What Is Service/Good Analysis?

Researchers have begun to demonstrate substantial differences between services marketing and goods marketing. However, substantial changes or improvements in services-marketing strategy tend to follow slowly. The authors offer an example of how a service product can be analyzed, using knowledge of the product and applicable marketing literature, to determine which of a service product's marketing characteristics are more like a good than a service. It is suggested that such determination allows researchers and strategists to more effectively use secondary research on both goods and services in developing projects and tasks, even for service products that are considered pure services. By analyzing the research- and strategy-related characteristics of private passenger automobile insurance, because it is a pervasive product that is traditionally considered a pure service, the authors suggest that Service/Good analysis is the superior method to develop good service strategy. Managerial applications of th is type of analysis are also presented.