies must own

more equipment than if demand was even throughout the day. Demand or yield management is

critical—the right services must be available to the right customers at the right places at the right

times and right prices to maximize profitability.

Several strategies can produce a better match between service demand and supply.7 On the

demand (customer) side, these include differential pricing to shift some demand to off-peak periods

(such as pricing matinee movies lower), cultivating nonpeak demand (the way McDonald’s

promotes breakfast), offering complementary services as alternatives (the way banks offer

ATMs), and using reservation systems to manage demand (airlines do this). On the supply side,

strategies include adding part-time employees to serve peak demand, having employees perform

only essential tasks during peak periods, increasing consumer participation (shoppers bag their

own groceries), sharing services (hospitals can share medical-equipment purchases), and having

facilities for future expansion.

The New Services Realities

Although service firms once lagged behind manufacturers in their use of marketing, service firms

are now some of the most skilled marketers. However, because U.S. consumers generally have

high expectations about service delivery, they often feel their needs are not being adequately met.

A 2013 Forrester study asked consumers to rate 154 companies on how well they met their needs

and how easy and enjoyable they were to do business with. Almost two-thirds of the companies

were rated only “OK,” “poor,” or “very poor.” Retail and hotel companies were rated the highest on

average, and Internet, health service, and television service providers were rated the worst.8 This is

just one indicator of the shifting relationship between customers and service providers.

A Shifting Customer Relationship

Savvy services marketers are recognizing the new services realities, such as the importance of the

newly empowered customer, customer coproduction, and the need to engage employees as well

as customers.

Customer Empowerment Customers are becoming more sophisticated about buying

product-

support services and are pressing for “unbundled services” so they can select the elements

they want. They increasingly dislike having to deal with a multitude of service providers

handling different types of products or equipment. Most importantly, the Internet has empowered

customers by letting them send their comments around the world with a mouse click. A

person who has a good customer experience is more likely to talk about it, but someone who has

a bad experience will talk to more people.9 When a customer complains, most companies are

responsive because solving a customer’s problem quickly and easily goes a long way toward winning

long-term loyal customers.10

Customer Coproduction The reality is that customers do not merely purchase and use a

service; they play an active role in its delivery. Their words and actions affect the quality of their

service experiences and those of others as well as the productivity of frontline employees.11 This

coproduction can put stress on employees, however, and reduce their satisfaction, especially if

they differ from customers culturally or in other ways.12 Moreover, one study estimated that onethird

of all service problems are caused by the customer.13

Preventing service failures is crucial because recovery is always challenging. One of the biggest

problems is attribution—customers often feel the firm is at fault or, even if not, that it is still

responsible for righting any wrongs. Unfortunately, although many firms have well-designed and

executed procedures to deal with their own failures, they find managing customer failures—when

a service problem arises from a customer’s mistake or lack of understanding—much more difficult.

Solutions include: redesigning processes and customer roles to simplify service encounters;

using technology to aid customers and employees; enhancing customer role clarity, motivation,

and ability; and encouraging customers to help each other.14

Satisfying Employees as Well as Customers Excellent service companies know that

positive employee attitudes will strengthen customer loyalty.15 Instilling a strong customer

orientation in employees can also increase their job satisfaction and commitment, especially if

they have high customer contact. Employees thrive in customer-contact positions when they

have an internal drive to (1) pamper customers, (2) accurately read their needs, (3) develop a

personal relationship with them, and (4) deliver high-quality service to solve customers’ problems.

16 Given the importance of positive employee attitudes to customer satisfaction, service

companies must attract the best employees they can find, marketing a career rather than just

a job. They must design a sound training program, provide support and rewards for good performance,

and reinforce customer-centered attitudes. Finally, they must audit employee job

satisfaction regularly.

Achieving Excellence in Services Marketing

The increased importance of the service industry and the new realities have sharpened the

focus on what it takes to excel in the marketing of services.17 In the service sector, excellence