Understanding the customer's needs and wants is a top priority for the manufacturing and service industries. A very simple, but extremely effective tool to accomplish this is the Kano Analysis. Knowing customer requirements is imperative to the growth of any company, as a satisfied customer will stay with your product and will likely bring in more customers over time. The Kano Analysis is used by Six Sigma implementation teams in charge of development of products and services to accomplish their goals.
The intent of determining the true needs and wants of the customer, then matching those needs with the product, are the goals of Six Sigma implementation teams. The base formula is simple: the customer provides a wish list, and the manufacturer or service provider creates a widget or service. Upon delivery, the customer will find the product suitable, if all goes well. There are loosely three different outcomes in which the customers' reactions can be categorized. The most sought after situation is when the customer has his needs met and is satisfied. The next is if the customer is disappointed and is dissatisfied or even angry. The third is when the product or service exceeds customer expectations and the customer is delighted.
The Kano Model specifically separates these three levels of satisfaction into separate categories: dissatisfiers, satisfiers, and delighters. The dissatisfiers normally have no spoken requirements or needs. They just expect things to go as they should without any suggestion or input on their part. A good example would be when an airline flight is late. They didn't particularly ask for it to be on time, they just assumed it would. An example of a satisfier may pertain to a passenger who had requested club lounge access with Wi-Fi internet. If this customer received this, he would be satisfied, and if not, he would fall into the dissatisfied category. And if the same passenger received what he asked for and was also upgraded to first class, then he would be highly delighted, receiving services above and beyond what was expected.
It is important to also consider that customer needs do indeed change. And the provider of services may not always be informed or aware of the changes. This is something that always will happen, and providers need to be reminded not to gear their products and services specifically to clients, but to take a looser approach so as to capture the satisfaction levels of a larger group over time.
Companies have to keep pace with the constant feedback and communication with the customer. Unless and until customer specifications and needs are understood properly, it will not be possible to satisfy the customers - which can mean loss of customer trust, which in turn means financial losses and reductions in profitability. Six Sigma can make the optimal use of the Kano model to understand the voice of the customer, which is critical to the success of the business.
The intent of determining the true needs and wants of the customer, then matching those needs with the product, are the goals of Six Sigma implementation teams. The base formula is simple: the customer provides a wish list, and the manufacturer or service provider creates a widget or service. Upon delivery, the customer will find the product suitable, if all goes well. There are loosely three different outcomes in which the customers' reactions can be categorized. The most sought after situation is when the customer has his needs met and is satisfied. The next is if the customer is disappointed and is dissatisfied or even angry. The third is when the product or service exceeds customer expectations and the customer is delighted.
The Kano Model specifically separates these three levels of satisfaction into separate categories: dissatisfiers, satisfiers, and delighters. The dissatisfiers normally have no spoken requirements or needs. They just expect things to go as they should without any suggestion or input on their part. A good example would be when an airline flight is late. They didn't particularly ask for it to be on time, they just assumed it would. An example of a satisfier may pertain to a passenger who had requested club lounge access with Wi-Fi internet. If this customer received this, he would be satisfied, and if not, he would fall into the dissatisfied category. And if the same passenger received what he asked for and was also upgraded to first class, then he would be highly delighted, receiving services above and beyond what was expected.
It is important to also consider that customer needs do indeed change. And the provider of services may not always be informed or aware of the changes. This is something that always will happen, and providers need to be reminded not to gear their products and services specifically to clients, but to take a looser approach so as to capture the satisfaction levels of a larger group over time.
Companies have to keep pace with the constant feedback and communication with the customer. Unless and until customer specifications and needs are understood properly, it will not be possible to satisfy the customers - which can mean loss of customer trust, which in turn means financial losses and reductions in profitability. Six Sigma can make the optimal use of the Kano model to understand the voice of the customer, which is critical to the success of the business.
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If you are looking to expand upon your employable skills you may want to investigate Six Sigma Certification. The Six Sigma Black Belt program is highly rated and is the most respected field training certification in the industry.
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