Session 2
Connecting and interacting
Are we in a factory or a theatre?
Module Programme
Date and speaker
Monday 11th/Thursday 14th
Tuesday 12th /Friday 15th
Monday 18th/Thursday 21st
Tuesday 19th /Friday 22nd
Session
Introduction to the module; defining customer
experiences and engagement
Connecting and interacting: the use of metaphors
(factory v theatre)
Satisfaction and retention
Guest Speaker: Loyalty cards
MONDAY 18th APRIL 1-4
Commitment and advocacy
Assignment briefing
Guest Speaker: online communities
FRIDAY 22nd APRIL 1-4
Monday 25th/Thursday 28th
Organisational context and employee engagement
THURSDAY 28th APRIL 1-4 Guest Speaker: Strategic
implementation of a customer experience strategy.
Tuesday 26th/Friday 29th
Customer Participation (am)
Assignment briefing session (PM)
one on one assignment briefing sessions
W/C 2nd May:
The assessment
Written assignment of 4,000 words which will constitute 100% of the assessment.
You are a marketing manager for your chosen organisation and have been asked to produce a
report which helps your Board of Directors understand the effectiveness of customer
engagement practices which currently exist within the organisation. Within the report you will
need to:1. Carry out an audit of existing Customer Engagement practices within a chosen organisation.
2. Critically evaluate customer engagement concepts, theories and models and identify key
debates and positions within the academic literature.
3. Propose a new engagement strategy to enhance the organisation’s customer engagement. You
You might select one from the following list or alternatively identify another strategy which you
know to be particularly effective. Justify your choice with reference to relevant theory.
1. An online customer community
2. A self-service checkout system or other such full self-service application
3. A loyalty programme
4. An Interactive retail store design concept: using theatrical or digital
4. Provide three practical recommendations for the organisation to enable the new strategy to be
be implemented effectively.
Session 2
Connecting and interacting
Are we in a factory or a theatre?
Session Two
Connecting and interacting
 Customer Engagement strategies in the service
FACTORY
 evaluating self service technologies
 Customer Engagement strategies in the service
THEATRE
 evaluating retail design
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Chapter 3: Services Marketing Baron et al
Castro, Atkinson and Ezell (2010) ‘Embracing the self service economy’ report for the US
information, technology and Innovation Foundation
Cassidy, K., Baron, S. and Lu, X., (2015). How customers ‘learn’ to work for retailers. Journal
of Marketing Management, 31(17-18), pp.1747-1772.
Baron, S., Patterson, A. and Harris, K., 2006. Beyond technology acceptance: understanding
consumer practice. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 17(2), pp.111135.
Wang, c, Harris, J and Patterson, P (2011) .’customer choice of self-service technology: the
roles of situational influences and past experience’ Journal of Service Management vol 23,
no 1 pp54-78
Harris, K, Harris R, Elliott D and Baron, S, (2010) ‘A Theatrical Perspective on Service
Performance Evaluation: The Customer Critic Approach. Journal of Marketing Management
vol 27 issue 5-6 pp 477-502
Tynan, C and Mckechnie, S (2009)’ Experience marketing: a review and reassessment
Journal of Marketing Vol 25, No 5-6 pp501-517.
Baron, S, Harris, K. and Harris R. (2001) ‘Retail Theatre: the ‘Intended effect’ of the
Performance’ Journal of Service Research vol.4 no 2 pp102-117
Clark, T. and Mangham, I., 2004. From Dramaturgy to Theatre as Technology: The Case of
Corporate Theatre*. Journal of Management Studies, 41(1), pp.37-59.
