Research Proposal: Customer Satisfaction in Wealth Management Industry

This research proposal investigates customer satisfaction within the wealth management industry, focusing on Pyrmont Wealth Management Company. The study aims to examine the importance of customer satisfaction, critically review existing customer satisfaction models (including Kano and SERVQUAL), and draw conclusions from primary research on customer satisfaction attributes. The proposal outlines the introduction, literature review, and methodology, highlighting the need to address declining customer satisfaction and improve service quality. The literature review covers the importance of customer satisfaction, various models and theories, including Gronroos' service quality model, Kano model, and SERVQUAL model. The research intends to identify gaps in service quality, understand customer expectations, and propose improvements to enhance customer loyalty and business performance. The research also explores the application of models to assess and improve customer satisfaction levels.

CW2: Research Proposal
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW..........................................................................................5
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................8
PRIMARY RESEARCH INSTRUMENT......................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
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Title - A Study on Customer Satisfaction for a wealth management company: An application of
the Kano Model (integrated with SERVQUAL)
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH PURPOSE
In present times, it is important for every company to gain satisfaction of their customers
so that they are able to retain them (El-Adly, 2019). With help of that they survive in market for
long term and compete with rivals. However, in order to gain satisfaction it is necessary to
identify needs of customers so that accordingly products and services are provided to them. The
customer follow a particular process of decision making process. This is because it enable in
taking right decision by analysing data and info. It is found that customers are King of market.
They dominate entire market as any change in their needs and preference highly impact on
companies growth. Besides that, for gaining of customer satisfaction there are many factors
which is needed to be taken into consideration. The factors depends on type of market and nature
of customers. But common factors are quality, value of product, customer expectation, etc. Any
change in these directly affect on customer satisfaction. Now a days there is frequent change in
customer needs due to covid 19. Moreover, as there are variety of options available so it has
become easy for them to switch from one company to another. The business operating in
financial sector has to retain their customers. This is done to increase market share. Usually,
customer loyalty is related to satisfaction. It means that if customer are loyal towards company
then they are satisfied. But if not then there is need to make improvement in service quality in
order to gain satisfaction of customers.
In addition, there is need to set some standards so that feedback is taken from customers.
It is because it enable in finding out their satisfaction level and then on basis of it things are
changed. It also is useful in analysing what customer complaint are and their expectations. So, on
basis of that changes are made (Imran and Hameed, 2019). For business they need to establish
strong relation with firm. It helps in retaining them for long time period. But it entirely depends
on service quality. However, there are some parameters as well by which service is delivered.
Apart from it, there is model ACSI of customer satisfaction. It is used to address issues related to
customer satisfaction. It gives insight of different perspective.
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Research Objectives
 To examine importance of customer satisfaction
 To critically review and evaluate the customer satisfaction models and their applications
on financial industry
 To study the findings and draw conclusions from the primary research on the quality
attributes of customer satisfaction and their implications Pyrmont wealth Management
Company.
Purpose of research – The main purpose of research is to examine customer satisfaction and
how much they are satisfied. Besides that, it will enable in finding out how satisfaction can be
measured with help of Servqual models and concepts. So, on basis of that it will be easy to make
changes in service quality and then providing them to customer. In addition, research will enable
in finding out gaps in service quality which is impacting on customer satisfaction.
Here, main issue which is identified is the customer satisfaction level of Pyrmont wealth
Management Company is decreasing. So, it has led to decline in sales and profits. Besides that,
customers are not getting perceived quality of services (Khadka, and Maharjan, 2017). Thus, it
has led to change in their needs and preference. Due to that they are switching to another
company. Furthermore, by focusing on customer satisfaction and using servqual model it will be
useful in analysing gaps and on basis of that improving it. Now, in terms of business context it is
important to gain competitive advantage. It is only possible when customers are retained.
Alongside, in wealth management company’s competitive advantage depends on gaining
customer satisfaction. It is because there are several competitors as well in this. So, by attracting
customers they can also gain advantage. There is need to maintain high customer satisfaction
level. Besides that, customer satisfaction plays vital role in success of company. It is because it
enable in generating value of services. Thus, it is directly related to revenue, shareholder value,
etc. Pyrmont wealth Management Company set some benchmark and standards by which they
match satisfaction level. It also helps in enhancing strong customer relation.
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
REVIEW OF CRITICAL THINKING
Importance of customer satisfaction
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As said by Leninkumar, (2017), for a business success customer satisfaction plays
significant role. This is because it helps in retaining of them and building a distinct image in
industry. Besides that, business is easily able to gain competitive advantage in market. It is
because having a large customer base state that firm is able to fulfil customer needs in effective
way. It also led to rise in sales and profits. Moreover, having a satisfied customer state that there
is strong relation of company with them. It means product or services offered by firm is able to
create value for them. Along with that, it is an indicator of customer loyalty. It also shows about
purchase intention of customer in future. This means customer will make repeat purchase. Also,
level of satisfaction is given rating which specified how well customer is satisfied. The rating
range from 1-10 depending on firm. Besides that, it become easy to measure customer loyalty.
