Consumer’s today are increasingly demanding. Not only wanting high quality products but expecting high quality customer service.
Delivering superior value to the customer should be the prime concern of business Managers. This not only includes the actual physical product but their customer service component as well. Products that do not offer and integrate good quality customer service that meets the expectations of consumers are difficult to sustain in a competitive market.
SERVQUAL (service quality gap model) is a gap assessment method of understanding service quality measurement. It’s a tool that can be used by Managers across all industries. The aim of this model is to Identify the gaps between a customer’s expectation and the actual services provided at different stages of service delivery and then to close the gap and improve the customer service
This model developed by Parasuraman, Zeithalm and Berry in 1985 identifies five different gaps:
1. The Customer Gap: The Gap between Customer Expectations and Customer Perceptions.
The customer gap is the difference between customer expectations and customer perceptions. Customer expectation is what the customer expects according to available resources and is influenced by cultural background, family lifestyle, personality, demographics, advertising, experience with similar products and information available online. Customer perception is totally subjective and is based on the customer’s interaction with the product or service. Perception is derived from the customer’s satisfaction of the specific product or service and the quality of service delivery. The customer gap is the most important gap and in an ideal world the customer’s expectation would be almost identical to the customer’s perception. In a customer orientated strategy, delivering a quality service for a specific product should be based on a clear understanding of the target market. Understanding customer needs and knowing customer expectations could be the best way to close the gap.
2. The Knowledge Gap: The Gap between Consumer Expectation and Management Perception
The knowledge gap is the difference between the customer’s expectations of the service provided and the company’s provision of the service. In this case, managers are not aware or have not correctly interpreted the customer’s expectation in relation to the company’s services or products. If a knowledge gap exists, it may mean companies are trying to meet wrong or non-existing consumer needs. In a customer-orientated business, it is important to have a clear understanding of the consumer’s need for service. To close the gap between the consumer’s expectations for service and management’s perception of service delivery will require comprehensive market research.
3. The Policy Gap: The Gap between Management Perception and Service Quality Specification
According to Kasper et al, this gap reflects management’s incorrect translation of the service policy into rules and guidelines for employees. Some companies experience difficulties translating consumer expectation into specific service quality delivery. This can include poor service design, failure to maintain and continually update their provision of good customer service or simply a lack of standardisation. This gap may see consumers seek a similar product with better service elsewhere.
4. The Delivery Gap: The Gap between Service Quality Specification and Service Delivery
This gap exposes the weakness in employee performance. Organisations with a Delivery Gap may specify the service required to support consumers but have subsequently failed to train their employees, put good processes and guidelines in action. As a result, employees are ill equipped to manage consumer’s needs. Some of the problems experienced if there is a delivery gap are that employees lack of product knowledge and have difficulty managing customer questions and issues, or Organisations have poor human resource policies or there is a lack of cohesive teams and the inability to deliver
5. The Communication Gap: The Gap between Service Delivery and External Communications
In some cases, promises made by companies through advertising media and communication raise customer expectations. When over-promising in advertising does not match the actual service delivery, it creates a communication gap. Consumers are disappointed because the promised service does not match the expected service and consequently may seek alternative product sources.
Effective customer service management is a complex undertaking which includes many different strategies, skills and tasks. Managers plan for creating the best products and operational excellence to maximize customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention. Recognising and closing gaps offers high quality customer service to the consumer and helps them to achieve their goal whilst maximising market position, market share and financial results through customer satisfaction. It also helps managers to identify areas of weakness and make improvements to a company’s service delivery. This tool allows product managers to take information gleaned from gap analysis to develop or refine products that are both compelling to customers and distinct from competitors.