The Factory Metaphor
“Many service operations are literally ‘factories in the field’,
which customers enter when they need a service. Since the
completed service is often consumed as it is produced, there
may be direct contact between production (operations) and
customers”
Applying the ‘factory’ metaphor
(‘servuction’)
The ‘Rail travel’ Servuction System
Inanimate
Environment
(trains/seats/toilets/
heating/lighting/trolley/
ticket office/waiting room)
Organisation
and
Systems
Invisible
Source: Lovelock and Eiglier
Langeard, Bateson, (1981)
Contact
Personnel
(conductor/catering staff
/guard/platform staff/
station restaurant staff
/ticket office staff)
visible
Bundle of benefits
received by customer
Customer
‘A’
Customer
‘B’
Implications of the application of the
Factory Metaphor in Services
• Control customer engagement (blue printing and
mapping)
• Replace interpersonal interactions with
technology interfaces
• Recognise and monitor multiple points of contact
(critical incidents)
• Recognise trade offs between effectiveness and
efficiency
Evaluating the impact of self-service
technologies as a customer ‘engagement’
strategy
Self-Service
‘The process by which consumers
engage in all or a portion of the provision of a
service or product’
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation 2010
Self Service Technologies(SSTs)
in theory
‘Technological interfaces that enable customers
to produce a service independent of direct
service employee involvement’
Wang et al 2011
On Saturday I….
• Went to the supermarket, parked my car, lifted goods off
the shelves..
• I filled my car with petrol at the ‘pay at the pump’ kiosk
• I checked my bank account on line
• Paid my utilities bill by telephone; voice recognition
• Took money from the ATM
• Went for a coffee at M&S and took my tray back to the
counter……
• Bought a new pair of running shoes online on my mobile
from amazon
• Checked my bag in at Easyjet…..
Type of customer (self) input
(Rodie and Kleine 2000)
Mental
Working out how to use the
pay at the pump terminal
Physical
Stacking the tray with cups
and walking back to the
counter with them (effort!)
Emotional
Anger management
(waiting in the queue at the
the cashpoint for ten
minutes while someone
learnt how to use it!!)
SSTs: The facts
• The majority of UK consumers (89%) use self checkouts to some degree
according to survey of shoppers in nine countries (NCR 2014)
• In retail, Tesco (largest UK retailer) circa 6600 global stores 25% all
transactions through self service checkouts. 2009 100,000 self service
checkouts, 2015 this number had quadrupled. Home depot US 35% all
transactions
• In December 2015, online sales represented 19.7% of total Non-Food
sales, against 17.3% in December 2014, meaning almost 1 in 5 pounds was
spent online. John Lewis on line sales represent 34% total 2015
• According to Derby Telegraph, an increase in SS checkouts ‘will be’ one of
the top 10 things to happen in 2014 along with Indias first mission to
mars and the first solar aircraft to navigate the globe
• Aligns with key developments in marketing theory: most notably SDL ,
value co-creation and customer ‘engagement’ which emphasise customer
‘participation’
If SSTs more widely used the US economy would be $130
billion annually better off,
An extra $1100 of annual income per household
(Source: by US information technology and innovation
foundation 2010)
In the UK: 5.6 billion estimated unpaid labour
as work outsourced to customers. 14.5% working time
spent doing self service tasks (shopping/paying bills/petrol)
customers would earn extra £3600 per person per year if
they did this work somewhere else
(Radio 4 news July 2015)
Case Exercise
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b060zr3g#p
lay
Listen to the documentary and identify the benefits for
consumers and organisations of this ‘engagement’ strategy?
The Facts
• The majority of customers do not appear to enjoy the ‘self
scan’ experience i.e. it does not enhance customer service
• In the NCR survey when asked if retailers offering the
technology provide better service, 39% strongly agreed 22%
disagreed and 39% sat on the fence
• In a recent poll BBC 5 live : 28% of consumers said it was a
‘dream’ but 72% said it was a nightmare 30/09/2014.
• More than 50% consumers think it takes longer to self-scan
(Tensator 2013)
• Forgetful shoppers are leaving an estimated £2.5m at
supermarket self-service tills each year.
So what’s going wrong with this
‘engagement’ strategy?
