Servicescape Strategy

Physical surrounding, also called servicescape coined by Bitner (1992) are fashioned by service organizations to facilitate the provision of service offerings to customers. According to Biggers and Pryor (1982), the elements of physical evidence help to influence perceived performance in the service encounter and also affect the perception of an experience independently of the actual outcome. The physical evidence elements are categorised into four distinct areas: package, facilitator, socialiser, and differentiator. Bitner (1992) defines it as all of the objective physical factors that can be controlled by the firm to enhance (or constrain) employee and customer actions. The first of the four areas is ‘Package’, which conveys the expectations and can also influence consumer perceptions. In regards to Canary Jane’s Flowers, the beautiful interior along with the pretty arrangements of flowers scattered around the shop make for a very appealing flower shop. The scent from the flowers, the subtle music heard in the background and the art deco beautifications all add to the overall package of the servicescape. This is very important for new customers as they need to be persuaded to come back again and again to the store.  

Facilitating the flow of the delivery service is not an easy task. The shop keeper or clerk needs to be able to provide information, carry out the ordering process and also facilitate the delivery service adequately in order to achieve a good servicescape outcome. After visiting Canary Jane’s Flowers in Hawthorn, I was immediately amazed at the vibrancy of colour and the overall presentation of the shop. At a first glance the shop is flustered with different assortments of flowers that range from small garden flowers to a bouquet (See Appendix 5.2). There is also a lot of knick-knacks displayed around the store symbolising the type of quirky style that the shop inhibits. (Aubert-Gamet 1997; Baker 1987). Baker (1987) considers servicescape as “not only a material stimulus but also a social construct containing humans who play a significant role in influencing behaviour”. At Canary Jane’s Flowers the customer and employee relationship is very friendly, together with nice gestures and a friendly greeting the overall experience was very pleasing. The customer service exceeded average expectations, even with many customers at once the store clerk was able to deliver excellent service and kindly told some customers they would be with them in a minute when it was necessary. “It is further postulated that the performance of these social factors within the servicescape can serve to either enhance or inhibit the service experience, thereby leading to the display of either approach or avoidance behaviour by customers” (Aubert-Gamet 1997; Bitner 1992).

The shop face uses a window display to entice customers to look into the store. In the window there is sometimes promotional banners associated with special days of the year such as mother’s day or Valentine’s Day. “In Babin and Attaway’s (2000, p.93) estimation, the servicescape “evokes emotions, which help to determine value, and this value motivates customers to patronize a given choice repeatedly”. The shop face itself is simple, the design is friendly with a natural colour yellow painted over the brick veneer. ‘’According to Bitner (1992), [these] controllable physical factors such as signage, furnishing, layout, colour, cleanliness, scent, music etc. can be systematically manipulated to produce desired effects in the form of a favourable disposition towards the servicescape – and by extension, the providing organization’’ (Arnould, Price & Tierney 1998). Many of these physical factors are present at Canary Jane's Flower shop, flowers themselves give off a vibrant colour array that entices consumers as well as the scent of the flowers which smells inviting. Together with other factors like colour and cleanliness the shop has the desired expectations of consumers and also influences the perceptions of customers with its package physical elements clearly evident at the flower shop. The shop window at the front of the store displays the logo on the glass and there’s a bunch of flowers lining the bottom of the window. Inside there’s a whole display of cups and other products for sale which can easily catch the eye of a passing consumer. The overall style of the shop is art deco (1950s) posters hang in one corner of the store and the floor is a black and white tile pattern. Once inside the store it is easy to tell that is no ordinary florist, every inch of the store is taken up with products that create this sense of organised chaos. As well as the flowers odour filling the small store space there are also hand creams and scented candles that fill up the room with a love aroma of jasmine, rosemary and other flowery type scents.

“Whilst accepting the importance of servicescape variables, Kotler (1973) contends that there is no ideal servicescape composition for all industries. He argues that since each market is made up of customers with varying tastes, servicescape composition should be based on (a) the target audience, (b) what that target audience is seeking from the buying experience, (c) the servicescape variables that can fortify emotional reactions sought by the buyers and (d) the ability of the servicescape to compete with the servicescape of competitors” (Kotler, 1973). Largely the servicescape of Canary Jane’s Flowers is quite simple is design and style, using the 50s art-deco theme reveals a different experience than customers are used to. The retro style that the store so beautifully represents is like stepping into a time machine and the experience is unlike what you could expect in ordinary florist shops. The experience transitions your typical perception of a florist from entrance to pre-purchase to exit and post-purchase, you come away feeling satisfied, and therefore all the elements of servicescape have an impact on the services quality.

References:

Bitner, M 1992, 'Servicescapes: The Impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and Employees',Journal of Marketing, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 57-71.

Baker, J 1987, 'The Role of the Environment in Marketing Services: The Consumer Perspective', in J Czepial, C Congram & J Shanahan (ed.), The Services Challenge, 1st ed, American Marketing Association, Chicago, pp. 79-84.

Aubert‐Gamet, V 1997, 'Twisting servicescapes: diversion of the physical environment in a re‐appropriation process', Int J of Service Industry Mgmt, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 26-41.

Babin, B & Attaway, J 2000, 'Atmospheric Affect as a Tool for Creating Value and Gaining Share of Customer', Journal of Business Research, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 91-99.

Arnould, E, Price, L & Tierney, P 1998, 'Communicative Staging of the Wilderness Servicescape', The Service Industries Journal, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 90-115.

Kotler, P 1973, 'Atmospherics as a marketing tool', Journal of Retailing, vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 48-64.