Data Collection Strategies for Evaluating Customer Service at Marks and Spencer

This assignment aims to investigate the effectiveness of customer service delivered by Marks and Spencer (M&S). The study will collect information from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data will be gathered through questionnaires, while secondary data will be collected from books, journals, and online articles related to the topic. A sample size of 50 customers of M&S will be selected using random sampling. The objectives of the study include determining whether customers are delivered appropriate service by M&S, identifying factors that contribute to customer satisfaction and loyalty, and exploring the impact of customer service on customer retention. Overall, this study aims to provide valuable insights for M&S to improve its customer service and retain existing customers.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Rationale of the study..................................................................................................................2
LITERATRUE REVIEW................................................................................................................4
Factors affecting customer loyalty in retail sector.......................................................................4
Link between service quality and customer loyalty....................................................................5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................6
Research design...........................................................................................................................6
Research methodology.................................................................................................................6
Research technique......................................................................................................................6
Data collection.............................................................................................................................6
Sampling......................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Customer loyalty plays most significant role in every sector as it is regarded as the
outcome of positive emotional experience, physical value of an experience and it directly
associated with the product being consumed by target market. Further, it is the ultimate objective
of every enterprise to enhance its customer loyalty and this supports in accomplishment of
desired aims along with objectives of the firm (Katie, 2013). Moreover, in the modern era every
business has started to focus on its service quality as through this level of customer loyalty can
be enhanced easily and in turn is profitable for the business in every possible manner. In retail
sector every organization has started to focus on the range of services being delivered to its target
market and it is assisting business to survive in the competitive market for longer period of time.
Further, their existing large number of challenges in the present which can be only faced
by organization is delivering high quality service to its valuable customers. In short, quality
matters a lot in the entire retail sector (Ackah and Agboyi, 2014). Apart from this, through every
service delivered by retail organization is directly associated with customer loyalty and overall
decline in level of service can have adverse impact on every business. In short, the service
quality being maintained by business is directly linked with growth and success of organization
in the market where operations are being carried out. On the other, management of every
enterprise focuses on maintaining proper level of service quality so that its valuable customers
can be retained for longer period of time. Further, it becomes easy for organization to grab
opportunities present in the business environment and acts as development tool. Objective of
customer loyalty can only be accomplished business if its service quality is up to the mark and its
ignorance can have adverse impact on company (Cahill, 2006).
Company overview
For conducting the present study Marks and Spencer will be chosen as one of the
organization which is a British multinational retailer headquartered in London. Company is
specialized in home products, clothing and other type of food items (About us., 2015). At present
revenue earned by company is around £10.3 billion and is regarded as leader in the market for
conducting overall operations. Further, company is having strong customer base and this
supports to sustain in the competitive market for longer period of time. At present enterprise has
employed 83,069 staff members who are capable enough of delivering effective customer service
to the target market. Further, international expansion of business is taking place at faster pace
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and firm is opening its stores worldwide with the aim to serve large number of customers in the
market. Apart from this financial strength of the business has allowed firm to modify its product
range as per changing need and requirement of its target market. Turnover of enterprise has risen
every year and it is the real outcome of rise in level of customer loyalty which is fruitful for the
business enterprise in every possible manner. Rise in level of customer loyalty is providing
competitive advantage to business.
Aim: The main behind carrying out this study will be “To assess the impact of service quality on
customer loyalty within retail sector: A study on Marks and Spencer”
Objectives: Following will be the objectives set for the study on the basis of aim which are as
follows:
 To identify the factors affecting customer loyalty in retail sector
 To understand the link between service quality and customer loyalty in Marks and
Spencer To recommend the effective ways through which Marks and Spencer can raise service
quality for enhancing customer loyalty.
Research questions
Following will be the research questions for the present research which are:
 What are the ranges of factors affecting customer loyalty in retail sector?
 What is the link between service quality and customer loyalty in Marks and Spencer?
