2020-2021 / MARK9303-1

Services and Brand Management

Durée

36h Th

Nombre de crédits

 Master en sales management, à finalité (en alternance)4 crédits  

Enseignant

Cécile Delcourt, Laurence Dessart

Langue(s) de l'unité d'enseignement

Langue anglaise

Organisation et évaluation

Enseignement au deuxième quadrimestre

Horaire

Horaire en ligne

Unités d'enseignement prérequises et corequises

Les unités prérequises ou corequises sont présentées au sein de chaque programme

Contenus de l'unité d'enseignement

Approximately 78% of the Belgian GDP and 80% of employment are derived from services brands (Wilson et al. 2016). Even product-dominant firms are now turning into service brand companies; services are indeed becoming critical for competitive advantage in companies across the globe and in all industry sectors. For instance, revenues and profits of manufacturers like GE, Michelin, and IBM are now primarily derived from services.
 
This course addresses two interconnected and key issues: brand management and service management. Essentially, the course covers key principles of brand management, as well as services management. On the one hand, the course uncovers the foundations of brand management, the importance and role of brands, and how to value, build and grow them in a highly competitive, disrupted and digital world. On the other hand, a specific focus is placed on services, looking at marketing through a different lens. Services are different. Service organizations therefore require a distinctive approach to marketing. In this class, you will learn how quality is evaluated in service firms, why expectations are important to service consumers, why people (both employees and consumers) are essential to service success, how the physical environment and service design influence service delivery, and how services firms should recover from failure. In essence, you will be exposed to and learn a new way of thinking about marketing.

Acquis d'apprentissage (objectifs d'apprentissage) de l'unité d'enseignement

After taking this course, you shall be able to understand:

  • what brands are, their key components and role as key company assets
  • the core brand management concepts, such as brand equity, image and reputation
  • how to manage brand portfolios and strategies
  • how to build, grow and protect your brand
  • the role that consumers play in shaping brand meaning
  • what services are, the differences between services and physical products, and how these differences translate into strategic direction
  • how service consumers' expectations are formed, how their perceptions are developed, and what quality means in service delivery
  • how to listen to your consumers and build service brand relationships with them
  • the role of physical evidence in service delivery and how to best design services
  • the important roles of employees, consumers, and technology in service encounters and brand management, and how to manage them
This course specifically contributes to the following Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO):
  • ILO-2: Gaining the knowledge and understanding of one of the proposed fields of concentration or to gain deep knowledge in the field of the management being already specialized through a first University Master Degree.
  • ILO-4: To acquire the capacity to research autonomously and methodically the information needed to solve a complex, transversal management problem.
  • ILO-5: Integrate autonomously researched information, tools, knowledge and context to build and propose, either individually or as part of a team, original, creative and viable solutions to concrete complex management problems, whether real or simulated, taking into account, when necessary, the human, social and legal context.
  • ILO-7: Being capable of professional team work.
  • ILO-9: Developing a critical sense.
  • ILO-10: Developing a transversal, global vision. 
  • ILO-11: Creative conception of solutions.
  • ILO-12: Professional capacity for oral communication.
  • ILO-13: Professional capacity for written communication.  

Savoirs et compétences prérequis

You should have sucessfully followed an introductory course of marketing.

Activités d'apprentissage prévues et méthodes d'enseignement

Class will consist of a combination of theoretical lectures, case studies, scientific articles presentations, group projects, guest lecture, and participative discussions/activities.

Mode d'enseignement (présentiel, à distance, hybride)

To be confirmed in due time.

Adaptations organisationnelles liées au contexte sanitaire

To be confirmed in due time.