FACTORY
CUSTOMER
MANAGEMENT
STRATEGY
Motivation
Recruitment
Training and
development
Rewards
Working
Environment
Goal is high performance
and fast throughput
‘I want to perform to the best of my ability,
to produce as many quality products as fast
as I can
Target for experience, motivation
and relevant qualifications
Tailored to skills, experience, performance
and preferred learning style
Related to performance
Minimise disruption
In reality however…….
Recent research
Harris, Baron and LU (2015)
• Survey of 232 S.C.O.T. users in retail
• Three preferred learning styles:
– Regular Reassurance: wanted assistance, liked
opportunity to ask questions, time to reflect on
learning
– Motivated Practice: needed to see clear benefit from
taking part, welcomed the opportunity to practice
and observe others
– Cautious Discovery: preferred to follow a systematic
pattern of learning, liked note-taking and serious
attention to following instructions.
CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT
STRATEGY
Motivation
‘SELF-SCAN’ FACTORY
‘I want to get through as fast as I can with no hassle’
‘I want something to keep my children entertained’
‘I want something interesting to do’
‘I don’t even want to have a go because it puts people
out of work’
Recruitment
No Communicated Strategy
Training and
development
No (limited) training based around individual
learning preferences and prior skills and experience
Rewards
No rewards linked to speed of throughput or
performance
Working
Environment
Minimum attempt to minimise disruption (e.g.
from poor performance of fellow customer
Poorly designed equipment )
Environment
EQUIPMENT DESIGN
“Car park machines that don’t accept card payments or even two pound
coins. The council car parks in Blackpool start at two pound thirty and go
up to twelve pounds for day and who carries twelve pound coins on a day
out to the seaside”.
Mike Blackpool
Try and buy tea spoons from Asda using the self checkout. Please wait for
the assistant. This is an age restricted item. Madness”
“I wont use the self service tills at B and Q as they are frighteningly rude
and aggressive”
Andy
The service as a ‘theatre’
The Theatre Metaphor
Service received by customers is likened to a
performance. Service facilities contain the stage on
which the drama unfolds. Front stage personnel are
members of a cast, playing roles as actors in a drama,
supported by a back-stage team.
Implications of the Application of the
Theatre Metaphor in Services
• Focuses attention on the entire performance, the
holistic consumer experience (the intended effect)
• Encourages creativity in developing service
design and roles and scripts for service employees
• Designing the setting with consideration of the
consumers emotional (affective) and cognitive
responses
Retail interpretations of
theatre
Retail Theatre interpreted as
Installations (visual/digital)
 Engage emotions and senses (a multi- sensory
experience)
 Physical participation and interaction
 Scripts and roles for employees
 Just doing something different
 Or a bit of everything……

How does this compare with
the world of theatre?
4 Theatrical Movements/Performances
Surrealism
Theatrical Realism
Political Realism
Absurd Theatre
Key differences
(Theatre design principles)
1.
Define the ‘experiential goal’ (intended
effect on the audience (customer))
Theatrical
Movement
‘experience goal’
(audience reaction)
Surrealism
The observer should have an emotional
response. Make you feel something
Theatrical
Realism
The observer should believe that what
you see is ‘real’
The audience can look but cant touch
Political
Realism
Audience to participate and interact.
Nothing is real. All for discussion
Absurd
Audience made to think. To have an
individual response
Key differences
1.
Define the ‘experiential goal’ (intended
effect on the audience (customer))
2.
Gestalt
Design to be ‘flexible’
3.
A creative activity
Designing engaging theatrical retail
environments
Map out a design for a retail store
using one of the theatrical styles:
• Book retailer:
• food store: ’
• Fashion store;
• Mobile phone shop:
Sense-ceptor, voyeur, spect-actor, connoisseur
Summary
Engagement strategies differ depending on
whether you use the factory or theatre
metaphors to view the service experience
 Both self service and theatre strategies can be
criticised for their lack of customer focus
