Use of SERVQUAL Model - Coursework Example

Running Head: SERVQUAL MODEL Name Course Tutor Date Table of contents Introduction..................................................................................................................................3 Background of the study..............................................................................................................4 Objectives and scope....................................................................................................................5 Methodology................................................................................................................................6 The SERVQUAL scale..............................................................................................................7 Major findings...............................................................................................................................9 Conclusion....................................................................................................................................10 Implications...................................................................................................................................11 References.....................................................................................................................................13 Introduction The business world is getting more competitive every single day. It is up to businesses to come up with innovative and creative ways to keep their consumer bases and create opportunities for further growth. Among the most common and the oldest way to advance market orientation is through marketing. The only factor that has changed in marketing is the way things are done in a dynamic and competitive atmosphere. The modern world of business has necessitated an evolution in marketing to cater for the ever changing needs of consumers. The focus has now shifted onto the consumer and marketers are doing everything possible just to capture the attention of individual consumers and their specific needs. Models and theories have been brought forward to determine the best combination of marketing and management strategies that work best for different industries dealing with consumers with diverse needs that are subject to changes from time to times (Rodrigues, 2013, p. 151). Apart from the products and services up for sale, the quality of service is a major determinant of the level of satisfaction that consumers derive when making their purchases. In this view, marketers are seeking to make the consumer effect as satisfactory as possible. There are several aspects that are used to evaluate and measure the level of satisfaction that different individual consumers get. The aim is to get the consumer to make return purchases and recommend the products to other potential users. A satisfied consumer forms a crucial asset to a business and provides a basis for market share growth through relationship marketing. It is becoming increasingly challenging for businesses to retain loyal customers and competition has provided a wide variety of options that hey could chose from. Brand loyalty has been termed as one of the most difficult aspects to maintain over long periods of time. Businesses have to identify unique factors that make consumers to come back for more. To achieve this, it is crucial for businesses to identify unique aspects about their products and if they do not have one, they are necessitated to come up with them to maintain relevance in a highly dynamic environment. Once a niche is identified, investments towards capitalising on it are strategized and accompanying support systems are implemented towards achieving profitability and maximising on sales. Background of the study In a bid to retain consumers and gain others, businesses are increasingly focusing on the quality of services that they extend to their consumers. SERVQUAL is one of the major determiners of consumer satisfaction and the perception that consumers hold towards a particular brand or product. Sometimes a product may not meet all the needs that a consumer may want but the quality of service may change all that and have them making return purchases. Service quality has diverse aspects and which marketers and sales people utilise to make the products and the experience appealing as well. The encounter with the seller is one of the most crucial states in a sales transaction. First, it proves that the consumer has evaluated their options and has narrowed it down to the single seller. It is now up to the business to make the experience worthwhile for the consumer (Chowdhary & Prakash, 2007, p. 496). Service quality depends on business polices and also on the personality of the seller as an individual. They need to posses public elations qualities that enable them to interact with consumers with different personalities as well. General etiquette such as honesty, courtesy, listening skills and communication abilities go a long way in affecting future decisions of a consumer. Focusing on future consumer decisions safeguards the long term interest of a business in its aim to make future sales. Other additions to service quality include, support activities such as demonstrations and testing. After sale services, guarantees and warranties are also a huge part of service quality. In service marketing management, service quality is very crucial as the service itself is the product under scrutiny. Apart from the service itself as a product, how it is delivered t the consumer makes all the difference. This is the reason why