GROUP THREE
1.
ADRIAN MADUME
2.
LYNN MADZIWANA
3.
TINOTENDA BISHAU
4.
PATIENCE CHISAMBIRO
5.
LESLIE MASOSO
GROUP QUESTION
“Gaps at any point in service design and delivery can damage relationships with customers,” [Parasuraman
1985 and Ziethmal 1990].
In sight of the above statement, which gaps can occur in service quality and how can service marketers
reduce or prevent them?
Introduction

A gap exist when there is a mismatch between the expected quality and the
actual quality provided

There are 5 gaps which were explained by A. Parasuraman, Valarie Zeithaml,
and Leonard L. Berry in 1985 in what they called a service quality gap model

Service quality refers to the ability of a service firm to satisfy customer
needs and wants

The Gap Model of Service Quality (aka the Customer Service Gap Model or the
5 Gap Model) is a framework which can help us to understand customer
satisfaction

In the Gap Model of Service Quality, customer satisfaction is largely a function
of perception

The gap model is a illustrated below:
The gaps model
Word of mouth
Past experience
Personal needs
Expected service
CUSTOMER
Gap 5
Gap 1
Perceived service
Service Delivered
including pre and past
contacts
PROVIDER
Gap 3
Gap 2
Translation of perception
into service quality
specification
Management
perception of
customer expectations
Gap 4
External
communication to
customers
Introduction continued

The five gaps explained by the gaps model include:
1.
The Knowledge Gap
2.
The Policy Gap
3.
The Delivery Gap
4.
The Communication Gap
5.
The Customer Gap
Gap 1: Knowledge Gap

The knowledge gap is the difference between the customer’s expectations of
the service and the company’s provision of that service
There are a number of reasons this could happen, including:

Lack of management and customer interaction.

Lack of communication between service employees and management.

Insufficient market research
Knowledge gap continued
Close this gap by learning what customers expect. Options to consider
include:

Using customer research.

Increasing interactions between management and customers.

Increasing interactions between management and service staff
Gap 2: The Policy Gap
The policy gap is the difference between management’s understanding of the
customer needs and the translation of that understanding into service
delivery policies and standards
There are a number of reasons why this gap can occur:

Lack of adequate resources

Lack of knowledge and skill and expertise

Failure to regularly update service level standards.
Policy gap continued
Close this gap by creating the right service quality standards. Options to
consider include:

Training and development

Measuring service operations via customer defined standards
Gap 3: The Delivery Gap

The delivery gap is the difference between service delivery policies and
standards and the actual delivery of the service.
This gap can occur for a number of reasons:

Employee lack of knowledge of the product

Lack of cohesive teamwork to deliver the product or service

Demotivated staff
Delivery Gap continued

Close this gap by ensuring that performance meets set standards. Options to
consider include:

Align the firm's human resource strategies around delivering service
excellence

Focus on internal marketing

Motivating employees
Gap 4: The Communication Gap

The communication gap is the gap between what gets promised to customers
through advertising and what gets delivered.
Again. there are a number of reasons why these gaps occur:

Overpromising.

Lack of integration between communication and production department

Inadequate information between advertising team and operations department

Communication gap can cause customers to turn to another suppliers

Gaps can lead to disappointment of customers
Communication gap continued
Close this gap by ensuring the product or service delivered matches and
promises made. Options to consider include:

Getting employee input to your advertising campaign

Advertise realistically by using real customers, reviews and employees

Ensure advertising campaigns are signed off by the operations team

Manage customer expectations realistically
Gap 5: The Customer Gap
The customer gap is the difference between customer expectations and
customer perceptions:

Gap arises when the consumer misinterprets service quality

The gap arises as a result of other four gaps

There is no direct way to close this gap

This gap can only be closed by closing the other four gaps in the model. Once
this is done then customer expectations and customer perceptions should
align
Conclusion

In conclusion, the gaps model has been used as a framework for research in
the service marketing a it helps explain customer satisfaction

The first four gaps lead to the last gap and it is only solved when the four are
solved

If the gaps are not solved the customers can search for other suppliers of the
services

The customers can also be disappointed which leads to loss of customer
loyalty
Overall Comment

You have failed to utilize the MS Powerpoint effectively.

I was expecting to see an attractive marketing document with points and
other features that complement your text.

Mark 50%