Voice of the Customer Workshop

This one- to three-day, hands-on workshop addresses the importance of capturing the voice of the customer (VOC) to drive product development, presents how to undertake various VOC methodologies, discusses when they should be used, and leads participants through the process of planning how to capture the VOC. The workshop includes exercises to develop practical experience with various VOC methods and results in the development of a VOC plan for an actual product opportunity.

This workshop is conducted onsite for individual clients and customized to the nature of the client’s products and markets (e.g., B2B, B2C, etc.) and to the depth of coverage in various topics.

1. INTRODUCTION

  • VOC Introduction
  • The Importance of Capturing the Voice of the Customer (VOC)

2. MARKET AND PRODUCT PLANNING

  • Market & Product Planning: A Starting Point for Voice of the Customer
  • The Product Planning Process
  • Define the Target Market
  • Market Definition Exercise
  • Position the Product
  • Identify Characteristics of the Customers in the Target Market Segment

3. VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER

  • Types of Customer Needs
  • Kano Model – A Useful Framework for Understanding Different Types of Customer Needs
  • Spoken and Unspoken Needs
  • Identify Opportunities for Excitement
  • Impact of the Customer Relationship on Capturing VOC
  • Internal vs. External Perspective of Needs
  • Determining the VOC
    • Participation in VOC Investigation
    • Guidelines for Determining the VOC
    • What Do We Want to Know
  • Evolutionary Product Development and Continuous Customer Need Definition
  • How Many Customers Do We Talk To?
  • Customer Types
  • Lead
    Users – Why They Are Important
  • Validity and Reliability in VOC Research
  • VOC Program Step-By-Step

4. VOC METHODS AND FRAMEWORK

  • VOC Method Framework
  • Starting Point: What Are the VOC Objectives
  • Methods for Capturing VOC
  • Sales Input – Common, But Limited
  • Market Research
    • Market Research Phases and Typical Areas of Investigation
    • Primary Research vs. Secondary Research
    • Sources for Secondary Research
    • Research Methods – Surveys vs. Testing
    • Survey Methods
    • Use of Web-Based Surveys – Advantages and Disadvantages
    • Market Research Case Study Video: New Coke
    • Market Research Exercise
  • Customer Interviews
    • The Three Types of Interviews – Which One is Best?
    • Setting Up Interviews
    • Preparing for Interviews
    • Conducting Interviews
    • Guidelines for Structuring Questions
    • Customer Interview Exercise
  • Focus Groups
    • Advantages and Disadvantages
    • The Two Types of Focus Groups
    • Preparation
    • Conducting the Focus Group
  • Why Observation is Important – Going Beyond What the Customer Says
  • Ethnography – What is It and Why is It
    Important
  • Three Variations of Ethnographic Study – Contextual Inquiry,
    Empathic Design & Cultural Ethnography

    • Contextual Inquiry (Ethnographic Interviews)
    • Ethnographic Study
    • Empathic Design – Making Effective Use of Observational Data
    • Common Elements
    • Steps in the Process
  • Video Observation –
    What To Know Before You Bring The Camera
  • Customer Observation Case Studies
  • Customer Observation Exercise
  • Participatory Design or Cooperative Design –
    Harnessing the VOC Directly
  • Address Both Internal and External Customer
    Needs
  • Other Sources of the VOC
    • Warranty Data
    • Customer Returns
    • Customer Service/Support Feedback
    • Direct Customer Feedback
  • VOC Case Study Video: Intuit

5. CAPTURING AND ORGANIZING THE VOC

  • Objective In Organizing VOC Data
  • Analyzing, Organizing and Distilling Customer Needs
  • Affinity Diagramming – A Method for Organizing VOC Data
  • Creating Statements of Customer Needs
    • Guidelines for Creating Good Statements of Needs
    • Customer Needs Statement
      Exercise
  • Developing a Customer Needs Dictionary
  • Determining Importance by Prioritizing or Ranking Customer Needs
  • Maximizing Value with Conjoint Analysis
  • Conjoint Analysis Example
  • Conjoint Analysis Exercise
  • Documenting and Presenting the VOC

6. USING THE VOC TO DRIVE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

  • Reporting and Using Results: From Ideation to
    Product Specifications
  • Problems with the Idea of “Features” Without a VOC
  • Drawing on VOC to Develop Marketing Platforms and Product Extensions
  • Prioritizing Customer Needs
  • Customer Needs – Refrigerator Example
  • Introduction to Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
    • The QFD Process
    • QFD Product Planning Matrix (PPM)
    • QFD Product Planning Matrix – Refrigerator Example
    • Benefits of QFD
  • Documenting Product Requirements / Specifications
  • Function Tree – Fill-In Expected Customer Needs
  • VOC and QFD as a Basis for Concept Development
  • Concept Testing and Market Testing
  • VOC and Concept Development Case Study Video: IDEO Shopping Cart

7. VOC PLANNING

  • VOC Planning for Your Company and Project
  • Exercise – Developing a Plan for Voice of the Customer Research