Four distinctive service characteristics greatly affect the design of marketing program for services. The appropriate combination is
Intangibility, inseparability, variability and perishability
The four conventional service characteristics are intangibility, inseparability, variability and perishability. Services cannot be inspected like tangible goods before purchase; production and consumption are often linked; quality can vary with delivery; and unused service capacity cannot be stored for later sale.
| List-1 | List-II |
| (a) Selective distribution | → (i) Convenience items |
| (b) Intensive distribution | → (ii) Consignment, Franchise, symbiotic |
| (c) Exclusive distribution | → (iii) Specialty / high unit value items |
| (d) Special distribution | → (iv) Shopping items |