AKTU Service & Retail Marketing (BMBMK04) Syllabus PDF – MBA 4th Semester

Course Objectives: The objective of this course is to:

• Understand the fundamental concepts, characteristics, and strategic frameworks of services marketing.
• Analyze consumer behavior in services and apply principles for service design and delivery.
• Evaluate pricing, promotion, and service quality aspects to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Gain insights into the nature of industrial marketing and different types of industrial products.
• Apply knowledge of organizational buying behavior, models, and influencing factors in industrial markets.

Unit 1 (6 Hours)

Introduction to Services Marketing: Introduction: Definition, Characteristics and Classification of Services, Difference between Product and Services Marketing, Paradigms in Services Marketing, Present Marketing Environment, Services Marketing Mix: Understanding the 7 P’s, Strategies for Services Marketing: Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning, Differentiation.

Unit 2 (6 Hours)

Understanding Consumer Behavior and Service Design Understanding Consumer Behavior:

Services vis-à-vis goods, Consumer Behavior in Services, Customer Expectations and Perceptions of Services – Evaluation of services. Service Development Design & Standards: New Service Development Process – Basic service to potential service, Customer Defined Service Standards, Demand and Capacity Management.

Unit 3 (8 Hours)

Delivering Services: Role of Employees and Customers in service delivery;, Service process – Blue printing – Physical evidence. Pricing of Services: Pricing Considerations and Strategies,.

Managing Service Promise: Role of Advertising, Personal Selling, Sales Promotion, Publicity and Public Relations. Service Performance. Evaluating Success of Service Offering: Service quality and measurement, Complaint handling, Recovery Management, Service Guarantees, the GAP model of service Quality.

Unit 4 (10hrs)

Introduction to retailing & Retail Consume behavior : Nature, scope and importance of retailing, Factors Influencing Retailing, Retail Models ,Retail formats: Store-based (department stores, supermarkets, discount stores) and non-store based (e-retail, vending, direct selling), Organized vs Unorganized retail in India, FDI in retail and current policy framework, Understanding retail consumer behavior, Factors influencing in-store and online consumer decisions, Retail marketing mix (6Ps: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Presentation),Retail branding and private labels.

Unit 5 (10)

Merchandise Management, Pricing, and Supply Chain: Merchandise planning process, Assortment planning and category management, Retail buying process; vendor selection, Inventory management and stock turnover Pricing objectives and strategies in retail, Supply chain management in retail, Role of technology: barcoding, RFID, POS

Suggested Readings

1. Services marketing, Zeithaml Valerie and Mary jo Bitner, Gremler & Pandit, Tata McGraw Hill. Services Marketing, Lovelock, Christopher, Prentice Hall
2. Services Marketing: Concepts, Planning and Implementation, Adrian Payne
3. Chetan Bajaj, Rajnish Tuli & Nidhi V. Srivastava; Retail Management; Oxford University Press
4. Swapna Pradhan; Retail Management: Text and Cases; McGraw Hill
5. S.C. Bhatia; Retailing Management; Atlantic Publishers & Distributors
6. U.C. Mathur; Retail Marketing; Excel Books

Course Outcomes