Physical evidence refers to the tangible components of a service that facilitate performance or communication. This includes the physical environment where the service is delivered and any tangible goods that support the service. Physical evidence influences customer perceptions and satisfaction. It is important for firms to manage physical evidence strategically through their servicescapes, layout, signage and other elements to enhance productivity, develop customer perceptions and manage service quality. The servicescape concept emphasizes the role of the physical environment in shaping customer and employee behaviors and responses.
Physical evidence refers to the tangible components of a service that facilitate performance or communication. This includes the physical environment where the service is delivered and any tangible goods that support the service. Physical evidence influences customer perceptions and satisfaction. It is important for firms to manage physical evidence strategically through their servicescapes, layout, signage and other elements to enhance productivity, develop customer perceptions and manage service quality. The servicescape concept emphasizes the role of the physical environment in shaping customer and employee behaviors and responses.
Physical evidence refers to the tangible components of a service that facilitate performance or communication. This includes the physical environment where the service is delivered and any tangible goods that support the service. Physical evidence influences customer perceptions and satisfaction. It is important for firms to manage physical evidence strategically through their servicescapes, layout, signage and other elements to enhance productivity, develop customer perceptions and manage service quality. The servicescape concept emphasizes the role of the physical environment in shaping customer and employee behaviors and responses.
firm delivers its services and interacts with customers is known as physical evidence. It involves tangible commodities that support service performance and facilitates communication involved in services.
• For eg – when a customer walks into a restaurant,
he expects for a decent ambience, good food and certain level of hygiene to be maintained. NATURE OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE 1. Allows judgements to be made 2. Tangible expression 3. Influence flow of the experience 4. Includes decision regarding marketing tools 5. Customer satisfaction 6. Perceived service quality 7. Communication tool IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE • ENHANCES PRDUCTIVITY • DEVELOPING BETTER CUSTOMER PERCEPTION • MANAGING BETTER SERVICE QUALITY • RE-POSITIONING OF SERVICE TYPES OF PHYSICSL EVIDENCE • PERIPHERAL EVIDENCE - Peripheral evidence is actually possessed as part of the purchase of a service. It has however little or no independent value. Thus a bank cheque book is of no value unless backed by the funds transfer and storage service it represents.
• An admission ticket for a cinema equally has no
independent value. It merely confirms the service. Peripheral evidence ‘adds to’ the value of essential evidence only as far as the customer values these symbols of service. • ESSENTIAL EVIDENCE - Essential evidence, unlike peripheral evidence, cannot be possessed by the customer. Nevertheless essential evidence may be so important in its influence on service purchase it may be considered as an element in its own right. The overall appearance and layout of a hotel; the ‘feel’ of a bank branch; the type of vehicle rented by a car rental company; the type of aircraft used by a carrier are all examples of physical evidence. ELEMENTS OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE 1. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT • layout – the seating arrangement should be such that the customer feel comfortable while sitting especially in case they need to wait for a while to be attended. • atmosphere – in most of the restaurants, beauty salons and spa, light music is played to enhance the service environment. • ambience – many places have been converted into hotels in india . This has been done to create the right ambience and and luxury for the customer. 2. COMMUNICATION – in shopping malls, retail stores and multiplexes the customer should be provided assistance in order to locate the item they want to buy. 3. PRICE 4. SERVICE PRERSONNEL 5. TANGIBLE PRODUCTS ACCOMPANYING SERVICE – hotels offering drinking water ,chocolates etc 6. BRAND\ CORPORATE IDENTITY GUIDELINES FOR PHYSICAL EVIDENCE STRATEGIES 1. IDENTIFY THE STRETEGIC REQUIREMENT OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE 2. DECIDE THE KIND OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE REQUIRED 3. CLARIFY THE ROLES OF EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS IN SERVICESCAPES 4. IDENTIFY AND ASSESS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE OPPORTUNITIES 5. UPDATE AND MODERNISE EVIDENCE SERVICESCAPES • The concept of servicescapes was developed by booms and bitner. It gives great weight to physical environment in which a particular service is executed. • Booms and Bitner defined a servicescape as "the environment in which the service is assembled and in which the seller and customer interact, combined with tangible commodities that facilitate performance or communication of the service" TYPES OF SERVICESCAPES 1. SERVICESCAPE USE • SELF SERVICE - customer performs most of the activities and few if any employees are involved. Eg mcd ,atm’s • INTERPERSONAL SERVICES - both customer and employee must be present in the servicescape. Eg. Banks, hospitals • REMOTE SERVICE - employee only; little or no customer involvement with the servicescape. Eg. Consultancy ,telecom 2. COMPLEXITY OF SERVICESCAPE • Lean environment : simple; few elements, spaces, and pieces of equipment .Example- ATM , courier service • Elaborate environment : complicated servicescape; many elements and forms. Example- restaurant, insurance company, hospitals. ROLE OF SERVICESCAPES • 1. Package: • Similar to a tangible product’s package, the service-scape and other elements of physical evidence essentially “wrap” the service and convey an external image of what is “inside” to consumers. The service-scape is the outward appearance of the organization and thus can be critical in forming initial impressions or setting up customer expectations – it is a visual metaphor for the intangible service. • 2. Facilitator: The service-scape can also serve as a facilitator in aiding the performances of persons in the environment. How the setting is designed can enhance or inhibit the efficient flow of activities in the service setting, making it easier or harder for customers and employees to accomplish their goals. • 3. Socializer: • The design of the service-scape aids in the socialization of both employees and customers in the sense that it helps to convey expected roles, behaviours, and relationships. For example, a new employee in a professional services firm would come to understand her position in the hierarchy partially through noting her office assignment, the quality of her office furnishings, and her location relative to others in the organization. • 4. Differentiator: The design of the physical facility can differentiate a firm from its competitors and signal the market segment the service is intended for. Given its power as a differentiator, changes in the physical environment can be used to reposition a firm and/or to attract new market segments. EFFECT OF SERVICESCAPE ON CONSUMER BEHVIOUR • UNDERLYING FRAMEWORK – the impact of servicescape on customers and employees will cause them to behave in certain ways depending on their internal reaction to the servicescape • BEHAVIOURS IN SERVICESCAPES individual behaviour – positive or negative social interactions – all scial interaction is affected by the physical container in which it occurs • ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSIONS OF SERVICESCAPES ambient conditions –lightening ,noise, music ,scent , color spatial layout and functionality – ways in which machinery ,equipments are arranged ,the shape and sizes of those items and the spatial relationship between them signs , symbols and artifacts
• INTERNAL RESPONSES TO SERVICESCAPES
cognitive responses – beliefs, categorisation, symbolic meaning emotional responses – some service env. Make customers happy ,excited while in others opposite happens. physiological responses – smoke may make non smokers uncomfortable, high pitch music behavioural responses - positive approach or negative approach