Customer Gap:difference between customer expectations and perceptions
Provider Gap 1:not knowing what customers expect.
Provider Gap 2:not having the right service designs and standards.
Provider Gap 3: not delivering to service standards.
Provider Gap 4: not matching performance to promises.
IKEA has done an excellent job of closing all four provider gaps. The company's supplier network is carefully chosen and managed to ensure quality and consistency. Despite the fact that the company has stores in more than 20 countries, it keeps standards, designs, and approaches very consistent everywhere, thereby reducing gap2.
Indoor and outdoor physical environment are unique and customer focused further closing gap2.
IKEA is also well known for its strong employee culture and careful hiring and training, factor that help reduce gap3.
Its innovative service concept that involves customers in the delivery,assembly and creation of its products. To accomplish this service,the company educates its customers thoroughly with its script like catalogs, thereby helping to close gap4.
Indoor and outdoor physical environment are unique and customer focused further closing gap2.
IKEA is also well known for its strong employee culture and careful hiring and training, factor that help reduce gap3.
Its innovative service concept that involves customers in the delivery,assembly and creation of its products. To accomplish this service,the company educates its customers thoroughly with its script like catalogs, thereby helping to close gap4.
