Gap Model in Services Marketing

The GAP MODEL in SERVICES MARKETING GAP 1 The gap between the customer expected service and company perception of customer expectation. |Inadequate market research. |Design, conduct and implement appropriate market research. | |Poor communication between customers and management and between|Design and implement an upward communications programme. | |front line employees and managers. | | |Lack of, or poor marker segmentation. Build customer relationships through market segmentation | | |techniques and customer retention strategies | |Focus on transactions rather than relationships. | | | | | |Focus on new customers rather than existing customers. | | GAP 2 The gap between company perception of customer expectations and development of customer driven service designs and standards. |Lack of standardization of Service behavior &|Reengineering | |actions. | | | | | |Lack of formal process for setting service |Establish the Service Encounter sequence | |quality goals. | | | | |Lack of customer defined standards. |Identify existing or desired service encounter sequence. | | | | | |Translate customer expectations into behaviors and actions. | | | | |Select behavior and actions for standards | | | | | |Select appropriate ‘Hard’ and ‘Soft’ standards | | | | | |Enable feedback mechanisms for measurement to standards | | | | | |Establish measures and target levels | | | | | |Track measures vs. tandards | | | | | |Give performance to employees | | | | |Inadequate service Leadership |Synthesizing, articulating, promoting commitment and implementing the service | | |vision. (The leadership model). | | | |Lack o f understanding that that quality |PIMS research. | |service is indeed a profit strategy | | | | | |Incomplete performance appraisal system |In addition to financial measures include, the customer perspective, the | | |operational perspective and the innovative perspective to performance appraisal. | GAP 3 The Gap between Customer driven service designs and standards and service delivery. The Employees’ roles in service delivery |Human Resources Strategies | | | | |Ineffective recruitment |Hire the right people | |Role ambiguity and role conflict | | |Poor employee-technology-job fit |Develop people to deliver service quality | |Inappropriate evaluation and compensation systems| | |Lack of empowerment and teamwork |Provide needed support systems | | | | | |Retain the best people | | | | | |(Details in the human resource strategies wheel pg 312 Zeithaml) | |Key factors related to Intermediaries |Strategies for effective service delivery through intermediaries | | | |Channe l conflict over objectives and performance |Develop and implement: | |Channel conflict over costs and rewards |Control strategies | |Difficulty controlling quality and consistency |Empowerment strategies | |across outlets |Partnering Strategies | |Tension between empowerment and control | | |Channel ambiguity | | |Key factors related to Customers |Strategies for enhancing customer participation | | | | |Customers lack understanding of their roles |Define customers job | |Customers unwilling or unable to perform their |Recruit, Educate and reward customers | |roles |Manage the customer mix | |Customers are not rewarded for good performance | | |Other customers interfere | | |Market segments are incomplete | | |Key factors related to demand and capacity |Strategies for matching supply and demand | | | | |Failure to smooth peaks and valleys of demand |Match supply and demand through (i) shifting demand to match capacity or | |Overuse of capacity |(ii) flexing capacity to meet demand | |Attracting inappropriate customer segments to |Demonstrate the benefits and risks of yield management strategies in | |build demand |establishing balances mong the service variables | |Relying too much on price to smooth demand |Manage waiting lines for time when capacity and demand cannot be aligned | |Legal and Cultural barriers in International |Opportunities in International services | |marketing |Adapting the service | | |Adapting promotion and distribution | | |Adapting entry modes | | |Adapting communications | | |Adapting workforce management | | |Adapting service employees incentives | | |Adapting service standards | | |Adapting market research internationally | GAP 4 The Gap between Service Delivery and External communications to Customers Factors relating to communications |Strategies to match service promise with delivery | | | | |Inadequate management of service promises |Manage service promises | |Over promising in advertising and personal selling|Reset custom er expectations | |Insufficient customer education |Improve customer education | |Inadequate horizontal communication |Manage horizontal communications | |Differences in policies and procedures across | | departments | | |Key factors relating to pricing |Pricing Strategies | | | | |Assuming customers have reference price for | | |services |Match customer perception of value with appropriate pricing strategy that | |Narrowly defining price as monetary cost |match each customer definition | |Signaling wrong quality level with inappropriate |Cost based | |price |Demand based | |Not understanding customer value definitions |Competition based | |Not matching price strategy to customer value |Value based | |definitions | | |Key factors related to Physical Evidence |Physical evidence strategy | | | | |Incompatible or inconsistent physical evidence | | |Over promising through physical evidence |Recognize the strategic impact of physical evidence | |Lack of physical evidence strate gy |Map the physical evidence of services | | |Clarify roles of the services cape | | |Assess and identify physical evidence opportunities | | |Be ready to update and modernize the evidence | | |Work cross-functionally |