businesses selling similar services experience different levels of success. Though there are other underlying factors such as price, culture, and convenience, the quality of service plays a significant part in forming a concrete consumer base and market share (Chowdhary & Prakash, 2007, p. 498). Objectives and scope The service industry is highly competitive and dynamic. The related services tend to form close substitutes to each other. The success of player in the industry therefore depends on the ability of service managers to differentiate their services in ways that consumers will find more attractive compared to competitors. It is worth noting that most of these related services are highly substitutable if all factors were held constants it is therefore possible to get almost the same level of satisfaction from different service provider. However, this is not the case as the products are usually differentiated and service qualities are differentiated as well. In this paper, the extent to which service quality affects the effectiveness of sales will be evaluated. In this view, a comparison of the extent to which service quality can influence consumer decisions and the overall business performance will bee conducted. Service quality in the service industry is different from that of the commodity market. The biggest difference is that in the service industry, the product on sale is also a service and may not be differentiated from the delivery aspect. The industry therefore at times combines the product with service quality as one whole package. In this case, there are factors that determine the effectiveness of service quality strategies in the service industry. Service marketing mangers combine these strategies as well as innovation and creativity to give consumers value for their money and maximise on their satisfactions. In a bid to satisfy consumer wants, managers should identify service quality gaps that exist within their portfolios and strategise accordingly on how to eliminate them (Hernon & Altman, 2010, p. 8). Such information is critical in determining which are the most serious gaps that should be prioritised, given, the resource constraints and time factor. Methodology Many studies have been carried out on SERVQUAL models on their effectiveness, gaps, and applicability. Researchers have been able to agree on various issues regarding the topic while other aspects are still under further study. All arguments put across in this topic have supporting qualitative and quantitative arguments that give substance to arguments,. The approaches used to study service quality in the service industry are both from theoretical and practical points of view. However, most studies have similar conclusions on the significance of service quality in determining business performance which is driven by consumer satisfaction. The service industry is very sensitive due to its personal nature. The results of a service can be immediately felt and consumer get to experience first hand as the product is being transferred to them. It is this nature that complicates the service industry and makes it very sensitive. In order to cope with this service managers have to be very vigilant in the way they handle consumers. SERVQUAL has been identified by many researchers as the best way to handle consumers by extending the best experience that has a lasting impact on satisfaction levels. Researches have often disagreed on the best way to measure service quality. The SERVQUAL model was modelled by Parsuraman in 1980 and has widely been used in measuring service quality. Due to technological innovations and widespread global challenges, service managers are increasingly striving hard in order to provide their consumers with the best services (Brady & Cronin, 2001, p. 42). As consumers appreciate the value of service quality the designs of competing services are becoming more and more similar. There are other methods that have been used to gauge the level of consumer satisfaction. For instance, evaluating the level for expectations before a purchase is made and comparing it with the perception after the service is delivered. The SERVQUAL model has basically five models that explain its applicability. There are different methods that researchers have used to come up with information to support their arguments on SERVQUAL. There are those researchers that have expounded further on the model after it was developed in the 80s The SERVQUAL scale Consumer perceptions on the quality of service are influenced by five factors or gaps. . The first gap is represented by the difference that exists between consumer expectations and what service managers perceive of consumer expectations. In this case, the two aspects need to be in sync for high quality customer service to be achieved. This means that if managers have lower expectations than consumers, then the overall service quality will below even though the consumer and manager are two different personalities, the perception and expectation of the two parries should be at par. The second gap is how management perception of consumer expectations is transformed to service quality. When managers have the wrong perception of consumer expectations, they are likely to get the service wring as well. This is because they give the consumer what they perceive is appropriate, which is contrary to the expectations of the consumer. Therefore, mangers should be very interactive with their consumer to help them determine specific expectations that consumers are looking for. Often, managers do not play a participatory role in serving consumers. They are policy makers and who just oversee the implementation process. In this case, the implementation of service polices by frontline service personnel may be different from what management has instructed. .this gap may be the cause of consumer dissatisfaction in an organisation. It is therefore, crucial that frontline personnel receive adequate on training and public relations and consumer orientations. Before a consumer makes the decision to go for a particular service, they base them on communication form the sellers (Garcıa & Caro, 2010, p. 98). The communication may be in form of advertisements, referral, promotions and other marketing strategies. Often the marketing part puts in a good word for the service and promises to deliver high quality. Therefore, when a consumer goes for a particular product, service, they base the expectations on communication fro the seller. The gap that emerges here is hen what is promised is different from what is delivered. Communication may sometimes be inadequate, exaggerated and misleading. Most marketer will often leave the disadvantages and capabilities of extra costs that consumer may encounters. The final gap is described by the difference between what consumers perceive about a specific service and what they expect. All these gaps lead to the final gap which generally explains the service quality dynamics. Service managers should always work to reduce these gaps as much as possible for improved service quality (Shahin, 2001, p. 6). SERVQUAL is particularly based on the final gap. Studies and surveys conducted by researchers showed that consumers base service quality by comparing expectations and perceptions through consideration of various dimensions. The first dimension is tangibility or tangibles which revolve around the appearance of physical items, equipment, facilities and personnel. In this view, the physical appearance of service providers and the equipment they use for their services should be appealing to the consumer. Other physical aspects such as appearance of buildings, and environment are also considered. Tangibles, especially personnel are very important as they create the initial image and perception the whole business and service to be provided as well. Reliability as also important as it shows the ability to deliver a given service as promised with accuracy and precision (Ladhari, 2009, p. 184). The way personnel respond to consumer needs also determines SERVQUAL. This is seen in the willingness and the enthusiasm with which personnel responds to requests. Consumers need an assurance that the service they have received will serve the intended purpose without failure. Employees should have the capability to instil confidence in consumers that their services are high quality and dependable. The service industry employs close encounters with the consumer. The attitude of personnel towards consumers in terms of care and individualised session also counts in the service quality equation (Wolniak, Skotnicka-Zasadzien, 2012, p. 1232). Major findings Research and studies on SERVQUAL are mainly concerned with bridging the gap between consumer expectations and perceptions. A small gap for service organisations, or any other business shows effectiveness which is translated to customer satisfaction. SERVQUAL has been identified a viable way which can be used to measure how a delivered service matches the expectations of the receiving customer. Using this model, the difference that exists between expectations and perception give substance to the arguments and support the assessment of service quality. Studies also show that the use of the model can be applied in a majority of service organisations by modifying it to suit specific organisations. Service managers can also use SERVQUAL in their portfolios. Using the different gap analysis methods, they can identify where problems lie and prioritise on which gaps to deal with first. From this, service managers can prioritise by starting with areas tat have high expectations but have huge negative gaps. These are the highest potential risks where business could lose their share to competition. In cases where perceptions exceed expectations, with a negative gap, it may be because of overselling or exaggeration during service delivery. Such aspects should be adjusted and avoided as well the business may be putting to much costs in areas that do not deserve them and overlooking others which may require improvement the SERVQUAL analysis could be used to close all other gaps in addition too the last ones. The reason why the model is widespread and applied by many is due to its simplicity and applicability in multiple scenarios. However, the service industry s a complex one and the model cannot suffice all requirements. In this case, there are other expectations from the industry that cannot be analysed by the simple expectations and perceptions approach. There are other issues such as setting of priorities, allocation of scarce resources, and accounting for activities in thee business. A Service quality covers the issue of perceptions and expectations. Aspects of consumer awareness of new services in the industry cannot rely on these strategies. Efficiency and effectiveness may also not be achieved directly from service quality. Even though the model covers a wider scope, it is more applicable in some instances when compared to other models (Ravichandran, Mani, Kumar, Prabhakaran, S, 2010, p. 121). With numerous testing and studies done on SERVQUAL, it is hugely supported by extensive data and survey results which have showed significant