MEASURING SERVICE QUALITY

Measuring Service Quality in Banking Sector



Measuring Service Quality

GAP Analysis

Gap analysis is a marketing tool that allows an organization to determine if there are portions of a market which are not being served. Gap analysis seeks to explain why sales are lower in a market than first expected. The reasons are usually related to how products are used, the types of products being distributed in the market, the distribution system itself, and the competitive climate. Gap analysis can be used to compare markets within a country or between countries in order to determine which markets hold the most opportunities. Gap analysis provides a useful (albeit somewhat standardized) basis for cross-country comparisons of marketing opportunities.

Gap analysis involves a study of the needs of the market and the specific attributes of a product. The analysis attempts to match product features with consumer wants and needs. If consumers are using less of the product than expected, advertising or other information gathering steps may be in order. If the product line being offered does not meet the needs of the market, changes in the line (new products, packaging, etc.) or a realignment of products in different markets may be necessary. The distribution system in effect may not be getting the product to those who are most likely to make purchases or it is too slow. Competitors may be found to be selling more of the same type of product than would normally be expected and new ways of competing may have to be considered. When gaps are found in a market, action can be taken to fill them.

Gap analysis is concerned with why the gap occurs and the development of measures for reducing or eliminating it. This might be achieved by changing the objectives, or by changing strategy at the level of the businesses. The forecast is initially developed subject to four key assumptions:

1. The corporation's portfolio of businesses remains unchanged.

2. Competitive success strategies in the firm's products and markets will continue to evolve as in the past.

3. The demand and profitability opportunities in the firm's marketplaces will follow historic trends.

4. The corporation's own strategies in the respective businesses will follow their historic pattern of evolution.

The first step in gap analysis is to consider revising the corporate objectives. Should expected outcomes from the businesses exceed aspirations, the objectives can be revised upward. When aspirations substantially exceed possible performance, it may be necessary to revise the objectives downward.

When, after such adjustments, a significant gap still remains, new strategies need to be developed to eliminate the gap. To forecast sales increases likely to result from the introduction of alternative growth strategies for each business, managers can estimate the following measures of market structure:

• industry market potential (IMP);

• relevant industry sales (RIS);

• real market share (RMS).

The IMP is estimated as shown in figure 1. It is assumed, first, that all customers who might reasonably use the product will do so; second, that the product will be used as often as possible; and, third, that the product ...