Term Paper on Service Quality

There are five general concepts or principles that are central to services and appear to be critical to the effective marketing of the firm. These dimensions or guiding principles are introduced below and then discussed, followed by brief descriptions of the most notable research conducted to date in each area.

Occasionally there is some overlap between them (especially between service delivery and issues in internal marketing), but basically, they are subsumed under the following topics: service quality, managing the service delivery process, managing employees in the marketing effort, designing and developing new service offerings, and integrating for strategic planning and implementation.

Over all, quality is a level of superior service. A customer or client’s assessment of service quality basically involves a comparison between what clients expect to receive from the service and whether they perceive the delivered service met those expectations. It means that the client evaluates after delivery whether the service met, failed to meet, or exceeded his or her expectations. It also involves the client’s reliance on five service quality criteria in evaluating the service.

They include the client’s perception of the reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy of the service provider, and the physical attributes (facilities, uniforms, and the like) surrounding the service. Another facet of the quality principle, and one which is considered more important to the provider than it is to the client is the provider’s evaluation of his/her level of technical superiority or skill in delivering the service .Majority of the service quality research examines customers’ expectations and perceptions of the services they receive. quality is actually free it is the actions taken to correct errors that are costly.  

Employees are responsible for marketing the service, thus they must be knowledgeable and motivated. In addition, they must be trained by the firm to be aware of the firm’s marketing policies and strategies. The responsibilities of the employee in spanning the gap between the internal environment of the firm and the external customer environment as well as the importance of training and motivating employees so they can effectively carry out their responsibilities to the firm and to the customer. Internal marketing is described as “a successful task of hiring, training, and motivating skilled employees who want to serve consumers well.” Later, in the same work, it reinforces the association established between internal marketing, training, and motivation of employees for good customer service.