 What are the effective ways through which company can raise its service quality for
increasing customer loyalty?
Rationale of the study
The main aim behind carrying out this study will be “To assess the impact of service
quality on customer loyalty within retail sector: A study on Marks and Spencer”. In the modern
era concept of service quality is getting popular where every retail enterprise has started to focus
on the range of services which are being delivered to target market and it is effective enough in
enhancing the level of customer loyalty (Paluch, 2011). Further, it is one of the ultimate
objectives of enterprise to raise the level of customer loyalty and this is only possible when
efforts are applied in enhancing service quality. The range of services rendered by retail
enterprise involves providing assistance to target market at the time when they purchase services,
solving product related issues, sharing information regarding product range etc. All these type of
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services are provided by retail companies to its target market and it is effective enough in
meeting with the requirement of the company. In short, it allows target market to repurchase the
products of company on continuous basis through which business can easily earn higher profits
and this is regarded as one of the main objective of firm behind carrying out operations in the
market (Paluch, 2011). Moreover, it is well known fact that level of competition in entire retail
sector is quite high and this prevents business from accomplishing its desired aims along with
objectives. Therefore, by focusing on service quality business can become leader in the market
and can easily deal with the range of challenge present in the business environment. Further, it
enhances internal strength of the organization and customers may not prefer to purchase services
of other companies in case if proper services are delivered to them on time and as per their
expectations (Customer Experience in the Retail Sector., 2015). Different reasons are present due
to which customer service plays significant role in the retail sector and such reasons are
enhancing sales volume, word of mouth advertising, encouraging customers to repurchase the
services and controlling shrink. So, this directly provides base to the business in gaining
competitive advantage and has positive impact on brand image also (Ou and et. al., 2011).
High level of customer service allows business to enhance satisfaction level of target
market and they are brand loyal towards entire range of products offered by retail company.
Further, to strengthen overall customer base is one of the main aim of every retail business and
this can be only accomplished if level of service quality is acceptable and it can encourage
customers to purchase the range of services. Apart from this, different types of schemes are
introduced by retail companies but they are not highly effective as customers consider service
quality as important before purchasing any commodity (Santouridis and Trivellas, 2010).
Problem statement
The main problem associated with the present study will be to identify the quality level of
the service being offered by retail company as it is associated with success and failure of
business in the market. Large numbers of services are delivered by retail organizations but main
challenge for every enterprise is to know whether their service quality is acceptable or not.
Further, buy offering high quality service it is possible for business to enhance level of customer
loyalty and is profitable for the business in every possible manner. Therefore, this will be the
main issue linked with the study.
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LITERATRUE REVIEW
Factors affecting customer loyalty in retail sector
As per view of Prentice (2013) different type of factors are present in retail sector which
influences customer loyalty. Range of products offered is considered as one of the major factor
which encourages target market to be brand loyal. In case if the products offered by firm well
meets with the requirement of target market then it enhances brand loyalty and vice versa.
Therefore, it is necessary for every retail company to ensure that range of commodities offered to
customers are effective enough in enhancing the satisfaction along with loyalty level of the target
market (Prentice, 2013). This directly allows business to gain competitive advantage and in turn
firm can easily survive in the market for longer period of time. Further, time to time it is
necessary for business to modify its product range so that level of loyalty may not decline due to
this.
However Caruana (2002) argued that quality level of service offered to customers plays
significant role in the retail sector where before purchasing any commodity it is ensured by target
market they are offered high level of service and this encourages them to repurchase the products
on continuous basis. In short, it allows business to enhance its profitability along with sales
volume and acts as development tool for the entire company (Caruana, 2002). Better customer
service is delivered to target market by rendering training to the staff members working in retail
company and this can be regarded as one of the main reason behind growth of successful
companies such as Marks and Spencer, Tesco etc in the market. Further, quality level of the
product is also significant factor on which customer loyalty depends as in case when customers
are provided high quality products then it enhances level of loyalty and vice versa.
