The tangible evidence of a

service, including everything

which can be seen, touched,
smelt and heard.
Physical Evidence is the element
of the service mix which allows
the consumer to make judgments
on the organisation.

Physical evidence
Physical evidence is the environment in which the
service is delivered and where the firm and the
customer interact and any tangible commodities
that facilitate performance or communication of the
service.

Physical evidence includes the servicescape, a term
used to describe the physical facility where the
service is produced and/or delivered.
Comparison of Hotel Lobbies

Four Seasons Hotel,

The servicescape is part of the value proposition!

Physical evidence is everything that a company
physically exhibits to the customer.

It includes physical envt. of the service outlet,
the exterior, the interior, all tangibles like
machinery, furniture, vehicles, stationary, sign
boards, communication material, receipts etc

It provides tangible cues to customer to develop
service quality expectation.
Types Of Physical Evidence
Essential evidence
Peripheral evidence
1)Essential evidence:-
It is provided by those tangibles without which the service cant
be delivered.
Examples:-Building furnishings, signage, layout ,background
music, employees & their uniform are considered part of
essential evidence.
2)Peripheral evidence:-
It is provided by those tangibles given out by service provider as
gifts.
credit card, cheque book, admission ticket, a souvenir post card
and invoices and statements

SCOPE OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
Shaping first impression
Managing trust
Providing sensory stimuli
To shape customer perception
Facilitating quality of service


The Purpose of Service Environments
The service environment influences buyer behaviour in 3 ways
Helps the firm to create a distinctive image & positioning that is unique.

Message-creating Medium:
symbolic cues to communicate the distinctive nature and quality
of the service experience.
Attention-creating Medium:
to make the services cape stand out from other competing
establishments, and to attract customers from target segments.
Effect-creating Medium:
colors, textures, sounds, scents and spatial design to enhance
the desired service experience, and/or to heighten an appetite
for certain goods, services or experiences
SIGNIFICANCE OF PHYSICAL
EVIDENCE
Physical evidence the lifeline for services.
and it works as a silent salesman.
Service provider is seeking to make the service
more tangible by creating right physical
setting.
It communicates service quality, attributes,
setting customer expectations and creating
service experience.


The important benefits offered by physical
evidence are-
1) Increased employee productivity,
2)Creation of good impression among
customers,
3)And differentiation from competitors.



SIGNIFICANCE OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
Elements of Physical Evidence
Service Scape:-
The environment in which the service is delivered
and where the firm and the customer interact is
called service scape.
Other tangibles:-
Any tangible commodities that facilitate the
performance or the communication of the service.


Servicescape Other tangibles
Facility exterior
Exterior design
Signage
Parking
Landscape
Surrounding environment
Business cards
Stationary
Billing statements
Reports
Employee dress
Uniform
Brouchers
Facility interior
Interior design
Equipment
Signage
Layout
Air quality /temperature


SERVICE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
service scape other tangibles
Building Admission office Uniforms
Hospital Parking Patient care room Reports
Signs Medical equipment Stationary
Recovery room Billing Statement


decoration Tickets
Airline gate area seats Foods
Airline Airplane air quality Uniforms
Parking Ticket Area Signs
Sports seating Concession Area Ticket
Restroom Playing field Program
stadium Entrance Uniform
Examples of Physical Evidence from
the Customers Point of View
SERVICESCAPE
The intangible nature of services mean
that they are not bought and owned by
consumers in the same way that physical
goods are.
Some services are product based and
service providers will focus on service
quality and standard.
Servicescape
Designing Physical Surroundings to Affect Employee
and Customer Behavior
1.Ambient Conditions:
Background factors such as noise level, music,
lighting, temperature, and scent.
2.Spatial Layout and Functionality:
Reception area, circulation paths of employee and
customers and focal points.
3.Signs, Symbols, and Artifacts:
Selection, orientation, location, and size of objects.

An Integrated Framework Bitners
Servicescape Model
Environmental
Dimensions
Perceived
ServiceScape


Ambient
Conditions


Space/
Function


Signs,
Symbols &
Artefacts
Cognitive
Emotional
Psychological

Customer
Response
Moderator
Employee
Responses
Approach
or
Avoid
Approach
or
Avoid
Social Interaction
Between
Customers &
Employees
Holistic
Environ-
ment
Moderators Internal Responses Behaviour
Customer
Responses
Employee
Response
Moderator
Cognitive
Emotional
Psychological

Servicescape-Facility exterior:
Exterior design
Signage
Parking
Landscape
Surrounding environment

Servicescape-Facility interior:
Interior design
Equipment
Signage
Layout
Air quality/temperature

Other Tangibles
Business cards
Stationery
Billing statements
Reports
Employee dress
Uniforms
Brochures
Web pages

.
Servicescape Influence
Provider
responses
Recipient
responses
Servicescape
Environmental
conditions
Physical
architecture
Signs, symbols,
artefacts
Provider
behaviours
Recipient
behaviours
Interactions
Servicescape concept originated by Bitner
Roles of the Servicescape
1.Package
conveys expectations
influences perceptions
2.Facilitator
facilitates the flow of the service delivery process
provides information (how am I to act?)
facilitates the ordering process (how does this work?)
facilitates service delivery
3.Socializer
facilitates interaction between:
customers and employees
customers and fellow customers
4.Differentiator
sets provider apart from competition in the mind of the
consumer

Services Process
How firm does things may be as important as what it
does
Customers often actively involved in processes,
especially when acting as co-producers of service
Process involves choices of method and sequence in
service creation and delivery
Design of activity flows
Number and sequence of actions for customers
Nature of customer involvement
Role of contact personnel
Role of technology, degree of automation
Badly designed processes waste time, create poor
experiences, and disappoint customers
Services PROCESS Affect Customer
Behavior

Consumers are rarely involved in the manufacture of
goods but often participate in service creation and
delivery
Challenge for service marketers is to understand how
customers interact with service operations

Based on differences in nature of service act
(tangible/intangible) and who or what is direct recipient
of service (people/possessions), there are four categories
of services:
People processing
Possession processing
Mental stimulus processing
Information processing
Four Categories of Services Processing
Information processing
(services directed at
intangible assets):
Accounting
Banking
Nature of the Service Act People Possessions
Tangible Actions People processing
(services directed at
peoples bodies):
Barbers
Health care
Who or What Is the Direct Recipient of the Service?
Possession processing
(services directed at
physical possessions):
Refueling
Disposal/recycling
Mental stimulus processing
(services directed at
peoples minds):
Education
Advertising/PR
Intangible Actions
Simple Flowchart for Delivery
of a People-Processing Service
Park Car Check In
Spend
Night in
Room
Breakfast
Check Out
Breakfast
Prepared
Maid Makes
up Room
People Processing Stay at Motel
Simple Flowchart for Delivery of a
Possession-Processing Service
Possession Processing Repair a DVD Player
Travel to
Store
Technician Examines
Player, Diagnoses
Problem
Leave
Store
Return, Pick up
Player and Pay
Technician Repairs Player
(Later) Play DVDs
at Home
Simple Flowchart for Delivery of Mental
Stimulus-Processing Service
Mental Stimulus Processing Weather Forecast
Turn on TV, Select
Channel
View Presentation of
Weather Forecast
TV Weatherperson
Prepares Local
Forecast
Confirm Plans for
Picnic
Meteorologists Input Data to
Models and Creates Forecast
from Output
Collect
Weather
Data
Information Processing

Information is the most intangible form of
service output
But may be transformed into enduring
forms of service output
Line between information processing and
mental stimulus processing may be
blurred.