Classification Of Services

There are a number of ways of classifying service activity, and there is inevitably some degree of overlap between the methods available. Some of the methods of classification which are commonly used are as follows:

1. End-User

Services can be classified into the following categories:

a) Consumer – leisure, hairdressing, personal finance, package holidays.

b) Business to business – advertising agencies, printing, accountancy, consultancy.

c) Industrial – plant maintenance and repair, work wear and hygiene, installation, project management.

2. Service Tangibility

The degree of tangibility of a service can be used to classify services:

a) Highly tangible – car rental, vending machines, telecommunications.

b) Service linked to, tangible goods – domestic appliance repair, car service.

c) Highly intangible – psychotherapy, consultancy, legal services.

3. People-Based Services

Services can be broker, down into labor-intensive (people-based) and equipment-based services. This can also be represented by the degree of contact:

a) People-based services – high contact, education, dental care, restaurants, medical services.

b) Equipment-based-low contact automatic car wash, launderette, vending machine, cinema.

4. Expertise

The expertise and skills of the service provider can be broken down into the following categories:

a) Professional – medical services, legal services, accountancy, tutoring.

b) Non-professional – babysitting, caretaking, casual labor.

5. Profit Orientation

The overall business orientation is a recognized means of classification:

a) Not-for-profit – The Scouts Association, charities, public sector leisure facilities.

b) Commercial – banks, airlines, tour operators, hotel and catering services.

References

• https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/service-marketing/what-is-service/20967

• https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/marketing/service-marketing-definition-features-and-problem-faced-in-marketing-services/32336