Coming to Grips with Service Intangibles Using Quality Management Techniques Available to Purchase

Making judgments about marketing opportunities in the 1990s needs a flexible view, with the emphasis on relationship building. Yet few companies really understand their customers. To make matters worse, even when good research is available, many companies are defeated by the task of converting that research into design plans, or diagnostic work on service defects. To do this means coming to grips with service intangibles. Some of the quality management techniques involved, and the implications for “internal marketing”, are outlined.