Competitive advantage through customer satisfaction

Abstract

The main objective of the thesis was to investigate how customers perceive the services of wellness improvement providers such as massage therapists, chiropractors, physiotherapists or someone practicing a similar profession, and how this information can be used to gain a better competitive advantage. The motivation for implementing this survey was the low level of business education in these fields and the lack of awareness about how to manage their scarce resources beneficially. The survey offers guidelines for how these professions can meet more accurately the expectations of their customers and how they can manage their resources to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors through the ability to offer superior service experiences.
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\nThe theoretical section of the thesis was based on investigating what is essential to good customer service, how quality of service is increased and which subjects influences how customers perceive the service. Theory related to the implementation of the survey and the validity of the case study is also defined in this section.
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\nThe empirical research was implemented using a quantitative customer satisfaction survey. The survey took place in the November of 2010 via emails and personal interviews to a randomly chosen group of people from friends, family and some massage therapists’ current customers at their own practices. The method used in the selection of the respondents was chosen to receive the widest selection of different opinions from people with different backgrounds.
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\nThe findings from the customer satisfaction survey indicated clear trends in the market and possible fluctuations in the opinions of the professionals in the field. The results from the survey were investigated and compared to the theoretical section, and based on these results suggestions for improvements of the services were made.