Service Marketing and Relationship Marketing

Running Head: SERVICE MARKETING AND RELATIONSHIP MARKETING 0
s
SERVICE MARKETING AND
RELATIONSHIP
MARKETING

SERVICE MARKETING AND RELATIONSHIP MARKETING 1
Introduction
Marriott Hotels and Resorts is a world famous brand having operations in more than 130
countries and territories. It is a Washington based service firm which is known for its
superiority in service staff. In 1927, J. Willard and Alice Marriott founded this service firm
under the leadership of their family. In addition, Time magazines and Forbes also rated this
business service firm as one of the best companies to work for (Holcomb, Upchurch and
Okumus, 2007). Their corporate diversity is formed by a collective mechanism i.e. “UNITY
and Family” by which the organization creates an inclusive environment with a diverse
workforce. In addition, they are also extent to the global markets by creating various
opportunities and foster a positive sense of wellbeing. Considering the service blueprint, the
relation and interaction between the hotel management and customers is the prime significant
factor (Nasution and Mavondo, 2008). The consumer experience with in the process service
delivered by the management of hotel is the prime determinant of the satisfaction. In addition,
Marriot vision statement also states that they want to become the world-leading provider of
hospitality services.
In this hotel, major services encountered are between the management, employees and the
customer (Wu, and Liang, 2009). This shows that Marriot organization structure and service
deliver model can be used in the formation of relevant marketing strategies and the blueprint.
Here, five most significant component of a service blueprint is –
 Customer Actions – This includes the whole collective actions taken by the
consumer during the process of service delivery. In the selected blueprint, the process
starts when the customer enters the hotel premises. The management of the hotel
greeted him and guided to the reception. For checking at the hotel, the customer
interacts with the receptionist follows by delivery of baggage to the room. The
customer can also visit the food court to enjoy the necessary items. In addition,
various recreational facilities like pools, games room, or cricket stadium can be avail
by the customer. For all these services encounter, the interaction between employee of
the hotel and customer is necessary.
 Visible Contact Employee Actions – This includes personal or face to face
interactions between the customer/guest and employees. Here, the customer gets

SERVICE MARKETING AND RELATIONSHIP MARKETING 2
information about the recreational facilities, room services or front desk interactions
(Bitner, Ostrom and Morgan, 2008).
 Invisible Contact Employee Actions – These actions are the vice versa of the visible
interactions as here there is no face-to-face interaction between the employees and the
guests. These types of interaction include emails, phone calls or any other form of
communication, however, these interactions also play a significant role in the delivery
of services (Milton, and Johnson, 2012).
 Support Processes – This process includes those actions which ensure continuous
and effective flow in the service delivery. This process can include, HR or finance
process, and sales and marketing process.
 Physical evidence – Here, the impact on the service delivery can be because of the
customer interactions. For example, the guest or customer will judge employee body
language as a physical evidence to analyse how good the service was. The customer
perception can change if the employee does not use smile between the interactions.
Below, the blueprint of Marriott Hotel, Brisbane is stated –
Customer Actions
Entering hotel premises
Greeting hotel staff
Interacting with front desk staff
interacting with dining staff
Visible Contact Employee Actions
Greeting guest
Checking in guest
Answering queries
Dining room interactions
Invisible Contact Actions
Reservations
Inquiries
Support Processes
Finance
HR
Physical Evidence
Employee body language
Hotel Appearance