Introductory description

This module will aim to challenge thinking about the underlying principles of marketing by exploring aspects such as customer experience (CX), servitisation, service innovation and user experience (UX).

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Indicative syllabus:
Creating experience-led value propositions
The international market and its implications for customer expectation
Customer Journey Mapping
Customer Insight
Creating a customer-centric culture
Customer Relationship Management
Service Innovation
User Experience
User experience and multichannel management
Business purpose: aligning employee engagement, customer experience and corporate sustainability

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Understand the central arguments of service science and customer experience and critically evaluate their role, usefulness and applicability in a marketing and business context.
• Demonstrate understanding of the theory of marketing and how it can be applied to the marketing of service.
• Demonstrate how service innovation contributes to the overall impact of marketing strategies and initiatives.
• Demonstrate understanding of user experience and how it can be applied to creating value in the customer experience.
• Critically evaluate the principles and theory underpinning service marketing and customer experience.
• Learn to apply and critically evaluate the concepts, tools and frameworks for analysing services and customer experience.

Indicative reading list

As an emerging area, there will be no core text for this module. However, readings will be selected from relevant top class academic journals and credible industry literature.
Examples include
Pine, B.J. and Gilmore, J.H. (1998). Welcome to the experience economy. Harvard Business Review, 76, 97-105.
Reichheld, F.F. (2003). The one number you need to grow. Harvard Business Review, 81(12), 46-55.
Vargo, S. L., & Lusch, R. F. (2004). Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. Journal of Marketing, 68(1), 1-17.
Verhoef, P.C., Lemon, K.N., Parasuraman, A., Roggeveen, A., Tsiros, M. and Schlesinger, L.A. (2009). Customer experience creation: Determinants, dynamics and management strategies. Journal of Retailing, 85(1), 31-41.
Lemke, F., Clark, M. & Wilson, H. (2011) Customer experience quality: An exploration in business and consumer contexts using repertory grid technique. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39, 846-869.
Macdonald, E.K., Wilson, H. & Konus, U. (2012) Better customer insight – in real time. Harvard Business Review, 90(9), 102-108.
Champniss, G., Wilson, H. & Macdonald, E. (2015). Why your customers’ social identities matter. Harvard Business Review, 93(1/2), 88-96.
Lemon, K.N. and Verhoef, P.C. (2016) Understanding customer experience throughout the customer journey. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), 69-96.
Macdonald, E., Kleinaltenkamp, M. & Wilson, H.N. (2016). How business customers judge solutions: solution quality and value in use. Journal of Marketing, 80(3), 96-120.

Subject specific skills

Understand how to apply a range of practical frameworks in order to create value through service and customer
experience.
Diagnose the extent to which a corporate culture is experience-led.
Demonstrate specific experience-management skills including use of consumer insight data and customer journey mapping.
Demonstrate an ability to apply emerging theoretical approaches to practical customer experience challenges.

Transferable skills

Written communication.