Q.4. Write a short note on a goods-services continuum. Or Explain the concept of the goods-services continuum
Ans. Goods-services Continuum: It enables marketers to see total products’ relative goods/services composition. A product position on the continuum, in turn, allows marketers to spot opportunities. At the pure goods ends of the continuum, goods with no related services are positioned. At the pu services, the future is services that are not associated with physical products. Products that are a combination of goods and services fall between the two ends.
In the goods-services continuum, services can be classified under the range or degree of tangibility-highly tangible to highly intangible.
1. Highly Tangible Services: They have a high degree of tangibility because services are rendered on certain goods, e.g. car rentals. It is a service-based entirely on cars. If a place had no vehicles, such a service would cease to exist. For the marketer, it is both a boon and a curse.
2. Service Linked to Tangible Goods: In this, the service is linked to goods independently as a part of the marketer’s offer. The service becomes a part of the total product concept if it is the latter. This occurs when Videocon, the home appliance company, includes repair as part of its marketing m 3. Highly Intangible Services: In this classification under the continuum model, service is high intangible. The services cannot be touched, felt or seen—for example, counselling, psychotherapy, physiotherapy, etc.
Most business theorists see a continuum with pure service on one terminal point and pure commodity goods on the other terminal point. Like economists, marketers also view goods and services as two ends of a continuum.