Customer satisfaction in the marketing of services and its application

In parallel to the fast developments in the technology, mobilization of the information, globalization and increasing fierce competition, it gets more and more difficult for the companies to sustain commercial viability. In this globalization process, all companies go through fundamental changes in order to increase their global market share and to retain their existence. Companies, operating under fierce competition, searches for new practices from production process to after-sales services in order to adapt to the fast-changing and ever-evolving conditions. These changes also affect the service industry, which experiences a developing and increasing trend. Analysis on the size of the service industry reveals that its share in Gross Domestic Product is increasing year by year. Developments in the service industry are closely related to the prosperity of the countries. In fact, there are a lot of field of activities in this industry, including health, tourism, sports, finance, communications and education. People tend to spend more on the non-foodstuff expenditures as their disposable income increases. Consequently, increases in disposable income have a direct influence on the service industry. In today?s world, competition positions itself as a key factor in all commercial operations. Consumers expect to purchase the goods and services, which they are in need of, at the place, time and high quality they?d like. In addition to these expectations, existence of many competitors and alternatives make it a must for the companies to differentiate themselves in the consumers? eyes in order to sustain their viability. Therefore, it can be claimed that ?customer based approach? is the key to create competitive advantage. According to this approach, companies should establish a long-lasting relationship with their customers in order to generate customer satisfaction and thereby, should maximize their profit. Companies should better aim profitability in conjunction with the customer satisfaction. As a first step in this study, the service concept is analyzed in detail, its intangibility is pointed out and its difference and importance in the marketing process is noted. Customer satisfaction is defined and the importance of the customer satisfaction for a company is discussed in the this part of the study. Due to the nature of the service, its concurrent consumption is fundamental. Consequently, the level of customer satisfaction can be observed right after the consumption of services. In relation to this point, a detailed elaboration of the marketing of services and the marketing mix. Factors affecting the customer satisfaction, the methods to create customer satisfaction and the importance of the service industry in today?s world follows next are discussed in the second part of the study. In the final section of the study, a survey is conducted to measure the customer satisfaction in a service industry. Satisfaction levels and expectations of the customers purchasing a specific service are analyzed.