CHAPTER 4: CUSTOMERS, STAKEHOLDERS AND GAP ANALYSIS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

■ Understand who the customer is, and appreciate the customer’s needs, perceptions and what gives
satisfaction ■ Determine the stakeholders to the event and identify the challenges they present ■
Undertake an analysis of what you can provide and what is expected by the stakeholders and customers

WHO IS THE CUSTOMER?

Quite simply, without a customer no service can be performed. Kandampully (2002) believes that service
quality can be defined as the extent to which a service meets the expectations of customers. But who
are our customers?

Kandampully divides customers into four broad groups: 1. Internal customers – employees and
managers of the firm 2. External customers – a firm’s end customers 3. Competitors’ customers – those
who the firm would like to attract 4. Ex-customers – those who are now going elsewhere (and therefore
are no longer our customers).

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

When introducing the concept of customer satisfaction, it has to be understood that the basic
requirement of any service, for customers, is that the service must meet their specifications, secondly
that it will meet cost expectations, and thirdly that it is timely. Specification – providing customers with
what they expect to receive or are prepared to accept – is the essential requirement. In consideration of
Wild’s (2002) dimensions, customers will also be concerned with the reliability of the service.

For example, will it be as experienced before, does its reputation live up to the reality? Is the design of
the event relevant and appropriate? Regarding cost, the customer will evaluate the product or service
received in terms of its overall expected costs, including any additional expenses. As for time, is the
timing of the event appropriate? What is the duration of the event? Is there a delay between agreeing
on a brief for an event and it being confirmed in writing? Delay is often unacceptable to a customer, and
reduces overall customer satisfaction.

ASSESSING CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

What is acceptable or reasonable will always be open to question and will depend on how important the
service is to the customer and the alternatives available. Thompson (2001) says that one element of
success is for an organization to meet the needs and expectations of its stakeholders. Therefore an
event manager needs an understanding of what those needs are, and a mixture of common sense and
competency in order to satisfy these needs. The critical success factors are those aspects that external
customers consider essential in fulfilling their requirements.Usually customers will accept, or tolerate, a
service that does not perfectly meet their requirements. The amount of tolerance will be dependent on
what the competition is offering or, if there is no immediate competition, what the alternatives are.
Customers might be prepared to trade some specification for cost or availability for specific dates.

WHAT ARE STAKEHOLDERS?

Wright (2001) believes that knowing who the stakeholders are and how their concerns might affect the
operation of an organization is becoming more and more critical. He defines a stakeholder as anyone
who has an interest in what an organization does. This might seem a very broad definition, and indeed it
is. Funds for an event may come from local authorities or charities initially investing in a fundraising
event, or sponsors, racecourse venues etc. The body that provides the funds obviously has a stake in the
efficiency of the operation. These stakeholders – the fund providers – should and increasingly do seek
value for money. In their eyes, value for money includes not only providing a level of service to the
customer, but also the efficient use of resources.