Monday, May 2, 2016

Delivering and Performing Service

Delivering and Performing Service
Services have various aspects related to them. The ultimate aim of a service is to provide customer value such that it results in customer satisfaction. However, the expectations of customers and the delivery of service are not always in accordance with each other. This is explained in greater detail based on the Gaps Model of Service. Gap 3 of Gaps Model tells us about discrepancies in what is expected by the customer and the service that is actually delivered. Service delivery aims at narrowing this gap by gauging what the customer standards and requirements are and providing them with the same.
It is imperative for us to understand the importance of service employees before understanding service delivery and performance marketing assignments for MBA students,.
1. Service employees are the bearers of customer satisfaction as well as service quality.
2. They help to demonstrate various challenges present in roles that are boundary-spanning.
3. They are primary sources of generating strategies aimed at producing service delivery which is customer-oriented.
4. They help determine how these strategies could support a service culture that provides excellent service.
The Services Triangle:
A framework in services marketing that emphasizes on the importance of people in fulfilling promises of quality and building healthy customer relationships is the Services Triangle. 
It helps us conduct an overall strategic assessment which is fruitful in determining the standards of services offered by organization on all 3 parameters. i.e. internal marketing, external marketing as well as interactive marketing. Thus, it helps the organization to identify its strengths and weaknesses. It is also immensely helpful in specific service implementation which targets promotions and deliveries. It ensures availability of support systems required to deliver a service promised just like marketing assignment help experts.
he Service Profit Chain helps us in understanding the various factors contributing to growth in revenue as well as profitability. The following deductions can be made based on the Service Profit Chain:
1. Internal service quality and employee satisfaction are two of the most important factors that contribute to growth in revenue.
2. Employee satisfaction results in employee retention and enhanced employee productivity, which further help to determine the external service value.
3. A high amount of external service value leads to customer satisfaction and increases customer loyalty. This leads to a significant raise in profitability and revenue growth.

There are several dimensions of service quality, the most important being:
1. Reliability: This aims at delivering a service just the way it is promised. It is often under the control of frontline workers. 
2. Responsiveness: The willingness of workers or employees to assist customers in helping them attain a good customer experience is referred to as responsiveness.
3. Empathy: This quality refers to the ability of being able to understand and pay attention to the needs of the customer.
4. Assurance: This ability aims at instilling in the customer the trust and faith needed to hire a service. 
5. Tangibles: Aspects of services that can be seen or felt are included as tangibles. Eg. Uniform of employees, service facility or décor.
It is the responsibility of service employees to ensure that services of superior quality are delivered to the customer. Frontline service employees are essentially boundary-spanners who are used to interacting directly with the customers they are dealing with. They help establish a link between the external customer and the internal operations in the organization. They communicate information shared by the customer, pertaining to his requirements, to the concerned person in the organization. Boundary spanners are made to interact with both, external as well as internal constituencies of an organization.
Human Resources Department of an organization makes an attempt to attain superior service delivery through its employees by:
1. Hiring the right talent: 
Hiring in accordance with service competencies by being a preferred employer
2. Training people:
Promoting team spirit, empowering employees and training them with required skills
3. Support System:
Developing internal processes and providing all the support needed for measuring internal service quality
4. Retention of good employees:
Rewarding employees for good performance, including their opinion for decision making and treating them well
 Summary:
The article explores numerous facets of service delivery and performance, highlighting the importance of service employees in attaining the same. It also tells about the service triangle and its association with service delivery. The Service Profit Chain tells us how the revenue of an organization is dependent directly or indirectly on the employee satisfaction levels as well as internal service quality. The article defines service employees as boundary spanners and gives cues on how to deliver services of superior quality and enhance performance of employees by hiring the right talent, training them well and ultimately retaining the worthy.
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