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Customer Needs and Services

This document discusses identifying customer needs through a multi-step process: 1) Gather raw data from customers via interviews, observations, surveys, and focus groups; 2) Interpret the raw data to understand customer needs; 3) Organize the needs into a hierarchy of primary, secondary, and tertiary needs; 4) Establish the relative importance of the needs; and 5) Reflect on the results and process.

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Kuldeep Singh
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49 views27 pages

Customer Needs and Services

This document discusses identifying customer needs through a multi-step process: 1) Gather raw data from customers via interviews, observations, surveys, and focus groups; 2) Interpret the raw data to understand customer needs; 3) Organize the needs into a hierarchy of primary, secondary, and tertiary needs; 4) Establish the relative importance of the needs; and 5) Reflect on the results and process.

Uploaded by

Kuldeep Singh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Identifying Customer Needs

Discussant:
Dr. Nilesh Ware
BE (Mechanical), M.Tech. (NIT Calicut), Ph.D. (IIT Delhi)
Assistant Professor
Department of Technology Management
Defence Institute of Advanced Technology Pune

[email protected] , [email protected]
Mob: 9891256106
Gather raw data from customers

Interpret the raw data in terms of


customer needs

Organize the needs into a hierarchy


Customer of primary, secondary, and (if
Needs necessary) tertiary needs

Establish the relative importance of


the needs

Reflect on the results and the


process
• Easily understandable
Direct Needs • No trouble in declaring requirement

• Not directly express without probing


Latent Needs • Customers can articulate their needs

• Needs intrinsic to the task of product


Constant Needs • Constant cost spread over time through life of
product
• e.g. Film camera

• Needs not necessarily constant


Variable Needs • Need go away with change in technology
• e.g. Digital camera

• Need is common to all and available


General Needs • e.g. Bike, air supply at back side of taxi

• Smaller market segment, specific needs


Niche Needs • e.g. Cool air circulation back side of taxi
A better way to determine needs

• Determine Who the customers are


• Determine what information should be
gathered from customers
• Determine how that information should be
gathered

And then, translate that information into product


requirements and engineering specifications
Gathering raw Customer Information

• Interviews
• “On the job” observations.... Be the customer
• Surveys
• Focus groups

Gather report on RAW DATA;


No interpretations... Yet!!
“On the job” observations.... Be the customer

• Design teams also travels as a customer in


their market or in competitors place
• Hand-in-hand informal discussion with other
customers
Surveys
• Form some good questionnaire
• Keep it short and simple
• Minimize subjective/essay questions
• Need large sample size for quantitative data
• Screen your respondents.. Take right audience
• Web surveys... Give right guidance for filling
• Mail surveys... Take acknowledge
Focus group
• Identify focus group participants
• Generate group discussion
• Can resolve conflicting views
• More than just getting people together
• Needs a skilled moderator
• Sometimes done in special facility with 1-way
mirror and design team watching
• Requires planning, scheduling, and often budget
• Logistics needed
Visit to Customer
• Why are we going?
• Develop a common image of the customer in order to
create a shared language for the new program team to
describe, in customer terms, what is important to the
customer.

• What do we want to learn? (e.g. Field)


 Better understand our customers’ workflow as we
improve efficiency in field preparation.
 Obtain first hand customer observation and input relative
to understanding various elements impacting field
preparation.
 Explore appropriate responses so as to protect and
enhance our position in this market by differentiation.
Determine Which Customers to Visit

• Create a “what do we want to learn” statement


– To explore_______ in order to______
– To discover______ in order to______
– To learn_________ in order to_____

• Examples of customers
– Distributors and dealers, end users
– Lead/visionary customers
– Lost customers, Unhappy customers
– Customers using competitive products
– External/Internal customers
– Customers with non-US headquarters or focus
– Good current customers
– Customers who buy multiple products, or from multiple divisions
Creating a Discussion Guide

• Tell the stakeholder why you are there


– “We are here to discuss our senior design project.
Thank you for agreeing to work with us.”
• Discuss 6-10 Key Topics
– Based on what we want to learn
– Open-ended
– Subtopics as needed
– It is a guide, not a script or questionnaire
– Evoke images of experiences and needs
Guidelines for Creating Discussion Questions

• Scenes or images
– Stakeholder’s use environment
• Perceptions of weaknesses/problems
– Past experiences
• Current considerations
– Competitive comparison
• Future enhancements
– “Delighters”
Question Formats to Avoid

• “Would you like a system that could….?”


• “Wouldn’t you agree that if we could produce
a system that could…”
Question Formats to Encourage
• What- tend to focus conversation on events.
“What problems have you experienced?”
Your text has several helpful questions.
• How- tend to focus discussion on the process.
“How do you use..?”
• Why – require an explanation which may be helpful,
but may elicit a defensive reaction!!
• Could – are usually perceived as “gentle” and very
open.
“Could you give an example?”
Clarity in Questionnaires

• Keep questions short


– Break complex issues into a series of short
questions
• Avoid technical jargon
– Be sensitive that jargon is more pervasive than we
first think
• Value of silence
– Uncomfortable, but helpful
Got Raw data.... Now?

• Collect raw data; do not interpret as


taken informally or formally
• Have a look at points noted carefully
and translate raw data into useful
information
• Use common sense and intuition to
read data
Translating into customer needs
Five Guidelines for Writing Needs Statements
Consolidate the needs

• Detachable tips • Cordless


• Sufficient accessory tips • Long-lasting rechargeable battery
• Adjustable speed • Weather proof
• Reversible
• Adjustable torque • Heavy duty casing
• Minimum vibration • Reasonable price
• Light weight • Quick to re-charge
• Easy to use • Re-chargeable from car cigarette
lighters
• Easy to carry
Organize the needs into a hierarchy

• Print each statement on a card or Post-It note


• Eliminate redundant statements
• Group the statements according to the
similarity of needs they express
• Choose a label for each group
• Consider “super groups” of 2-5 groups
• Review and edit the organized needs
statements
Establish the relative importance of needs

• Two basic approaches Consensus of the team


• Further customer surveys

• A numerical ranking process is a common tool. For


example:
5 - The feature is critical
4 - The feature is highly desirable
3 - The feature would be nice to have, but is not necessary
2 - The feature is not important
1 - The feature is undesirable
Reflect on the results and the process

• Have we included all of the important types of


customers?
• Did we miss anything in our information
gathering process? Are there any follow up
interviews needed?
• What do we know now that we didn’t know
when we started? Did we find any surprises?
• How can we improve the process?

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