In addition, in view of Radojevic, and Davidson, (2018) customer satisfaction shows
point of difference of business in market place. Those organisation who are able to retain
customer shows that their product is unique. Also, people star giving suggestions as well
regarding firm services. Also, if customer satisfaction is high than it reflect on good customer
loyalty. It reduces customer churn that mean poor quality service is reduced. Customer
satisfaction is the metric that is used to reduce customer churn. By measuring and tracking
customer satisfaction it becomes easy to put new processes in place to increase the overall
quality of your customer service. Apart from it, having high customer satisfaction results in
increasing lifetime value of customers. This also state that how much revenue is generated from
customers by business. Customer lifetime value refers to how valuable is customer with business
as compared to others competitors. The metric also help in understanding cost of acquiring per
customer. So, if cost is less then it means that customers are easily being acquired. But on
contrary if cost is high then there is gap in service quality which needs to be improved. Besides,
ROI is calculated on basis of that.
As stated by Mahmoud, Hinson, and Anim, (2018), high customer satisfaction is useful
in reducing negative word of mouth. This means that there is promotion done of products and
services. Hence, it is useful in building a good reputation and image in market. So, the negative
impact is reduced. Other than this, customer satisfaction is important as it is cheap for firm to
retain old customer rather than acquire new ones. Besides, new customer are automatically
attracted if customer satisfaction is high.
Models and theories of customer satisfaction
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According to Nunkoo, and Sunnassee, (2020), there are several models and theories of
customer satisfaction which are applied. The model use depends on needs of business. Besides,
each theory concept is different as it contains various elements. However, it provides a
framework which can be used to measure customer satisfaction. So, the models are mentioned as
below :
Gronroos service quality model – this is a model in which there are 3 dimensions identified of
service quality. In this expectation is function of market communication, word of mouth, etc. and
experience is of both technical and functional quality. They are as follows :
Technical quality – It is a dimension which state what customer receives by interacting with
company. Also, what is important in terms to evaluate quality of service.
Functional quality- This dimension consists of how customer is able to get technical outcome
that include staff, communication, etc.
Image – here, it is built with both technical and functional dimension.
The model shows that there is existence of perception gap and no suggestion regarding
how to narrow it. There is some practical application of model in which factors are determined
which contribute in research gap. Here, supplier may impact on gap of customer expectations.
However, it state that customer experience is product of image. There is effect on perception gap
due to marketing and process of technical quality (Oh, and Kim, 2017).
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Kano model- It is a model that categorise attribute of product on basis of how customer perceive
it and how it impact on satisfaction level. With help of categories in taking decisions when good
is good enough and more is better (Otto, Szymanski,. and Varadarajan, 2020). The model was
proposed by Dr. Noriaki Kano in 1984. It shows non linear relation within product performance
and customer satisfaction. Thus, there are 4 categories in it which is mentioned as below:
Threshold- the attributes must be presented in product or service. It does not give opportunity to
differentiate. Hence, by improving performance of these does not led to increasing customers
and also add cost to product. If these attributes are not present then it results in high
dissatisfaction within customers. Also, they are not included in quality function deployment.
Performance – they are those attribute which is merrier. The better fulfillment leads to linear
increment of customer satisfaction and absence or poor performance of these attributes will
diminish the customer satisfaction. Here, voice of customer reflect attributes. The price paid by
customer is related to this attribute. For instance- paying more for car whose average is good.
Excitement- the attributes are not expected by customers. So, its presence delight customers and
led to high satisfaction. But absence of these does not result in dissatisfaction. The excitement
attributes are seen to meet the latent needs of the customers. The marketers can build on these
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attributes to delight the customers and gain competitive advantage. For example- having a power
steering in car (Zhao, Xu and Wang, 2019).
Indifferent – Here, the attributes which does not contain into all above fall into this one. So, it is
defined as indifferent attributes. It is because there is no importance of attribute of customers into
it but it influence decision making.
Servqual model – It is a model which is used for measuring service quality level. In this the gaps
are identified and then on basis of it improvements are made. The gaps is related to service
delivery and quality standards. Within model there are certain quality levels on basis of which
service quality is measured. There are 5 components in it which is defined as :
Tangible- It refer to physical facility, equipment and appearance of personnel
Reliability- This means firm ability to perform service promise in accurate way.
Responsiveness- It is firm willingness to help customer and offer them service.
Assurance – This mean knowledge and courtesy of staff to gain trust and confidence of
customers.
Empathy – It means caring of individual and paying attention to customers.
Apart from measuring performance there are 4 gaps as well. So, they are discussed as
below :
Consumer expectation- It is that gap where management is not having any idea of what are
expectation of customers. So, gap exist when there is lack of emphasis on consumers. Hence, it
need to analyse market to determine needs of them.
Service quality specification gap- it occur when business does not deliver quality service to meet
customer expectation and fulfil their needs.
Service delivery gap- this is a gap that exist when organisation is not able to guarantee high
quality service. There may be various reasons regarding it like lack of experienced staff, delay in
process, etc.
External communication gap- it occurs when firm is not able to interact effectively with
customers in efficient way. So, the needs are not identified in it.
