Predictability and Personalization in the Service Encounter

Abstract

Service marketers are confronted with two conflicting goals when designing service delivery systems, efficiency and personalization. The relative importance of each factor is determined by the nature of the specific service to be rendered, and by participants’ expectations about degree of personalization. A study was conducted to test two assertions: (1) service personalization is a multidimensional construct and (2) all forms of personalization do not necessarily result in greater consumer satisfaction with the service offering. Three types of personalization strategies were proposed and operationalized in a simulated banking setting. Evaluations of service encounters that differed in the degree and type of personalization employed indicate that personalization is not a unitary phenomenon and must be approached carefully in the context of service design.