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"Understanding the 'true' needs of customers requires work on
the part of designers and planners," says Glenn Mazur, executive
director of the QFD Institute.
It has never been an easy task; just ask anyone who has
designed a product for what the customer thought he wanted, only
to find out that the product was still not acceptable.
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Boast your market research findings |
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For example, marketers often rely on surveys to gauge
consumers' preference and predict shopper behaviors. Yet,
one recent study of internet surveys revealed that online
consumers often do not behave the way that they said they
would in a survey.
It is not that customers lie. More likely, we, the
product planners and designers, did not do a good job in
reading and translating their true needs.
We have a natural tendency to take the stated voice of
customers at face value as if it is the only requirement
that needs to be satisfied; to presume that customers know
what they want; and to trust that customers can express
their wants. |
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Hear what you don't know you don't know |
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The humbling facts are that many studies have shown that the
stated customer wants are only a starting point in design;
and that customers speak their own language that is not of
the world of the producers; and that customer do not always
know what they want.
The last point is especially true with a brand new
product and technology. How can we expect the customers to
know 'what' and 'how' to ask for something that they do not
know? How do we know whether the market and customers are
ready and willing to pay for your new technology?
And, how do we know which needs to focus when they seem
constantly changing over time technology, market segment,
and so forth? |
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Voice of Customer (VOC) Analysis |
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The Voice of Customer Analysis tools and techniques in QFD
were created to break through this dilemma. The front-end
tools of
Modern QFD help identify the customer needs and
requirements that might be unspoken and invisible
to both the customer and the producer.
Further, Modern QFD helps identify the opportunities to build in
excitement in the product design, while assuring that the
expected customer requirements do not fall through the
cracks.
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