practicality of the model. It is not just something that has been invented out of biased or skewed statistics as it has been tested multiple times by various scholars. When gaps are established in an organisation, it is possible to come up with measures that seek to rectify them. In such cases, the model provides a basis for comparison and benchmarking. Thereafter, the success of such strategies can be evaluated accordingly Conclusion From the analysis, use of SERVQUAL model in the service industry is very realist and practical. The service industry is a complex and sensitive one. It also provides players with enormous opportunities for growth and diversification, however, employment of inappropriate strategies and policies could see a business gradually fall to its ends. The service industry employs psychological issues as it more customer oriented than the commodity market. Therefore, a lot of care should be taken when dealing with individual customers. As mentioned earlier, the aim is to make the customer to return in future for another purchase and recommend the same service to others. Giving consumers the best experience and good value for money paid is the best way to guarantee this. Among the various expectations that consumers have when buying services, the most crucial one is perceptions will be adequately met. After the service has been delivered, then a consumer can make a decision about the image and reputation that the business deserves depending on their evaluation. Implications The findings in this report provide several practical implications for managers in the service industry. First, managers can identify their areas of weaknesses in service provision and employ corrective measures. It is also possible to identify their strongholds in service provisions and their down parts as well. This way, resources can be channelled to areas considered weak. In case f over investment in some gaps, the extra resources can be shifted to other aspects Apart from employing the SERVQAUL analyses in their own portfolios, mangers could also use them to compare with competitor portfolio. This would help in determining whether competitors are doing well and where they can take advantage of. The SERVQUAL model can also help in segmenting the market in terms of different service wants. This can be done through consideration of groups with similar characteristics and evaluating gaps at different periods of the year. This prepares them for different seasons when certain changes are expected within a particular group of customers. Evaluation on loyal customer could help service managers to better manage their strategies and employ policies that are more appealing based on consumer reviews. The application of SERVQUAL is numerous. The model can help service managers to identify and take advantage of core competencies in their organisation as well as deficient sectors. The simplicity of application of the model can allows managers to continuously do a SERVQUAL analysis. The keenness and vigilance of such manager scan be rewarding as they would be able to note where deficiencies are rampant. To understand SERVQAUL better, further research needs to be carried out to establish how the model can incorporate other models to tackle issues that are not covered by SERVQUAL. Research should also modify the model to fit all forms of venture in the services industry. This is due to differences in labour, technology and personalised experiences. Application of service quality model may be hampered by the fact it as developed in America. Preliminary investigations should be carried out on its applicability elsewhere. Generally, service quality provides an appropriate avenue for service industry evaluation. It also has the potential for further studies to incorporate more aspects in the service industry as well as the goods industry. References Brady, M, & Cronin, J, 2001, 'Some New Thoughts on Conceptualizing Perceived Service Quality: A Hierarchical Approach', The Journal of Marketing , vol 65, no.3, pp. 34-49. Chowdhary, N, & Prakash, M, 2007, 'Prioritising service quality dimensions', Management Service Quality , vol 17, no.5, pp 493-509. Garcıa, J, & Caro, L, 2010, 'Rethinking perceived service quality: Analternative to hierarchical and multidimensional models.',Total Quality Management ', vol 21, no. 8, pp.93–118. Haksik, L , YongkiView, L , & Dongkeu, Y, 2000, 'The Journal of Services Marketing' ,vol 14, no. 3, pp. 217-231. Hernon, P, & Altman, E. 2010, Assessing Service Quality: Satisfying the Expectations of Library Customers, American Library Association, New York. Ladhari, R, 2009, 'A review of twenty years of SERVQUAL research', International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, vol 1,no. 2, pp. 172-198. Ravichandran, K, Mani, B, Kumar, S, & Prabhakaran, S, 2010, 'Influence of service quality on customer satisfaction application of servqual model', International Journal of Business and Management, vol 5, no. 4, pp. 117-124. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.alpha2.latrobe.edu.au/docview/821296933?accountid=12001 Rodrigues, L, 2013, Service Quality Measurement: Issues and Perspectives, Diplomica Verlag, Munich. Shahin, A, 2001, 'SERVQUAL and Model of Service Quality Gaps A Framework for Determining and Prioritizing Critical Factors in Delivering Quality Services', International Journal of Business and Management, vol 2, no. 1, pp. 1-10. Wolniak, R. & Skotnicka-Zasadzien, B. 2012, "The concept study of Servqual method's gap", Quality and Quantity, vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 1239-1247. Read More