Lectures recommandées ou obligatoires et notes de cours

The course material is composed of the various resources posted on Lol@, including:

  • Power point slides
  • Multimedia content (podcasts, videos, ...)
  • Academic articles
The following articles will be presented in class.
  • Berry, L. L. (2000). Cultivating service brand equity. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28(1), 128-137.
  • Brakus, J. J., Schmitt, B. H., & Zarantonello, L. (2009). Brand experience: what is it? How is it measured? Does it affect loyalty? Journal of Marketing, 73(3), 52-68.
  • L & Cova, B. (forthcoming). Brand repulsion: consumers' boundary work with rejected brands, European Journal of Marketing.
  • Holmlund, M., Van Vaerenbergh, Y., Ciuchita, R., Ravald, A., Sarantopoulos, P., Ordenes, F. V., & Zaki, M. (2020). Customer experience management in the age of big data analytics: A strategic framework. Journal of Business Research, 116, 356-365.
  • Johnston, R. (1995). The determinants of service quality: satisfiers and dissatisfiers. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 6(5), 53-71.
  • Keaveney, S. M. (1995). Customer switching behavior in service industries: An exploratory study. Journal of Marketing, 59(2), 71-82.
  • Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, Measuring and Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 1-22.
  • Lemon, K. N., & Verhoef, P. C. (2016). Understanding Customer Experience Throughout the Customer Journey. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), 69-96.
  • Swaminathan, V., Sorescu, A., Steenkamp, J. B. E., O'Guinn, T. C. G., & Schmitt, B. (2020). Branding in a hyperconnected world: Refocusing theories and rethinking boundaries. Journal of Marketing, 84(2), 24-46.
  • Schau, H. J., Muñiz Jr., A. M., & Arnould, E. J. (2009). How Brand Community Practices Create Value. Journal of Marketing, 73(5), 30-51.
  • Sultan, A. J. (2018). Orchestrating service brand touchpoints and the effects on relational outcomes. Journal of Services Marketing, 32(6), 777-788.
  • Wirtz, J., & Zeithaml, V. (2018). Cost-effective service excellence. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 46(1), 59-80.
  • Xu, X., & Li, Y. (2016). The antecedents of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction toward various types of hotels: A text mining approach. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 55, 57-69.
The following books are also used as references. Those readings, as well as purchasing the books, are non-compulsory.
  • Brand part: Beverland, M. (2018). Brand management: Co-creating meaningful brands. Sage, London.
  • Service part: Wilson, Zeithaml, Bitner, Gremler (2016), Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm, 3rd European edition, McGrawHill

Modalités d'évaluation et critères

Vous trouverez ci-dessous les modalités d'évaluation envisagées pour les examens en présentiel et à distance ainsi que celle souhaitée en cas de session hybride. En fonction de l'évolution sanitaire, la modalité choisie vous sera communiquée au plus tard un mois avant le début de la session d'examen.

Grades in this course will be based on the following components:

  • Service Brand Challenge (in group): 50%
  • Final individual examination on the whole material: 50%
  • Bonus for (constructive) class participation (malus can be applied too in case of, for example, misbehavior). Please note that simply attending the class is not enough to receive a bonus. Instead, I expect you to add to the class environment by sharing your experiences and thoughts so that everyone benefits 50om your participation.
Important notes:

Stage(s)

Remarques organisationnelles

Participation in learning activities: Given the importance of taking part in the activities, the Article 37(§2) from the 'Academic and Examination Regulations' of the University of Liege is applicable. According to this article, we may declare students inadmissible for exams if they did not (1) submit their work in due time, or (2) take part in the core learning activities. In particular: Students who did not actively participate in and present the "Service Brand Challenge" (group project) are not allowed to take the final examination. Thus, students have to present the service brand challenge to take the final examination.
Class attendance: Because class participation is key (and taken into consideration in the final evaluation), attendance is strongly recommended. The more you participate in this course, the more you will reap the benefits of this course.

Contacts

PROFESSORS
Prof. Dr. Cécile DELCOURT, Associate Professor in Marketing Email: Cecile.Delcourt@uliege.be
Prof. Dr. Laurence DESSART, Assistant Professor in Marketing Email: Laurence.Dessart@uliege.be
ASSISTANT
Lisa BAIWIR, Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in Marketing Email: Lisa.Baiwir@uliege.be
Office hours: By appointment only.