The GAP Model depicts the entire process of service delivery and identifies the inefficient portions to guarantee that the model will function smoothly and effectively. To put this strategy into action, the first thing that needs to be done is to measure the voids so that they can be managed and filled (Guerguis, 2018). The framework that the Gap Model of Service Quality provides makes it much simpler to comprehend the factors that contribute to issues with service quality, locate areas in which improvements are necessary, and select the options with the most significant potential for success. I will analyze KDD’s GAP model, a Kuwait company in this case.
Provider Gap 1 (Listening Gap)
It refers to the difference between what customers want and what service providers can deliver. The term “customer gap” refers to the situation in which a company fails to meet the standards set by its customers because the company does not entirely comprehend those standards. KDD Company. The first factor is inadequate customer orientation research, according to Kddc.com. (2022), KDD’s primarily local, regional, and international competitors are Starbucks and Minute Main Dairy, respectively. When designing products, it has been incredibly challenging for the company to fully appreciate the requirements of their target markets due to the intense rivalry in their industries. The presence of KDD products on store shelves has made it impossible to make accurate projections based on market data. According to Kddc.com. (2022), the reputation of the corporation suffered as a direct result of the allegations that the Danish government had published a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad. This shifted the taste and preferences of the esteemed customers; therefore, predicting or analyzing the market research has become hard. The second factor is a lack of upward communication. In Kuwait and beyond, KDD operates several stores. Cultural differences have influenced communication between management and customers. Because of the activities of high-end retail outlets, sizeable international labor pools, or varied local labor markets, this barrier exists (Zeithaml, 2013). KDD may need to hire managers who can effectively translate communications and understand cultural variations between levels of personnel. Lastly, inadequate relationship focus. KDD Establishing and maintaining healthy connections with the company’s internal and external customers while presenting KDD in the best possible business and ethical light is difficult. They are giving all staff leadership and direction, as well as improving departmental communication. Due to the severe competition, it is difficult to focus on and develop the ice-cream segmentation to a greater spectrum, resulting in KDD’s lack of market segmentation.
The Service Design and Standards Gap
This gap stems from management’s incorrect translation of the service policy into instructions for employees. Some companies like KDD have difficulty translating client expectations into accurate service quality performance. This category may include poor service design, a failure to maintain and constantly update their offering of excellent customer service, or even a lack of standardization. The first factor is poor design; KDD Corporation’s new service innovation and method are unstructured. This has made it hard to incorporate the new strategy. Although there are many advantages to this company, inventiveness is paramount. The second factor is inadequate to service layout and an absence of customer-driven norms. Because of the vague and unclear service designs, the company has found it difficult to convenience the esteemed customers of its brand. The customers who value them are The KDD company has unsuitable physical evidence and service landscape this into as many as before because of the untrusted brand ruined by them, because of the failure to develop tangibles in line with customer expectations.
The Service Performance Gap
The KDD is facing it rough because of government-based product discrimination. This has therefore caused Unproductive hiring due to human resource management procedures gaps. This has led to uncertainty and conflict in roles in the management sector. The Inadequate match between job and technology Inadequate employee evaluation and compensation systems has led to an inability to balance supply and demand due to a lack of teamwork, control perceptions, and empowerment and a failure to smooth out requirement peaks and valleys. Therefore the KDD is willing to settle is unsuitable customer mix; over-reliance on price to manage demand and fulfil the customer roles since the clients are unaware of their roles and responsibilities (Zeithaml, 2013).
Additionally, the unfair competition among customers makes service delivery worse. Problems with service intermediaries Channels clash over performance and objectives; Channels are at odds over costs and benefits. Controlling continuity and reliability is difficult. Control and empowerment are at odds.
The Communication Gap
In certain circumstances, customers’ expectations are raised due to statements made by companies such as KDD in their communication and advertising. There is a breakdown in communication that occurs when overly optimistic advertising does not match the actual service that is offered. When a customer’s expectations regarding the quality of the service they will receive are not met, the customer may become unsatisfied and seek alternative product suppliers. The KDD is the tendency to view each external communication as a standalone. To exclude interactive marketing from communications planning. This is caused by a lack of integrated services marketing communications, contributing to the KDD (Zeithaml, 2013). This issue has arisen because KDD’s internal marketing program is subpar, and the company cannot manage consumer expectations effectively across all communication channels. This has led to the development of this problem in KDD Company. As a direct consequence of this, the inadequate customer education has made it hard for them to communicate clearly with the management. They were making exaggerated statements in marketing materials and personal sales.
The Overpromising factor has also made the communication flow slow. One’s capabilities in light of apparent cues, advertising and personal selling enhance communication flow and product delivery. Therefore, the KDD company has majored in overpromising its customers through various physical and social advertising. Inadequate horizontal communication. In KDD, the sales and operations departments do not interact well. This is because the production sector produces products that may not meet the customers standards . On the other hand the sales find it difficult to sell the unmet standard products. Therefore this failure of KDD’s operations and advertising departments to effectively communicate has resulted in significant financial losses for the company. Lastly, the several departments or units each have their own set of regulations and procedures.
Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the four Gaps
The listening gap represents the strengths because, Meeting or exceeding customer expectations is a critical component of the model’s prediction of service quality from the customer’s perspective. Understanding customer expectations and perceptions, conceiving these variables, developing metrics for them, and investigating their implications have been important priorities for a company’s competitive advantage (Klausen, 2021p. 82). The assurance gained as a result is beneficial. The knowledge, manner, and ability to inspire trust in staff members are all assets. The company’s empathic culture is defined by compassionate, personalized care for each customer. Dependability refers to a service’s ability to consistently deliver on its promises. Quickness of action; the ability to respond to client demands for assistance.
On the other had the Service Design and Standards Gap represent some weakness because, first strategy is to create clearly defined procedures for the development of new services as well as innovation, and then to implement these procedures throughout the service design process. Many people think that the process of “services R&D” has evolved into an established institution. Standardized new product development techniques and research and development are quite uncommon in the service business, especially when contrasted with the technological and manufacturing sectors, where they are widespread (Tan et al.,2018p. 60). Creating a plan and coming up with a list of possible ideas is simply the beginning of a multi-stage process that will ultimately result in a full rollout. A significant number of clients have discovered improved designs that render it appropriate for their examination. Customers are able to easily have the greatest products delivered directly to their homes thanks to the convenience provided by KDD. This convenience is made possible by dependable door-to-door network operating systems as well as home-delivery services.
Conclusion
The integrated gaps model of service quality offers a framework that can be utilized for the purposes of understanding service delivery and improving it. This paradigm of service quality, which focuses on bridging five critical gaps in service delivery and marketing, will serve as the organizing principle for the entire article that will be written. The Provider Gap 1 (Listening Gap), The Service Design and Standards Gap, The Service Performance Gap and The Communication Gap are the major four gap that should be integrated for companies prosperity.
Bibliography List
Guerguis, A., 2018. The gaps model of service quality and Customer Relationships in a digital marketing context. Manchester: University of Salford.
KDD. Kddc.com. (2022). Retrieved, from https://www.kddc.com.
Klausen, J., 2021. 3. Art History and the Contemporary Politics of Depicting Muhammad: The Case of the Danish Cartoon Controversy. In Muhammad in the Digital Age (pp. 57-82). University of Texas Press.
Tan, L.H., Chew, B.C. and Hamid, S.R., 2018. The Strategic Use of Information and Communication Technology on The Gaps Model of Service Quality in Banking Industry. Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (JAMT), 12(1 (1)), pp.49-60.
Zeithaml, V.A., 2013. Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm.
write