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Organizational strategies for filling the customer can-do/must-do gap

Author

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  • Ford, Robert C.
  • McColl-Kennedy, Janet R.

Abstract

Service leaders have learned that it is not enough to attract customers who are ready and willing to experience what their organizations have to offer; they must also attract customers who are able to perform important roles in co-producing a successful service experience. This recognition has led to increasing interest regarding how organizations should manage these quasi-employees to ensure everything that must be done actually is done. Leading service organizations embrace this responsibility and have developed strategies to identify and accommodate variations in their targeted customers’ capabilities. They know that client satisfaction depends upon the organization making up for deficiencies between what the customer must do to have a great service experience and what the customer actually can do. Surprisingly, there has been little systematic investigation into how organizations create and execute strategies to ensure that these deficiency gaps are filled. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that organizations that have developed systems and procedures to fill these gaps are likelier to satisfy their customers and achieve higher levels of repeat business than firms that have not. This article offers strategies for organizations that commit to bridging the customer can-do/must-do gap and thereby ensuring their customers have a successful service experience.

Suggested Citation

  • Ford, Robert C. & McColl-Kennedy, Janet R., 2015. "Organizational strategies for filling the customer can-do/must-do gap," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 459-468.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bushor:v:58:y:2015:i:4:p:459-468
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2015.03.010
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ford, Robert C. & Dickson, Duncan R., 2012. "Enhancing customer self-efficacy in co-producing service experiences," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 179-188.
    2. Keith Goffin & Fred Lemke & Ursula Koners, 2010. "Identifying Hidden Needs," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-29448-6, December.
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