Gap 1.Not knowing what customers expect
Customer expectations
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Inadequate marketing research orientation
Insufficient marketing research
Research not focused on service quality
Inadequate use of market research
Lack of upward communication
Lack of interaction between management and customers
Insufficient communication between contact employees and managers Too many layers between contact personnel and top management Insufficient relationship focus
Lack of market segmentation
Focus on transactions rather than relationships
Focus on new customers rather than relationship customers
Inadequate service recovery
Lack of encouragement to listen to customer complaints
Failure to make amends when things go wrong
No appropriate recovery mechanisms in place for service failures↓
Company perceptions of customer expectations
Gap 2 .Not having the right service quality designsCustomer-driven service designs and standards↑
Poor service design
Unsystematic new service development proce
Vague, undefined service designs
Failure to connect service design to service positioning
Absence of customer-driven standards
Lack of customer-driven service standards
Absence of proce management to focus on customer requirements Absence of formal proce for setting service quality goals
Inappropriate physical evidence and services-cape
Failure to develop tangibles in line with customer expectations
Services-cape design that does not meet customer and employee needs Inadequate maintenance and updating of the services-cape
↓
Management perceptions of customer expectation
Gap 3 .Not delivering to service designs and standardsCustomer-driven service designs and standards
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Deficiencies in human resource policies
Ineffective recruitment
Role ambiguity and role conflict
Poor employee-technology job fit
Inappropriate evaluation and compensation systems
Lack of empowerment, perceived control, and teamwork
Customers who do not fulfill roles
Customers who lack knowledge of their roles and responsibilities
Customers who negatively impact each other
Problems with service intermediaries
Channel conflict over objectives and performance
Difficulty controlling quality and consistency
Tension between empowerment and control
Failure to match supply and demand
Failure to smooth peaks and valleys of demand
Inappropriate customer mix
Overreliance on price to smooth demand
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Service delivery
Gap 4.Not matching performance to promises
Service delivery
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Lack of integrated services marketing communications
Tendency to view each external communication as independent
Not including interactive marketing in communications plan
Absence of strong internal marketing program
Ineffective management of customer expectations
Absence of customer expectation management through all forms of communication
Lack of adequate education for customers
Overpromising
Overpromising in advertising
Overpromising in personal selling
Overpromising through physical evidence cues
Inadequate horizontal communications
Insufficient communication between sales and operations
Insufficient communication between advertising and operations
Differences in policies and procedures acro branches or units
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External communications to customers
The Evolution of Customer Relationships
① Customer as strangers
The primary goal with these potential customers is to initiate communication with them in order to attract them and acquire their busine.
② Customer as acquaintances
A primary goal of the firm at this stage of the relationship is satisfying the customer.
③ Customer as friends
A primary goal for firms at the friendship stage of the relationship is customer retention.
④ Customers as partners
The key to succe in the partnership stage is the firm’s ability to organize and use information about individual customers more effectively than competitors.
Benefits for Customers:Benefits for Firms:
Receipt of greater valueEconomic benefits:
Confidence benefits:increased revenues
trustreduced marketing and
confidence in provideradministrative costs
reduced anxietyregular revenue stream
Social benefits:Customer behavior benefits:
familiaritystrong word-of-mouth endorsements social supportcustomer voluntary performance personal relationshipocial benefits to other customersmentors to other customers
Special treatment benefits:Human resource management benefits: special dealseasier jobs for employees
price breakocial benefits for employees
employee retention
Relationship Bonds
Level 1—Financial bonds
① Volume and frequency rewards
② Stable pricing
③ Bundling and cro selling
Level 2—Social bonds
① Continuous relationships
② Personal relationships
③ Social bonds among customers
Level 3—Customization bonds
① Customer intimacy
② Ma customization
③ Anticipation/ innovation
Level 4—Structural bonds
① Shared procees and equipment
② Joint investments
③ Integrated information systems
Service Recovery Strategies
① Make the service fail-safe
② Encourage and Track Complaints
③ Act Quickly
1.Take care of problems on the front line
2.Empower employees
3.Allow customers to solve their own problems
④ Provide Adequate Explanations ⑤ Treat Customers Fairly
⑥ Cultivate Relationships with Customers ⑦ Learn from Recovery Experiences ⑧ Learn from Lost Customers
