Table Of Content“This new book on customer service marketing offers a refreshing and insightful look at
innovations and new developments in the field set within the broader ‘Servicescape’. The
authors have taken trends such as co-creation and customization, attitudes and emotions,
and electronic word of mouth, among others, and offered insight and strategies to be
applied across a range of service settings. Authored by two highly experienced professors
in the field, this new and exciting text is a must-read for those interested in the future
dynamics of customer service marketing.”
Alan Fyall, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs and Visit Orlando
Endowed Chair of Tourism Marketing, UCF Rosen College of Hospi-
tality Management, USA
“Customer experience management is more crucial today than ever before, especially for
tourism-related sectors. This book sheds light on theories associated with consumers and
their behavior and highlights effective tools and strategies employed by successful enter-
prises. It will be an essential textbook well worth reading in that it covers major theories
and best practices in the field of customer experience management. It is highly recom-
mended for students intending to pursue a career in the tourism industry.”
BAO Jigang, Professor, Founding Dean of School of Tourism Manage-
ment, Sun Yat-sen University, P.R.China
“This new book on consumer service marketing provides an extensive review of the
services’ universe from consumers’ perspective. It offers a broad coverage of the key
issues contributing to the strategic management of services from its key characteristics
to consumers processing of quality, satisfaction, and loyalty up to the services’ strategic
dimensions. The book provides a comprehensive overview of services concepts, tools, and
applications. A must-read for graduate students and practitioners alike.”
Isabelle Frochot, University Savoie Mont Blanc, France
“In the rapidly changing society and marketplace, the traditional understanding of services
and the role of marketing has become obsolete. Industry professionals need a comprehen-
sive understanding of the contemporary nature of relationships between customers and
businesses. A holistic overview of the nature of B2C interactions is a background for devel-
oping a competitive market strategy. This book summarizes the key aspects of contempo-
rary B2C relationships. It explains the nature of service from a customer perspective and
highlights the key components of marketing strategy required for increasing customer loy-
alty. The book is advantageous as an introduction to marketing and service management.”
Katerina Volchek, Professor and Manager of the DigiHealth & Smart
Tourism lab at Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Germany
“This book provides an important contribution to the understanding of customer service
by explaining the benefits of customer service as a strategic focus for an organization
(online or offline) to successfully compete in the market. The authors clearly illustrate
how quality of service and experience are essential to building trust and relationships with
all stakeholders of the organization. This book on customer service marketing will provide
critical knowledge to help hospitality and tourism students become effective managers in
the industry.”
Jay Kandampully, Professor of Service Management, The Ohio State
University, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Service Management, USA
“Today’s service businesses have seen an increase in digital transformation with many
technological advancements. Service technologies play a critical role in redefining cus-
tomer service management strategies and service quality control procedures. This new
book provides a focused review of the concepts, business practices, and research findings
about service technologies. Students and industry practitioners who would like to learn
how service technologies are adopted and implemented in a service business setting will
find this book very useful and helpful.”
Dimitrios Buhalis, Professor in Marketing, Strategy and Innovation,
Director of the eTourism Lab and Deputy Director of the International
Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research, Bournemouth Univer-
sity Business School, UK
“Dr Torres and Dr Zhang have produced a superb all-round service marketing text, blend-
ing classical ideas and contemporary developments in theory and practice. They introduce
a comprehensive set of principles that can be applied across a range of sectors to create
value and memorable experiences.”
Peter Lugosi, Professor of Culture and Organisation, Oxford Brookes
University, UK
Customer Service Marketing
This timely book is a comprehensive overview of customer service principles, theories,
and practices. It looks at the best practices of service enterprises and the delivery of supe-
rior customer service. It also includes classic and contemporary theories relating to the
consumers, managers, and their behaviors in organizational setting. The book uses real-life
applications through examples from business enterprises in various service sectors, includ-
ing hotels, restaurants, theme parks, event management, airlines, cruises, (e-)retailers, and
finance.
This book covers important concepts in service design and delivery including customer
experiences, peer-to-peer services, the organization’s servicescape, quality measurement
tools, and use of technologies. The book also gives insights into consumers including their
expectations, attitudes, emotions, word-of-mouth behaviors, and strategies to ensure their
loyalty. It also looks at developments in service theory and practice which remain rela-
tively unexplored by existing textbooks.
Filled with real-world case studies in various service sectors, this textbook will be par-
ticularly useful for students in hospitality guest services and services marketing.
