Servicescape

Servicescape is a concept that was developed by Booms and Bitner to emphasize the impact of the physical environment in which a service process takes place. If you were to try to describe the differences a customer encountered when entering a branch of say like McDonald's compared with a small family restaurant, the concept of servicescapes may prove useful. Booms and Bitner defined a servicescape as "the environment in which the service is assembled and in which the seller and customer interact, combined with tangible commodities that facilitate performance or communication of the service" (Booms and Bitner, 1981, p. 36).

Servicescape may be likened to 'landscape'. It includes facilities exterior (landscape, exterior design, signage, parking, surrounding environment) and facilities interior (interior design & decor, equipment, signage, layout, air quality, temperature and ambiance). Servicescape along with other tangibles like business cards, stationary, billing statements, reports, employee dress, uniforms, brochures, web pages and virtual servicescape forms the 'Physical Evidence' in marketing of services.

Servicescape is not defined as above. The definition above is the definition for physical evidence. Physical evidence consist of servicescape combined with the tangible elements, so servicescape is a part of physical evidence.

References

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*Marketing Strategies and Organization Structures for service firms; Bitner, J and Booms, B; 1981
*Services Marketing;Valarie A. Zeithaml and Mary Jo Bitner;Tata McGraw Hill;2003