Why is GAP Model useful in Service Marketing

GAP Model

The Gap Model is a useful framework in understanding the service quality in in organization. First, lets know how is ‘service’ defined. American Association of Marketing, AMA, defines ‘service’ as ‘activities, benefits, or satisfaction that are offered for sale, or provided with connection with the sale of goods’.

The Gaps Model was proposed by A Parasuraman, Valaris Zeithaml and LL Bery in 1985 in the Journal of Marketing.The major factors for determining the Gap Model are as follows:

• ·       Customer Expectation
• ·       Customer Perception of Service
• ·       Management perception of customer expectation
• ·       Customer Driven Service Designs and Standards
• ·       Service Delivery
• ·       External Communication to Customers

These are the various touchpoints in the customer journey that determine which gap is prevalent in the service provided.

Source: http://cdn.insideiim.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/13001312/Capture8.jpg

There are two types of Gaps: Gap in the Customer side and gap in the Company side.

CUSTOMER GAP

Difference between expectation and perception

Also known as the Listening Gap

Customer Gap exists in the mind of customers. It occurs when there is mismatch between the Expected Service and Perceived Service. The customer might get the real quality service but if it is different from what the customer had ‘expected’, it leads to Customer Gap. Even if the service provided is of quality bit the customer does not ‘perceive’ it as a quality then this also leads to Customer Gap.

Key Factors leading to Customer Gap:

       i.          Customers are unaware of actual service provided

      ii.          Miscommunication

    iii.          Over-expectation of service

PROVIDER GAP

1.     Provider Gap 1: Knowledge Gap

Not knowing what customers want

Key Factors leading to Provider Gap 1:

       i.          Inadequate Marketing Research Orientation

·       Insufficient marketing research

·       Marketing research not focused on service quality

      ii.          Lack Of Upward Communication

·       Lack of interaction between management and customers

·       Too many layers between contact personnel and top management

    iii.          Insufficient Relationship Focus

·       Focus on transaction rather than relationships

·       Focus on new customers rather than relationship customers

    iv.          Inadequate Service Recovery

·       Lack of encouragement to listen to customer complaints

·       No appropriate recovery mechanisms in place for service failures

2.     Provider Gap2: Standard Gap

Not selecting the right service design and standards

Key Factors leading to Provider Gap 2:

       i.          Poor Service Design

·       Unsystematic new service development process

·       Vague, undefined service designs

      ii.          Absence Of Customer-Driven Standards

·       Lack of customer-driven standards

·       Absence of formal process for setting service quality goals

    iii.          Inappropriate Physical Evidence And Services Cape

·       Failure to develop tangibles inline with customer expectation

·       Inadequate maintenance and updating of the service scape

3.     Provider Gap 3: Delivery Gap

Not delivering to service standards

Key Factors leading to Provider Gap 3:

       i.          Deficiencies In Human Resource Policies

·       Ineffective recruitment

·       Role ambiguity and role conflict

·       Inappropriate evaluation and compensation systems

      ii.          Failure To Match Supply And Demand

·       Over-reliance on price to smooth demand

·       Inappropriate customer mix

    iii.          Customers Not Fulfilling Roles

·       Customers lack knowledge of their roles and responsibilities

·       Customers negatively impact each other

    iv.          Problems With Service Intermediaries

·       Channel conflict over objectives and performance

·       Channel conflict over costs and rewards

·       Tension between empowerment and control

·       Difficulty controlling quality and consistency

4.     Provider Gap 4: Communication Gap

Not matching performance to promises

Key Factors leading to Provider Gap 4:

       i.          Lack Of Integrated Service Marketing Communication

·       Not including interactive marketing in communications plan

·       Absence of strong internal marketing program

      ii.          Ineffective Management Of Customer Expectation

·       Not adequately educating customers

·       Not managing customer expectation through all forms of communication

    iii.          Overpromising

·       Overpromising in advertising

·       Overpromising in personal selling

·       Overpromising through physical evidence cues

    iv.          Inadequate Horizontal Communications

·       Inadequate communications between sales and operations

·       Inadequate communications between advertising and operations

·       Difference in policies across branches

CLOSING THE GAPS

1. Closing GAP 1: Listen to Customers

       i.          Use research, complaint analysis, customer panels

      ii.          Increase direct interactions between managers and customers

    iii.          Improve upward communications

    iv.          Act on insights and information

2. Closing GAP 2: Establish the right Service Quality Standards

       i.          Top management should be commited to providing service quality

      ii.          Establish challenging and realistic service quality goals

    iii.          Train mangers to be service quality leaders

    iv.          Be receptive to new ways to deliver service quality

      v.          Set, communicate and reinforce customer-oriented service standards

    vi.          Measure performance of service standards and provide regular feedbacks

   vii.          Reward managers and employees for achievement of quality goals

3. Closing GAP 3: Ensure that service performance meets standards

       i.          Attract the best employees

      ii.          Select the right employees

    iii.          Develop ad support employees

    iv.          Retain good employees

4. Closing GAP 4: Ensure that service delivery matches promise

       i.          Seek input from operations personnel on what can be done

      ii.          Reality in advertising

    iii.          Better communications between sales, operations and marketing

    iv.          Internal marketing programs

      v.          In advertising, focus on service characteristics that are important to customers

    vi.          Manage Customer expectations