This course will explore the role of services marketing in modern economies using examples from diverse business environments. It will build on previous learning about marketing by highlighting the special characteristics of services and the unique challenges this creates for marketing managers. 

This is an online course of 10 credits. This requires 100 hours of student-centred learning. Unlike a face to face course, online learning can be divided into directed and guided learning, rather than contact and non-contact hours. What is described as a lecture is, in fact, a series of teacher led activities (TLA) or directed teaching, such as direction to reading, video, audio, case studies or other resources. Synchronous online events allow student-led exploration of a specified topic. This course combines TLAs (lectures in this form) with workshops focusing on a work-based group project, supported by a guest speaker and the use of simulation.

Please refer to the current postgraduate prospectus at: http://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/

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The course aims to:

■ Expose students to modern theories of services marketing to be able to analyse situations and make decisions

■ Provide students with an in-depth understanding of the specific inherent characteristics of the services, which highlight unique challenges for the marketing managers in a service environment

■ Equip students with the necessary knowledge, tools and skills in order to be able to identify and address ,strategically, services challenges

■ Promote a customer-service oriented approach encouraging students to understand, develop and integrate effectively customer relationship marketing (CRM) strategies.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Evaluate the differences between goods and services including the strategic opportunities and threats in both.

2. Evaluate customers' needs, expectations, and perceptions of services and how this affects customer loyalty

3. Analyse the major actors in 'Service Production' (SERVUCTION) model

4. Explain, design, and change service systems using service blueprints and how this drives strategic decisions

5. Apply the tools appropriate to design and develop effective customer-oriented services marketing strategies and tactics

6. Explain services marketing analysis reports using high quality written and oral communication working as a group

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components of the course's assessment.