Edwin N. Torres, Ph.D., is the Chair and Associate Professor at the Department of Inter-
national Hospitality and Service Innovation, Saunders College of Business at the Roches-
ter Institute of Technology.
Tingting Zhang, Ph.D., is Associate Professor at the Rosen College of Hospitality Manage-
ment, University of Central Florida.
Customer Service
Marketing
Managing the Customer Experience
Edwin N. Torres and Tingting Zhang
Cover image: © Getty Images
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Edwin N. Torres and Tingting Zhang
The right of Edwin N. Torres and Tingting Zhang to be identified as authors of this work has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by
any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used
only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Torres, Edwin N., author. | Zhang, Tingting (College teacher), author.
Title: Customer service marketing : managing the customer experience /
Edwin N. Torres and Tingting Zhang.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2022025890 (print) | LCCN 2022025891 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367208929 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367208936 (paperback) |
ISBN 9780429263965 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Customer services. | Consumer satisfaction. | Marketing.
Classification: LCC HF5415.5 .T677 2023 (print) | LCC HF5415.5 (ebook) |
DDC 658.8/12—dc23/eng/20220616
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022025890
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022025891
ISBN: 9780367208929 (hbk)
ISBN: 9780367208936 (pbk)
ISBN: 9780429263965 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9780429263965
Typeset in Berling and Futura
by codeMantra
Contents
Preface ix
1 What is service? The origin and evolution of customer experiences 1
2 Servicescape: Visualizing service quality and value 25
3 Service quality: Tools and strategies 41
4 Customer attitudes and emotions: From delight to outrage 62
5 Waiting for service: Strategies to reduce waits and the perception
of waiting 80
6 Co-creation and customization: Engaging the customer in value
creation 96
7 Electronic word of mouth: Understanding the customer’s voice 113
8 The sharing economy/peer-to-peer services: Revolutionizing the
service market 127
9 Subscription services and new business models 143
10 Service technologies: Delivering a seamless experience 158
11 Cross-cultural guest interactions: Appealing to a broad customer base 177
12 Recovery strategies for service managers 193
13 Recruiting, training, and engaging talent for service organizations 213
14 Customer loyalty, analytics, and relationship management 233
15 Service innovation: The key to business growth and sustainability 250
Index 269
Preface
Service is about giving; giving our time, talent, skills, effort, expertise, hospitality, and cre-
ativity. Giving is an expression of dedication, respect, care, and love of neighbor. Everyday
service workers around the world give a part of themselves to others. Customers and
guests alike enjoy the benefit of such labor and in exchange they reward service providers
with their resources, time, participation, and ideas. This textbook is our humble contribu-
tion to the tireless efforts of those who serve. Within its pages, we hope that those manag-
ing customer experiences will acquire and enhance their skills to delight their customers.
Whereas the basic principles of service such as friendliness, courtesy, and profession-
alism remain the same, the science of services marketing, hospitality management, and
consumer behavior has evolved significantly to offer the promise of creating more sophis-
ticated service enterprises. Furthermore, best industry practices have advanced as busi-
nesses become smarter and more innovative. This textbook combines theory and practice
to provide recommendations for current and future leaders to transform their organiza-
tions. We offer the latest research findings and provide specific examples of organizations
that excel in customer service.
This textbook is for those who create the conditions where exceptional service can
flourish. The target audience includes students in management, marketing, and hospi-
tality programs as well as current practitioners in those fields wishing to enhance their
skills and expand their knowledge. We believe that some of the essential tools needed to
manage service organizations are articulated in this book: how to set the physical scene
for services (servicescape), tools for service quality management, the theory and practice
on customer satisfaction and delight, and engaging in effective service recovery efforts, as
well as involving customers in co-creating service experiences. We wanted to produce a
book that considered the evolution of services and use of technology. Therefore, the book
contains principles and practices regarding service innovation, subscriptions, and peer-to-
peer services. Additionally, this book provides insights on how to train and develop service
workers and how to manage cross-cultural guest interactions. Ultimately, service enter-
prises need loyal customers who will show preference and re-patronage toward a business
or brand. Consequently, we provide practical implications for organizations who wish to
achieve customer loyalty through useful tools and strategies.
As we conclude the writing of this textbook, we’re excited about the future of the ser-
vices industries. As new business models develop, new enterprises grow, and the next gen-
eration of leaders takes the helm, we hope that this book can act as a thought-provoking
