The Customer Satisfaction Model is a set of causal equations that link perceived quality, perceived value and customer expectations to customer satisfaction. The customer satisfaction model is linked, in turn, to its consequences in terms of customer complaints and customer loyalty. This model is based on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which is one of the best-in-breed solutions for customer satisfaction measurement that is tied directly to financial performance. The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is the leading national indicator of customer satisfaction with goods and services in the U.S. economy. The ACSI was developed by the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business. The dependent variable in this conceptual model is customer satisfaction, while the independent variables are perceived quality, perceived value and customer expectations. Customer complaints and customer loyalty are the results (consequences) of this conceptual framework. Perceived quality is the first determinant of customer satisfaction, Continue reading
Services Marketing
The SERVQUAL Model – Definition, Dimensions, Gaps, Advantages and Disadvantages
Knowing the customer(s) is the key to a successful customer service as the idea is to create, deliver and communicate superior value. The service and/or products offer should answer to the needs and demands. Customers are the most important people for any organization. They are the resources upon which the success of the business depends. Understanding customers are necessary not only because of their effect on marketing decisions but because customers’ activities influence the entire organization. When thinking about the importance of customers it’s useful to remember the following points: Repeat business is the backbone of selling. It helps to provide revenue and certainty for the business; Organizations are dependent upon their customers. If they do not develop customer loyalty and satisfaction, they could lose their customers; Without customers the organization would not exist; The purpose of the organization is to fulfill the needs of the customers; The customer makes Continue reading
Services Marketing Mix – The 7 P’s of Services Marketing
Marketing mix is the key concept in the marketing task. It is the strategy used to perform marketing functions. Marketing mix is the planned package of elements which will support the organization in reaching its target markets and specific objectives. The common factor behind all the elements of marketing mix is that they are specific parameters which the marketing manager can exercise some control over, within the constraints of their firm’s resources. For example, the marketing manager can control the type of product to be developed, subject to the firm’s technology, as well as the places it is sold, subject to the firm’s distribution network. Ultimately, the aim of the marketing mix is to ensure that all P’s are focused on the target customers, serving their needs and creating value for them Elements of Services Marketing Mix The services marketing mix is also known as an extended marketing mix and Continue reading
Services Marketing Triangle
A service is any act or performance that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product. Furthermore, service marketing can be defined as the marketing of activities and processes rather than objects. As services are mainly intangible products, they face a host of services marketing problems that are not always adequately solved by traditional goods-related marketing solutions. Services Marketing Triangle The services marketing triangle was created to handle the complexity that service marketers face when dealing with intangible products. The service marketing triangle highlights three key players, these are; Company: The management of a company, including full-time marketers and sales personnel. This is enabled through continuous development and internal marketing with their employees. Employees: This includes anyone that is working within close contact of the consumer. They Continue reading
Service Process Planning
The following are the strategic decision and design elements must be considered in the service process planning. Basic technological decision Conversion/ Market decision Specific equipment decision Process flow decision Blue Prints Flowchart Front and Back office Layouts Bench marks People decision 1. Basic Technological Decision In some, technology exists but not only in customerised form. So the question arises :whether the technology available can be developed to provide the raw material, process and equipment to deliver the service? For example , at one time it was possible to design printed electronic circuits on small chips, but the technology and specific equipment required to produce the chips are beyond the state of act. In the same way telephone was invented in 1876, but the technology came into use after 15 years from the invention of telephone dial. 2. Conversion/ Market Decision The decision on conversion process is complex as it depends Continue reading
The Gap Model of Service Quality
The Gap Model of Service Quality has been developed by Parasuraman and his colleagues which helps to identify the gaps between the perceived service qualities that customers receive and what they expect. Read More: Service Quality The Gap Model of Service Quality identifies five gaps: Consumer expectation — management perception gap. Management perception — service quality expectation gap. Service quality specifications — service delivery gap. Service delivery — external communications to consumer’s gap. Expected service — perceived service gap. Gap — 5 is the service quality shortfall as seen by the customers, and gaps 1-4 are shortfalls within the service organization. Thus gaps 1-4 contribute to gap — 5. These gaps are given in the following figure: The first gap is the difference between consumer expectations and management perceptions of consumer expectations. Research shows that financial service organizations often treat issues of privacy as relatively unimportant, whilst consumers consider them Continue reading