Course overview
As economies around the world become more service oriented, so does the importance of studying and integrating all aspects of marketing and managing services. This acknowledges that individuals operate in larger service systems and value networks. These developments are unfolding at the intersection between international services marketing and digital marketing.
Despite the recognized importance of service industries, the role service marketing plays in today’s firms largely differs across industries. They pertain to your interactions with an employee at the bank, but also to transferring money via your bank account on a mobile device. Even a trivial thing such as ordering coffee via Amazon is nowadays seen as a service interaction. In contrast, visiting your doctor or attending a new MSc at a university are more transformative services, having an impact on your well-being and the way in which your life will take shape. Even manufacturers known for producing tangible goods are now deciding to move towards services. IBM, for example, initially known for its servers, moved to offering consultancy services, and more lately AI. Naturally, moving towards offering services for large multinationals such as Procter and Gamble, known for its fast-moving consumer goods, is fundamentally different from firms offering more transformative healthcare, educational or legal services.
In this module you will learn about customers, patients, employees and other stakeholders in the service arena and familiarise yourself with state-of-the-art insights in service research. To bridge theory and industry practice, this module is specifically designed to combine innovative developments in scientific service research with exciting challenges faced by managerial service practice today
What does this course cover?
This module presents you with the opportunity to develop an in-depth knowledge of services marketing (and management) in an international and digital context, based on state-of-the-art insights in present-day service research. In order to translate these insights into industry practice, the module will introduce you to the exciting challenges faced by contemporary managerial practice in the form of case studies and a coursework assignment. The module aims to provide you with the following:
- An in-depth understanding of the foundations of a service orientation.
- Insights on the centrality of service systems and business model innovation.
- An introduction to the phenomenon of transformative services and their characteristics.
- A familiarity with service process design through customer journey mapping.
- A focus on the role of augmented and virtual reality in the off- and online servicescape.
- Recommend sound strategic solutions to real-life services marketing problems.
What will I achieve?
By the end of the module, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the foundations of a service orientation.
- Express insights on the centrality of service systems and business model innovation.
- Describe and analyse the phenomenon of transformative services and their particular characteristics.
- Assess the role of service branding in the international and digital market space.
- Discuss the essentials of customer-employee interactions across multiple delivery channels.
- Demonstrate familiarity with service process design through customer journey mapping.
- Discuss the role of augmented and virtual reality in the off- and online servicescape.
- Discuss the centrality of capturing, measuring and recovering value for customers.
- Develop a broad range of skills including, professional presentation, analytic thinking, academic writing, communication skills, teamwork and leadership skills.
- Critically evaluate potential strategic options and recommend sound strategic solutions to real-life services marketing problems.
Who is this for?
The standard entry requirements comprise:
- A 2:2 honours degree or international equivalent,
- A CV and personal statement outlining your reasons for study,
- English language band B (for example, IELTS 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in each skill).
How will I be assessed?
You will be assessed by via coursework and examination, as follows:
- Coursework 1 = 70%
- Coursework 2 = 10%
- Examination 1 = 10%
- Examination 2 = 10%
What is the teaching schedule?
This module is delivered online and includes a variety of interactive activities to support learning. This includes discussion forums, online readings, interactive lectures, videos, quizzes, reflections, guest speakers, and online webinars. You can join live webinars, typically held on Tuesday lunchtimes, but if you are unable to attend you will be able to catch up via recordings.
You will be expected to undertake approximately 150 hours of study in total for this module.
Further information
This module is offered as part of our flexible master’s awards in Professional Development. The awards are one of the most flexible currently offered in the UK, providing the opportunity to study a range of modules from across King’s, both on-campus and online. Whether you are looking for a promotion or to retrain, you have come to the right place.
Designed for mature professionals juggling life and work commitments, our postgraduate awards will enable you to study at your own pace. In challenging financial times, you are also able to fund your studies module-by-module. We will support you to select the right module diet that meets your objectives while ensuring that you are well prepared for success. We will also help you to build your professional network of peers from across our suite of CPD modules.
We can’t wait for you to continue your lifelong learning journey here at King’s.