ENHANCEMENT OF SERVICE QUALITY IN INTERNET-MARKETING THROUGH APPLICATION OF THE SIX SIGMA PROCESS

ABSTRACT

Thomas' (2003) Six Sigma DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) quality control system was used to establish a system to enhance consumer satisfaction with the service quality of products marketed on the Internet. This study included five steps. First, we defined importance and satisfaction in service quality. Second, we measured customer acceptability using a survey (containing dimensions of importance and satisfaction), and then constructed a service quality performance matrix to measure low importance, high satisfaction, and high importance, low satisfaction service items. In the third step, analysis, we constructed a Cause-and-Effect Diagram in which the defective service items serve as the major causal categories. We then identified minor causes within these major causal categories, the specific service strategies. For the fourth step, improvement, we used the Quality Function Deployment to locate critical service strategies as targets for improvement. After improvement, a new satisfaction assessment on the defective service items was performed, to confirm the complete improvement on all the defective services. The final step is control, with emphasis on the department of maintenance and marketing, standard operating procedures and knowledge management systems. This application of the Six Sigma quality control system for enhancing the service quality of products marketed on the Internet should reinforce consumer purchase inclination and enhance business performance.

Keywords:

• six sigma
• internet-marketing
• service quality performance matrix
• quality function deployment