According to Pollack (2009) satisfaction level of target market is also key factor which
influences customer loyalty as in case when customer is highly satisfied with the range of
products offered then it leads to rise in level of loyalty and vice versa. Further, it is well known
fact that without satisfying need of target market no company can survive in the market for
longer period of time and by enhancing satisfaction level of customers business can grab large
number of opportunities being present in the market (Wong and Sohal, 2003). It supports in
gaining competitive advantage and allows to become leader in the market. Therefore, these are
some of the key factors which affect customer loyalty in retail sector.
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Link between service quality and customer loyalty
As per view of Kursunluoglu (2014) there exist direct relationship between service quality
and customer loyalty in retail sector. In case when higher efforts are applied by business in
enhancing its service quality then the favourable outcome for the same is brand loyalty and this
provides large number of benefits to business where survival in the competitive market becomes
easy for organization (Kursunluoglu, 2014). Further, main objective of every retail firm differs
from one another and it is possible that company may not focus on its service quality which has
adverse impact on entire company. Through better service quality expectations of target market
can be met easily. Further, successful retail companies operating in the market of UK such as
Marks and Spencer, Asda, Tesco etc has undertaken effective customer service and due to this
basic reason their customer base is quite strong and is allowing business to sustain in the
competitive market for longer period of time (Andreassen and Olsen, 2008). Moreover, it is
leading to rise in overall performance of companies in the market.
However Tsoukatos and Rand (2006) argued that building effective customer service is
necessary for every business but it has become difficult in the modern era due to presence of
large number of challenges. Therefore, every business has started to focus on the key services
which are delivered to customers and it has become one of the major sources of attraction for
every organization. Moreover, level of customer service is enhanced by business by providing
training to the staff members on continuous basis as they are responsible for dealing with target
market on continuous basis (Tsoukatos and Rand, 2006). Further, customer service supports in
differentiation where majority of the business can easily differentiate itself differentiate itself
from those of competitors in the market. Customer service is the vitally significant differentiator
in the entire retail industry and due to this reason improvement in the same is required.
Moreover, at present many retail companies are operating in the market that are not at able to
deliver appropriate customer service and this has become one of the main reason behind decline
in overall performance of firms in the market. As per view of Zineldin (2006) delivering
effective customer service allows business to less focus on development of marketing strategies
as positive mouth to mouth publicity is present when level of service is up to the mark (Zineldin,
2006).
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
Different types of research designs are present which are adopted at the time of
conducting study. It involves exploratory, descriptive, explanatory etc (Nykiel, 2007).
Descriptive research design focuses on providing description of the topic being chosen and
exploratory focuses on exploring new ideas linked with the study. For conducting the present
study descriptive research design will be undertaken where main focus will be on providing
description of the topic selected for the research and it will support in accomplishing overall
aims and objectives of the study.
Research methodology
Different types of methodologies are present which are used in the study and it involves
case study, historical, experiment, archival etc. For conducting the present study survey
methodology will be employed where information will be gathered by carrying out survey in the
market. Main stress is on identifying the impact of service quality on customer loyalty which will
be accomplished by carrying out survey in the market.
Research technique
For conducting study in appropriate manner both primary and secondary techniques will be
used in the present study (Sreedharan., 2007). Primary technique will be applied with the help of
questionnaire through which it will become easy to understand the real impact of service quality
on customer loyalty.
Data collection
In every type of study data collection plays most crucial role as by collecting appropriate
information it is possible to accomplish overall aims and objectives of the study. Two sources of
data collection are present namely primary and secondary through which it is possible to obtain
information which is effective enough in answering all the research questions (Saunders, 2003).
In the present study information will be collected from both primary and secondary
sources. Primary information will be gathered with the help of questionnaire and data will be
collected from customers of Marks and Spencer through which it will be known whether they are
delivered appropriate service or not. Further, secondary information will be gathered through
different books, journals and online articles associated with the topic and through this overall
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objective of the study will be met. Therefore, through this it can be said that both the sources
selected for data collection will support in attaining the expected results.
