UNDERSTANDING

CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS & PERCEPTIONS

THROUGH

MARKETING RESEARCH
 ProviderGap1

CUSTOMER

Expected Service

GAP 1

COMPANY Company Perceptions of

Consumer Expectations

Part 2 Opener
 Closing Gap 1

Listening to Customers Through Research

 Common Research Objectives for Services

 To identify dissatisfied customers

 To discover customer requirements or expectations
 To monitor and track service performance
 To assess overall company performance compared to competition
 To assess gaps between customer expectations and perceptions
 To gauge effectiveness of changes in service
 To appraise service performance of individuals and teams for rewards
 To determine expectations for a new service
 To monitor changing expectations in an industry
 To forecast future expectations
Criteria for An Effective ServicesResearch

Includes
es Quanttatve
c lud
In e
tv
a lita Research Includes
Qu rch
se a Perceptons
Re
and

Expectatons
of
Occurs
Customers
with

Appropriate Research Includes

Frequency Measures

Objectives of

Loyalty or

Behavioral
Measures Intentons
Priorites
or ost
Importance ce sC
an
Bal eo
f
Includes V alu
and on
Statstcal at
fo rm
Validity In
When Necessary
 Types of Services Research

Customer Complaint Relationship Surveys Trailer Calls

Solicitation

Customer Focus “Mystery Shopping” of

Groups Service Providers

Lost Customer Service Expectation

Employee Surveys
Research Meeting and Review
Portfolio of Services Research

Research Objective Type of Research

Identify dissatisfied customers to attempt recovery; identify most common categories of

service failure for remedial action Customer Complaint Solicitation

Assess company’s service performance compared to competitors; identify service-improvement “Relationship” Surveys
priorities; track service improvement over time

Post-Transaction Surveys
Obtain customer feedback while service experience is still fresh; act on feedback quickly if negative
patterns develop

Customer Focus Groups

Use as input for quantitative surveys; provide a forum for customers to suggest service-
improvement ideas

“Mystery Shopping” of Service Providers

Measure individual employee service behaviors for use in coaching, training, performance evaluation,
recognition and rewards; identify systemic strengths and weaknesses in service

Employee Surveys

Measure internal service quality; identify employee-perceived obstacles to improve service; Lost Customer Research
track employee morale and attitudes

Determine the reasons why customers defect

To forecast future expectations of customers

To develop and test new service ideas
Future Expectations Research
Stages in the Research Process

Define Problem

Develop Measurement Strategy

Implement Research Program

Collect and Tabulate Data

Interpret and Analyze Findings

Report Findings