Thus, it can be stated that various quality service models are used to measure service
quality. This allows in measuring level with set standards. By that changes are made into it to
ensure high quality service is delivered.
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CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY
In order to conduct research in a systematic way, it is necessary to define various
methods that will be used. It gives an overview to user that what methods have been used. Also,
it becomes easy for the researcher to process further. The methodology give framework about
methods to be used in it. Hence, it is defined as follows :
Research philosophy- it is first element mentioned by scholar. By that it is easy to proceed
further in it. So, there are several philosophies in it such as realism, pragmatism, interpretivism,
etc. The use of philosophy enable in gathering of info and analysing it in proper way.
Interpretivism is related to finding out issues in study. Pragmatism is related to view of study in
multiple ways. In current study pragmatism will be used. It will enable in finding out
consequence of study and in practical way.
Research design- This is plan where research is done in step by step manner. The scholar is able
to evaluate outcomes by gathering precise data and info. In this there are 3 types of design that
are exploratory , conclusive and descriptive. As name shows exploratory means to gain
knowledge on subject and collect more info about it. So, usually it is based on literature review.
In descriptive accurate data is obtained about situation. It is initial part of exploratory research.
In conclusive research is done with aim of obtaining conclusion. Thus, in current research
exploratory design will be used. This will enable in gathering more info about subject.
Research approach- it is way which enable scholar to find out how data is gathered and analysed.
Thus, research is done in systematic way. Basically, there are 3 approaches in it such as
deductive, abductive and inductive. In inductive new theories and concepts are emerged. This is
done via hypothesis and then concluding it. However, in abductive several facts and figures are
examined. And in inductive no hypothesis is involved in it. In present study deductive approach
will be used. Thus, hypothesis will be tested in it to find out relevant outcomes.
Data collection- this is most important element in research as overall outcomes are dependent on
it. It enables in collecting accurate and precise data through different sources. Data collection is
process of gathering of info and analysing it to obtain results. Primary and secondary are 2 types
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of methods which are used. In primary first time data is gathered. This is done via various ways
such as questionnaire, interview, focus groups, etc. but in secondary data is collected from
articles, journals, books, etc. however, in primary qualitative and quantitative are 2 methods as
well. In qualitative data is gathered on basis of themes and include facts and figures. This is
done through questionnaire. Whereas in quantitative focus is on numeric data and calculations.
Here, large scale survey is done for it. Hence, in present study primary method will be used. For
that survey will be taken to collect data.
Research strategy- it is a plan which shows that how scholar is going to answer research
question. So, it acts as link between philosophy and research methods. So, there are different
types of strategies such as experiment, survey, case study, etc. for this study survey strategy will
be taken. In that survey will be done to analyse what are service quality gaps in it.
Sampling – it is necessary to gather sample from population so that data is collected from it.
Sampling is process of dividing population on basis of certain filter and criteria and then
collecting data from it. There are different types of sampling methods available in it. They are
non probability and probability. In probability each one is having equal chance of selection. But
in non probability there is unequal chance of selection of sample. Hence, in current study simple
random sampling is done. Thus, sample size will be 30 managers of company.
Data analysis- it is also vital component in research as it helps in obtaining of relevant results.
Data analysis is process of interpreting and analysing data to obtain specific outcomes. The
scholar need to have knowledge about various analysis techniques. Also, use of methods depends
on nature of data. There are different data analysis techniques available to evaluate data. In
present study SPSS will be to analyse data.
Ethical consideration- there are several ethics which need to be followed by scholar. First is
written consent of participants who are taking part in study. The data and info of sample will be
protected and secured. Alongside it, data collected and results obtained have been protected and
secured in database. They are not shared with any other business or person. Also, all data and
info will be stored in database in segregated manner and its privacy and security will be
maintained.
Reliability and validity – It is part of research in which reliability of data is maintained. Also, it
ensure that study is conducted in logical way. Besides, data gathered will be from authentic
sources. Whereas validity means the extent to which right elements have been used by researcher
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is conducting research and interpreting data. It is necessary to use right tools so that outcomes
will not get affected.
Limitation of study- There are certain limitations as well of this study. Here, first is survey is
done only of limited population. So, generalisation capacity will be limited in it. Another
limitation is that scholar is part of research so biases can be done of findings from focus groups.
This may directly impact on findings of research.
Time plan
It is important to form a time plan so that it enable scholar to conduct research within
specified time. Also, it shows time required for each activity to be done. Similarly, for present
study as well time plan is mentioned as:
Stages Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
Research
proposal
Topic
approval
Research
plan
Literature
review
Methodology
Drafting
questionnaire
Data
collection
Data analysis
Conclusion
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Final
Submission
PRIMARY RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
Questionnaire
Q-1 Does relationship manager possess in depth knowledge about financial services?
Yes
No
Q-2 The relationship manager makes a positive contribution to Customers’ investment portfolio
Agree
Strongly agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Q-3 the company do whatever is promised by them in specified time period
Agree
Strongly agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Q-4 Does services offered by company is quick and reliable
Yes
No
Q-5 Is there different types of communication tools to contact RM?
Yes
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