A Service Encounter

INTRODUCTION
A service encounter is defined as a moment when a customer interacts with a service or product for the first time. It is the customer’s actual interaction with a service company. It is identified as a key component of the current agenda for service marketers. More than half of the world’s multinational corporations employ in providing services, thus the scrutiny of service encounters is becoming increasingly significant. Research evidence indicates that customers generally compare their expectations with the performance of service industries and they are influenced by the quality of service they receive. The scope of this essay is to discuss about the view that customers don’t buy products they focus on solutions and also about the consumer’s behaviour pattern regarding services provided. Further, it will be noted how businesses are trying to improve the service quality to attract customers leading to an increase in the economic competitiveness.

DISCUSSING MARKETING APPROACH
Traditionally, marketers were focused mainly on selling a product. They started with production and marketing was done while selling and promoting the product to attain sales at a profit. In this technique, they were of the view that the product should be brought in the market with an aggressive selling strategy and imposed in the market through promotional pressures. Their marketing purview was limited to 4P’s which are product, promotion, price and place for profit maximisation.
As a result of the above they were giving less importance to customer satisfaction and customer relationship building. This form of strategy conformed to short term business motives. In a globalised and highly competitive world, modern marketing is about concentrating ...

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