Sampling
It is considered as one of the most important part of the study where respondents are
selected in order to gain information from them (Sekaran, 2006). In the present study sample size
of 50 customers of Marks and Spencer will be selected and the main reason behind selection of
customers as sample will be to know the effectiveness of customer service delivered by
company. Further, technique of random sampling will be employed where respondents will be
selected randomly and there is no fix criterion for selecting respondents. Therefore, in this way
crucial information will be gained for the present study.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ackah, D. and Agboyi, R. M., 2014. The Impact of Service Quality on Consumer Loyalty: A
Study of “All Needs Supermarket, Takoradi. GRIN Verlag.
Andreassen, W. T. and Olsen, L. L., 2008. The impact of customers' perception of varying
degrees of customer service on commitment and perceived relative attractiveness.
Managing Service Quality: An International Journal. 18(4) .pp.309 – 328.
Cahill, L. D., 2006. Customer Loyalty in Third Party Logistics Relationships: Findings from
Studies in Germany and the USA. Springer Science & Business Media.
Caruana, A., 2002. Service loyalty: The effects of service quality and the mediating role of
customer satisfaction. European Journal of Marketing. 36(7/8) .pp.811 – 828.
Johnson, B. and Christensen, L., 2010. Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, and
Mixed Approaches. UK: SAGE.
Katie, J., 2013. Impact of Service Quality in Organisations: Case Study of Jakey Travel. GRIN
Verlag.
Kursunluoglu, E., 2014. Shopping centre customer service: creating customer satisfaction and
loyalty. Marketing Intelligence & Planning. 32(4) .pp.528 – 548.
Nykiel, A. R., 2007. Handbook of Marketing Research Methodologies for Hospitality and
Tourism. Psychology Press
Ou, W. and et. al., 2011. Relationships among customer loyalty programs, service quality,
relationship quality and loyalty: An empirical study. Chinese Management Studies.
5(2) .pp.194 – 206.
Paluch, S., 2011. Remote Service Technology Perception and its Impact on Customer-Provider
Relationships: An Empirical Exploratory Study in a B-to-B-setting. Springer Science &
Business Media.
Pollack, L. B., 2009. Linking the hierarchical service quality model to customer satisfaction and
loyalty. Journal of Services Marketing. 23(1) .pp.42 – 50.
Prentice, C., 2013. Service quality perceptions and customer loyalty in casinos. International
Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 25(1) .pp.49 – 64.
Santouridis, I. and Trivellas, P., 2010. Investigating the impact of service quality and customer
satisfaction on customer loyalty in mobile telephony in Greece. The TQM Journal.
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22(3) .pp.330 – 343.
Saunders, M., 2003. Research Methods for Business Students. Pearson Education.
Sekaran, U., 2006. Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach. John Wiley &
Sons
Sreedharan., 2007. A Manual of Historical Research Methodology. Centre for South Indian
Studies.
Tsoukatos, E. and Rand, K. G., 2006. Path analysis of perceived service quality, satisfaction and
loyalty in Greek insurance. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal.
16(5) .pp.501 – 519.
Walden, G., 2006. Survey Research Methodology 1990-1999: A. IAP.
Wong, A. and Sohal, A., 2003. Service quality and customer loyalty perspectives on two levels of
retail relationships. Journal of Services Marketing. 17(5) .pp.495 – 513.
Zineldin, M., 2006. The royalty of loyalty: CRM, quality and retention. Journal of Consumer
Marketing. 23(7) .pp.430 – 437.
Online
About us., 2015. [Online]. Accessed through <http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/aboutus>.
[Accessed on 12th Dec 2015].
Customer Experience in the Retail Sector., 2015. [Online]. Accessed
through<http://www.charteris.com/insight/customer-experience-in-the-retail-sector>.
[Accessed on 12th Dec 2015].
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