When thinking about service quality, it is typical to consider your own customer experiences, such as those at a restaurant, in a taxi, or at your local retailer. But service quality extends far beyond these simpler examples into cases that are more complex and, perhaps, more interesting.

For example, how does the concept of service quality change in the case of Business-to-Business (B2B) service providers? Does it change at all?

The B2B model differs from the Business-to-Consumer (B2C) model, in that the end user of the product or service is satisfied (or dissatisfied) based largely on the value unlocked for a business rather than for themselves personally, and how this value is transformed into business success. It can, therefore, be more complex for B2B service providers to implement standards for service quality or measure the quality of their service.

 

❝	Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of it. – Peter Drucker

 

The tried, tested, and trusted SERVQUAL (Service Quality) model¹ works well in the B2B space. It has been used and adapted to many different cultural contexts, including some B2B settings². Customer centricity is a core value at Eighty20, and a look at how SERVQUAL is applied to our business offers some insight that could be useful to other similar businesses.

The consultant’s ability to establish and maintain productive relationships with its clients has an impact on the client’s perception of the quality of the consulting service¹. This short blog unpacks the broad dimensions of SERVQUAL and looks at how each dimension is applied in the context of Eighty20.

The five dimensions of SERVQUAL:

The following describes these dimensions from the perspective of an Eighty20 client:

1. Tangibility – Making data visual

Data, and information itself, can lack tangibility at first glance. Can one touch an idea? However, with the use of modern tools like Power BI, inhouse built solutions such as the Data Portal or our Citizen Analyst Tool or simple PowerPoint presentations, Eighty20 visualises data in such a way that it tells stories and becomes much easier to “touch”. By presenting the data in a dynamic way, clients can interact with it, play around with it, and digest its story in their own way. In this way, Eighty20 is able to present data and insights to solve business problems in a way that is tangible.

2. Assurance – Expert and specialist knowledge

You wouldn’t go to a mechanic for medical advice, nor go to a doctor with car troubles. Assurance describes the confidence instilled in the service provider’s employees – the client’s confidence that they have the specialist ability to carry out the service competently². This is particularly crucial for consulting companies like Eighty20. For this reason, Eighty20 is committed to hiring and developing exceptional individuals who have both the technical and soft skills necessary to instil confidence among its clients. One can see this commitment in our rigorous hiring process (which includes the famous Eighty20 challenge), our growing internal Eighty20 Academy, deliberate and personalised development plans, and generous study policy.

3. Responsiveness – Timely solutions

For clients that value data-driven decision making, the decision-making process is often reliant on the availability of the insights needed. If the data and analysis to provide those insights is slow, decision making is slow. Responsiveness in the SERVQUAL model refers to the service provider’s willingness to provide prompt service². By taking a customer-centric attitude, Eighty20 can intimately understand the urgency of client’s decisions and respond to requests promptly, using agile and flexible systems.

4. Empathy – Understanding the context

Somewhat congruent with responsiveness, empathy refers to the service provider’s client understanding and individualised attention². In the B2B space one could argue that this dimension of SERVQUAL is particularly relevant, as understanding the needs of the client’s business is the key to understanding what business success looks like for the end user. Using Eighty20’s guiding principle – the Pareto Principle – we work hard with clients to craft practical solutions that address the 20% that will have the 80% impact. This requires an in depth and thorough understanding of both the client’s business situation as well as an intimate understanding of the climate in which they operate.

5. Reliability – Confidence in accuracy

The final dimension of SERVQUAL, reliability, refers to a service provider’s ability to perform the service dependably and with accuracy². This dimension is particularly important in the B2B space, and especially important in the consulting space. Incorrect advice, insight, or information can lead to misinformed decision making by clients, which can jeopardize business success and negatively affect the value that the service provider adds. Consulting companies, like Eighty20, must ensure that the insights, advice, and data provided exhibits excellent accuracy. With rigorous validation procedures, complementary secondary research, and extensive peer review, Eighty20 can ensure that the services we provide present with exceptional accuracy.

To conclude, embracing the dimensions of SERVQUAL can help manage relationships with B2B clients. These clients face unique and particular challenges, but the universality of the SERVQUAL model affords service providers the ability to build on their service offering with service quality at the centre of their focus.

 

Sources:

1. A.G. Raišiene & S.J. Raišys.  2022. Business Customer Satisfaction with B2B Consulting Services: AHP-Based Criteria for a New Perspective. Sustainability. 14(7437): 1 – 16.
2. C.N.K. Naik, S.B. Gantasala, & G.V. Prabhakar. 2010. Service Quality (Servqual) and its Effect on Customer Satisfaction in Retailing. European Journal of Social Sciences. 16(2): 239 – 251.