Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
and Segmentation in
Food Retailing using the
Importance-Performance
Paradigm
Dimitrios Theodoras This paper will provide a framework on how to design a customer service
Ministry of Economy, strategy and apply it to the food industry in Greece. Building a customer
Competitiveness and Shipping
service strategy requires the evaluation of marketing and logistics service
(former Ministry of Development)
General Secretariat of Industry, elements, the identification of importance-performance gaps in relation
Directorate of Quality Policy to those elements, and the segmentation of the service offered. To
Greece
evaluate service elements, retailers were asked to rate the elements'
dtheod@unipi.gr
importance and the food suppliers' performance. To identify importance-
performance gaps, a paired samples t-test was used. Statistical differences
between importance and performance exist in various customer service
elements. To reveal different retailer segments, a cluster analysis with
K-means was applied. The cluster analysis indicates that the prior
classification of multiple food retailers according to their annual
purchases of food products (hypermarkets, supermarkets, and
convenience stores) affect their ratings on the importance of customer
service. This study provides insight into the customer service-based
segmentation. In addition, it provides an approach to identify customer
segments by using the importance-performance analysis.
Table 1
Importance and performance rating of marketing and logistics customer service
essential for the food suppliers to and it is encouraging that no of customer service are (in order of
identify the reasons that lead to the retailers entered this segment. importance): order completeness,
mismatch between the retailers' Because of the natural delivery of products without defects,
perceptions of importance and characteristics of food products on-time delivery, informing about
performance. More specifically, and the attention given to quality shortages in the orders, product
subsequent analysis reveals that and safety, the importance of availability, and efficient handling of
the eight retailers' perceptions of customer service is also significant emergency orders.
importance are higher than their for the retailers.
perceptions of performance in five The food suppliers should
service elements: invoice error-free, Conclusions and formulate their service strategy by
on-time delivery, informing about future research taking into consideration these
shortages in the orders, product logistics service elements-order
availability, and efficient handling of The aim of this paper has been to completeness, delivery of products
emergency orders. The differences assist food suppliers in developing without defects, and informing about
between importance and an effective service strategy by shortages in the orders-and the
performance on those elements are focusing on the marketing and marketing service elements:
statistically significant. The logistics components of customer invoice error-free, efficient handling
retailers rate low the performance service, by identifying the service of returned products, and providing
of the suppliers in the efficient elements' importance-performance technical information.
handling of emergency orders (2.18 gaps, and by segmenting the
on a 7-point scale). The retailers retailers on the basis of their Prior segmentation of the multiple
rate medium the performance of perceptions regarding customer food retailers into three groups
the suppliers in the invoice error- service importance and (hypermarkets, supermarkets, and
free, on-time delivery, informing performance. convenience stores) was carried
about shortages in the orders, and out based on their annual
product availability (3.87, 4.44, 4.75, Based on the choices of retailers purchases of food products and
and 4.12 respectively on a 7-point from a prestructured list modified then cluster analysis was
scale). However, the retailers rate by the food suppliers, it emerged performed. All the supermarkets
high the importance of all service that customer service within the formed one cluster that considered
elements. In segment D Greek food market consists of four customer service important while
(Undemanding but Satisfied marketing and six logistics service the hypermarkets and convenience
Cluster) the retailers' perceptions elements. The elements based on stores formed two clusters. The
are lower in the customer service the marketing perspective of hypermarkets and convenience
importance and higher in the customer service are (in order of stores that formed the first cluster
customer service performance. importance): invoice error-free, considered customer service as
Segment D could consist of retailers efficient handling of returned less important compared to the
who are interested only in the products, providing technical hypermarkets and convenience
outcome of customer service such information, and efficient handling stores that formed the second
as the performance of the food of customers' requests. The elements cluster.
suppliers. It is not a common case based on the logistics perspective