ZONE OF TOLERANCE IN SERVICE MARKETING
the service sector has received significant attention in the last few decades due to its immense contribution to the global economy. In the early 19th century, the service sector was never appreciated because even the major world economies were still majoring on the manufacturing sector which made service sector appear as a subset of production. Soon after, the effects of globalization led to the development of strong economies that were powered by the service industry. Over the years, scholars have conducted diverse research studies looking to establish the significance of the link between service quality and customer satisfaction. Research has identified that customers use this concept when looking to differentiate companies that are operating in competitive industries (Wu and Wang, 2012). It, therefore, presents corporate entities with a huge challenge that entails understanding customers’ preferences in a bid to maintain superior quality of service that will earn the loyalty of the customers. Zone of tolerance is the instrument developed by researchers to measure service quality in diverse settings. This concept helps explain the desired service or what the customer expects from a business entity and adequate service which is the service that the customer will accept as sufficient. Understanding of zone of tolerance can help companies address different types of customer expectations in the service industry.
The zone of tolerance concept argues that if the service delivered by a business to a customer falls within the zone of tolerance, the customer will experience a satisfaction. However, if the service delivered falls below the zone of tolerance, customers will experience dissatisfaction, feel swindled and will seek the same services from another provider. Research conducted indicates that the zone of tolerance depends on customer expectations on the performance of a product. Zone of tolerance varies from customer to customer and therefore business entities have to strive and maintain a high standard of service delivery which will ensure customer loyalty will remain intact. When customers visit business premises or decide to transact with a particular business (Shoeb, 2011). They have pre-conceived expectations which they expect the business will measure up to in terms of the service that they will deliver. Once the business has served the customer, the customer response varies and scholars have identified the three categories that customer response falls in. according to research, if a service offered is according to customer expectation. The customer does not react as much because they had that particular expectation in mind. However, if the service offered is above the customer expectation, the customer is likely to remain loyal and talk about the business to other people. in the event that the service offered is below the customer expectation. The customer is likely to break ties with the business and talk negatively to other people about the business. This knowledge is critical to corporate entities because having this knowledge helps the business develop exemplary service delivery as a competitive edge against its competitors.
The zone of tolerance concept argues that customer expectations are never constant. This means corporate entities have to always be on the lookout for the changing customer preferences to ensure that they meet up with these expectations. Lately, the aspect of customer care has gained a lot of prominence in service marketing. Businesses have understood that keeping loyal customers happy is less expensive than gaining the trust of new customers to the extent of gaining their loyalty. Trustworthiness and exemplary customer care service falls within the zone of tolerance that corporate entities need to capitalize on. There are several ways that corporate entities can offer customer care services to their clients but what customers seem fully interested in is how quickly businesses respond to their queries and the usefulness of the responses given. Research indicates that about 96% of new businesses in the service industry close down within the first 10 years of their establishment which due to poor customer care services. Good customer care service indicates that businesses 70 % of customers are willing to spend more money with a particular company that has customer care services that are above the customer expectations. 97% of customers are willing to share the experience they had with other people particularly concerning the excellent customer care service that they had. The research also indicates that about 59% of customers are willing to try out a new business in search of better customer care services (Wu, 2011). This indicates that firms have to keep bettering their services since even though they might be receiving positive reviews about their excellent service. There is a chance that few customers might choose to try out another business in search of an even better option. Understanding this variation in the zone of tolerance gives companies better standing when addressing different types of customer expectations.
Apart from the above-mentioned issues that companies should focus on to satisfy different customer expectations, addressing customer feedback is another component that falls within the zone of tolerance elements. A business might be making huge sales but that does not qualify the type of services that they are offering as excellent (Ho et al., 2015). In some instances, customers might be dissatisfied with the quality of services being offered but still chose to transact with such a company out of options. Such a scenario might be as a result of costs related to switching from one company to another or the fact that such a company is offering its services at a subsidized price compared to the competitors. This, however, is not a safe ground for a company to tread on because in the event of a new entrant into the industry with better services and other offerings that the customer might be missing with other companies, then there is every likelihood that customers will quickly shift their loyalty to the new company. Opening channels that will allow customers to present their feedback after service consumption. Such channels allow the business to identify the general feeling that customers have about the level of service delivery. Such information is vital to a business given that it can be used as a basis for addressing various aspects that customers feel are not addressed properly.
In conclusion, the zone of tolerance is a complex yet very critical concept that business entities need to familiarize with if they are to remain competitive and last remain relevant to their customer needs. The concept states that customers are willing to accept variations within a range of performance, any increase within this will only result in a marginal effect on the perception of customers. Business entities are obliged to be on the lookout for new customer preferences to ensure that they can meet the customer expectation in time before other competitor takes up the opportunity and offers the type of services demanded by the customers. Opening channels of feedback is another strong aspect that puts business entities at an advantageous position that enables them to meet customer expectations and retain their loyalty. In the event that a business entity fails to achieve customer expectations, this can result in loss of customer loyalty which according to research is the major reason why most businesses close down not long after their establishment.
References
Wu, L.W., 2011. Satisfaction, inertia, and customer loyalty in the varying levels of the zone of tolerance and alternative attractiveness. Journal of Services Marketing.
Shoeb, Z.H., 2011. Identifying service superiority, the zone of tolerance and underlying dimensions. Library Review.
Ho, A., Sharma, P. and Hosie, P., 2015. Exploring customers’ zone of tolerance for B2B professional service quality. Journal of Services Marketing.
Wu, L.W. and Wang, C.Y., 2012. Satisfaction and zone of tolerance: the moderating roles of elaboration and loyalty programs. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal.