Marketing Research

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LISTENING TO CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS
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Provider GAP 1
CUSTOMER
Expected Service
GAP 1
Company Perceptions of Consumer Expectations
COMPANY
3
Understanding Customer Expectations and
Perceptions Through Marketing Research
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Todays Objectives

• Discuss research objectives for services and
  criteria for an effective research program
• Describe various types of marketing research for
  services
• Discuss the marketing research process

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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

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Services Research Program

• The composite of separate research studies and
  types needed to address research objectives and
  execute an overall measurement strategy.

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Effective Service Research ProgramsQualitative
vs. Quantitative Research

• Qualitative Research
• exploratory and preliminary
• includes methods such as focus groups, critical
  incidents research
• used to design quantitative research
• Quantitative Research
• measure constructs and test hypotheses
  empirically
• customer satisfaction, expectations, perceptions
• may lead to further qualitative research
• Is Statistical Validity Necessary?

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Effective Service Research Programs

• Know customer priorities
• Dont waste resources
• Measure attribute importance
• Directly with scales or indirectly with
  statistical techniques
• Research must be ongoing
• Include measures of behavioral intentions

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When should you conduct marketing research?

• Benefits are greater than the costs
• Compare cost of the research with the value of
  the information

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Types of Service Marketing Research

• Complaint Solicitation
• Critical Incidents Studies
• Think of a time when, as a customer, you had a
  particularly satisfying (dissatisfying)
  interaction with _________________________.
• Requirements Research
• Usually qualitative
• SERVQUAL Surveys
• Post-transaction Surveys
• Mystery Shopping
• Consumer Panels
• Lost Customer
• Future Expectations

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Portfolio of Services Research
Type of Research
Research Objective
Identify dissatisfied customers to attempt
recovery identify most common categories of
service failure for remedial action
Customer Complaint Solicitation
Relationship Surveys Post-Transaction
Surveys Customer Focus Groups Mystery
Shopping of Service Providers
Employee Surveys
Lost Customer Research

Assess companys service performance compared to
competitors identify service-improvement
priorities track service improvement over time
Obtain customer feedback while service experience
is still fresh act on feedback quickly if
negative patterns develop
Use as input for quantitative surveys provide a
forum for customers to suggest service-improvement
ideas
Measure individual employee service behaviors for
use in coaching, training, performance
evaluation, recognition and rewards identify
systemic strengths and weaknesses in service
Measure internal service quality identify
employee-perceived obstacles to improve service
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
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Stages in the Research Process

• Stage 1 Define Problem
• Stage 2 Develop Measurement Strategy
• Stage 3 Implement Research Program
• Stage 4 Collect and Tabulate Data
• Stage 5 Interpret and Analyze Findings
• Stage 6 Report Findings

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Tracking of Customer Expectations and Perceptions
of Service Reliability
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Service Quality Perceptions Relative to Zones of
Tolerance (by Dimensions)
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
O
O
O
O
O
Reliability Responsiveness Assurance
Empathy Tangibles
O
Zone of Tolerance S.Q. Perception
Retail Chain
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Service Quality Perceptions Relative to Zones of
Tolerance(by Dimensions)
10 8 6 4 2 0
O
O
O
O
O
Reliability Responsiveness
Assurance Empathy Tangibles
Computer Manufacturer
O
Zone of Tolerance S.Q. Perception
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Importance/Performance Matrix
HIGH
High Leverage
?
?
Attributes to Improve
Attributes to Maintain
?
?
?
?
Importance
?
Low Leverage
?
?
?
Attributes to De-emphasize
Attributes to Maintain
Performance
HIGH
LOW