EXCEEDING CLIENTS' HIGHEST HOPES:

A SERVICE MARKETING CHECKLIST

Customers' expectations are the true standards for judging service quality. Understanding the nature and determinants of expectations is essential to ensuring that service performance meets or exceeds expectations. Effectively managing expectations sets the stage for surpassing them - which, in turn, contributes to cultivating a customer franchise. Berry and Parasuraman propose that marketing managers ask themselves the following questions as they seek to manage and exceed expectations:

  1. Do we strive to present a realistic picture of our service to customers? Do we always check the accuracy of our promotional messages prior to customers' exposure to them? Is there regular communication between employees who serve customers and those who make promises to customers? Do we assess the impact on customer expectations on cues such as price?


  2. Is performing the service right the first time a top priority in our company? Do we stress to our employees that providing reliable service is an effective way of managing customers' expectations? Are our employees trained and rewarded for delivering error-free service? Do we regularly evaluate our service designs to identify and correct potential flaws?

  3. Do we communicate effectively with customers? Do we periodically contact customers to ascertain their needs and appreciate their business? Do we train and require employees to demonstrate to customers we care about and value them?


  4. Do we surprise customers during the service process? Are our employees aware that the process of service delivery represents the prime opportunity to exceed customers' expectations? Do we take specific steps to encourage excellence during service delivery?


  5. Do our employees regard service problems as opportunities to impress customers, or as annoyances? Do we prepare and encourage employees to excel in the service recovery process? Do we reward them for providing exceptional recovery service?


  6. Do we continuously evaluate and improve our performance against customers' expectations? Do we perform consistently above the adequate service level? Do we capitalize on opportunities to exceed the desired service level?
(Sources: Reprinted in Marketing Management, Kotler, Copyright by Prentice Hall with the permission of The Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, from Marketing Services: Competing Through Quality by Leonard L. Berry and A. Parasuraman. Copyright 1991 by The Free Press).