SERVICES MARKETING

ASSIGNMENT

SUBMITTED BY:
Syed Ali Rizwan
04151713014
BSBA 7th A

SUBMITTED TO:
Dr. Ali Raza

Quaid-e-Azam School of Management Sciences

Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad

GAP 1: Listening Gap
The knowledge gap is the difference between the customer’s expectations of the service and the
company’s provision of that service.
This gap arises when the management or service provider does not correctly analyze what the customer
wants or needs. It also arises due to insufficient communication between contact employees and
managers. There is a lack of market segmentation. This Gap occurs due to insufficient market research.
For Instance- A café owner may think that the consumer wants a better ambience in the café, but the
consumer is more concerned about the coffee and food they serve.
Example:
If Netflix were to suffer from this gap then it could be because they don’t offer the right amount of newer
titles to their customer. If Pizzahut were to suffer from this gap then it could be because they don’t offer
pecan pie. In both cases, customers expect these things but they simply aren’t offered.
Factors that affect the size of the listening gap include:

• Market research: Before introducing a new product or service into the market, a company must
conduct market research to understand whether there would be any demand for the product, and
what features should be incorporated. The better this process is conducted, the smaller the
knowledge gap will be. There are methods of ensuring that customer desires are taken on board.
These include comprehensive studies, gauging satisfaction after individual transactions (surveys
immediately after a purchase is made), customer panels and interviews, and through customer
complaints.
• Communication channels: The fewer the layers between management and customer contact
personnel, the more likely that customer preferences will be incorporated into higher-level
decision making on the product.
Strategies to minimize this gap include:
The first strategy is to listen to customers in multiple ways through customer research and employee
upward communication. Such research includes the full range of traditional marketing research methods
such as surveys, focus groups, and complaint handling. There have also been research methods uniquely
useful in service situations such as SERVQUAL surveys, mystery shopping, and critical incidents
analysis. A distinguishing factor between marketing research on goods and services is that services
research must capture human performance.

GAP 2: The design and standard gap:

This is when the management or service provider might correctly perceive what the customer wants, but
may not set a performance standard. An example here would be that hospital administrators may tell the
nurse to respond to a request ‘fast’, but may not specify ‘how fast’.
The second gap in the service quality framework in the policy gap, reflecting the difference between
management’s perception of customer expectations and actual customer service specifications. In this
scenario, management may have an accurate understanding of customer expectations but that
understanding hasn’t been effectively implemented as operating policy. Specificity is the key here. For
example, an expectation that the phone be answered in a timely manner is open to interpretation. Is
“timely” 2 rings or 3? What if service personnel are already working with customers? For clarity and
operational effectiveness, policies should be developed with the SMART – Specific, Measurable,
Actionable, Relevant and Timely – goal-setting acronym is mind. Note, however, that situational factors
can complicate matters. Policy that is actionable when things go according to plan may not work when
staff calls in sick or there’s an unexpected influx of customers or a power outage or [fill in the blank].
SMART is good. Hiring employees who are able – and empowered – to improvise to achieve the overall
customer satisfaction objective is best. Consider whether you should factor in Nordstrom’s Rule #1: “Use
best judgment in all situations.”[1] It’s not appropriate for all circumstances, but if so, by all means factor
in a personal judgement override.
In order to address the policy-practice gap, companies should clarify, train on, measure and reward
performance relative to customer service standards. To be specific:

• Clearly articulate service levels and business (i.e., budget) assumptions

• Develop, communicate and train to specific customer service standards
• Factor service level performance into evaluations for all related personnel
• Measure performance and adjust resources as required to meet service level objectives
• Monitor industry service level standards and update policy as appropriate