Importance of Customers e “Without customers, you don’t have a business.” - Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, “Customers Don't Grow on Trees,” Fast Company magazine, July 2005 e “If the customer is satisfied with the whole experience with the product, then you have a quality product.” - Executive Director of Global Quality Strategy at General Motors.Satisfying Customers » To meet or exceed customer expectations, organizations must fully understand all product and service attributes that contribute to customer value and lead to satisfaction and loyalty. ¢ Meeting specifications, reducing defects and errors, and resolving complaints. » Designing new products that truly delight the customer » Responding rapidly to changing consumer and market demands * Developing new ways of enhancing customer relationshipsCustomer Focus in ISO 9000 © “Top management shall ensure that customer requirements are determined and are met with the aim of enhancing customer satisfaction.” © The standards require that the organization determine customer requirements, including delivery and post-delivery activities, and any requirements not stated by the customer but necessary for specified or intended use, © The organization must establish procedures for communicating with customers about product information and other inquiries, and for obtaining feedback, including complaints. © The standards require that the organization monitor customer perceptions as to whether the organization has met customer requirements; that is, customer satisfaction.Key Customer-Focused Practices for Performance Excellence (1 of 2) © Identify the most important customer groups and markets, considering, competitors and other potential customers, and segment the customer base to better meet differing needs. » Understand both near-term and longer-term customer needs and expectations (the “voice of the customer”) and employ systematic processes for listening and learning from customers, potential customers, and customers of competitors to obtain actionable information about products and customer support. » Understand the linkages between the voice of the customer and design, production, and delivery processes; and use voice-of-the-customer information to identify and innovate product offerings and customer support processes to meet and exceed customer requirements and expectations, to expand relationships, and to identify and attract new customers and markets.Key Customer-Focused Practices for Performance Excellence (2 of 2) © Create an organizational culture and support framework that allows customers to easily contact an organization to conduct business, receive a consistently positive customer experience, provide feedback, obtain assistance, receive prompt resolution of their concerns, and facilitate improvement. « Manage customer relationships that build loyalty, enhance satisfaction and engagement, and lead to the acquisition of new customers. « Measure customer satisfaction, engagement, and dissatisfaction; compare the results relative to competitors and industry benchmarks; and use the information to evaluate and improve organizational processes.Quality Profile: Park Place Lexus © Client-relationship management database that tracks all aspects of the PPL-Client interaction and provides the resulting information to members (employees) « Empowers members to resolve client complaints on the spot by allowing them to spend up to $250 to resolve a complaint, or up to $2,000 by committee. ° A focus on personal and organizational learning motivates members, which then results in exceptional understanding of client’s needs and the ability to deliver service to meet those needs.Quality Profile: K&N Management * Vision “to become world famous by delighting one guest at a time.” © Builds and maintains a focus on “guest delight,” relying on innovation and technology to create product offerings that meet or exceed guest requirements. All leaders carry a personal digital assistant (PDA) that alerts them of guest comments and complaints and daily performance results.Customer Satisfaction « ...'the result of delivering a product or service that meets customer requirements.” © Customer satisfaction drives profitability. The typical company gets 65 percent of its business from existing customers, and it costs five times more to find a new customer than to keep an existing one happy. © Businesses with a 98 percent customer retention rate are twice as profitable as those at 94 percent.Customer Engagement © ,. customers’ investment in or commitment toa brand and product offerings. © Characteristics: * customer retention and loyalty, * customers’ willingness to make an effort to do business with the organization, and * customers’ willingness to actively advocate for and recommend the brand and product offerings. 10: American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) e Measures customer satisfaction at a national level Introduced in 1994 by University of Michigan and American Society for Quality Based on results of telephone interviews conducted in a national sample of 46,000 consumers who recently bought or used a company’s product or service. © Web site: [Link]FIGURE 3.1 ACSI Model Source: Based on ATT Archives and History Center.Identifying Customers » Consumers - those people who ultimately purchase and use a company’s products. Internal customers - the recipient of another's output (which could be a product, service or information) © External customers - those who fall between the organization and the consumer, but are not part of the organization.FIGURE 3.2 AT&T's Customer— Supplier Model ‘Source: Based on AT&T Archives and History Center The natural customer-supplier linkages among individuals, departments, and functions build up the “chain of customers’ throughout an organization that connect every individual and function to the external customers and consumers, thus characterizing the organization's value chain.Customer Segmentation ° Demographics ° Geography ° Volumes “Vital few” and “useful many” © Profit potentialNet Present Value of the Customer (NPVC) « ...the total profits (revenues associated with a customer minus expenses needed to serve a customer) discounted over time. © NPVC is often used to segment customers by profit potential.Key Product Quality Dimensions © Performance - primary operating characteristics Features - “bells and whistles” © Reliability - probability of operating for specific time and conditions of use © Conformance - degree to which characteristics match standards © Durability - amount of use before deterioration or replacement ® Servicea bility - speed, courtesy, and competence of repair e Aesthetics - look, feel, sound, taste, smellTABLE 3.2 Quality Dimensions of a Manufactured Product and Service Features Conformance Reliability Durability Serviceability Aesthetics Source: Adapted and modified from Paul E Pisek., "| Quality Dimension Performance SD card; drum kits ‘Accurate tuner Mean time to failure Not damaged with frequent handling and transportation Ease of repair Location and size of knobs and controls eee Cree) Speed of online transactions Automatic bill paying ‘Accuracy Receiving statements on time every month Keeping pace with industry trends and prod- uct offeings Prompt resolution of errors Appearance of bank lobby fining Quality at the MarketingDevelopment Interface,” Qualty Progress, Vol. 20, No. 6, pp. 28-36. Copyright © 1987 American Society for Quality 18Key Dimensions of Service Quality © Reliability - ability to provide what was promised » Assurance - knowledge and courtesy of employees and ability to convey trust © Tangibles — physical facilities and appearance of personnel ° Empathy - degree of caring and individual attention © Responsiveness - willingness to help customers and provide prompt serviceEZ Classifying Customer Needs on Dimensions of Service Quality A car rental agency surveys its customers on the following dimensions. * Cleanliness of the rental facility * Courtesy of staff © Efficiency of vehicle pickup/retun * Cleanliness of vehicle * Professionalism of staff in explaining the contract and options We may classify each of these according to the five service quality dimensions as follows: 1. Cleanliness of the rental facility: tangibles 2. Courtesy of staff: assurance 3, Efficiency of vehicle pickup/return: reliability 4. Cleanliness of vehicle: tangibles 5. Professionalism of staff in explaining the contract and options: assurance Note that none of these ditnensions address empathy or responsiveness. Later in this chapter we will discuss how to design good customer surveys. 20Kano Model of Customer — Requirements © Dissatisfiers (“must haves”): expected requirements that cause dissatisfaction if not present © Satisfiers (“wants”): expressed requirements e Exciters/delighters (“never thought of ”): unexpected features—— Voice of the Customer © ...customer requirements, as expressed in the customer’s own terms ° Organizations use a variety of methods, or “listening posts,” to collect information about customer needs and expectations, their importance, and customer satisfaction with the company’s performance on these measures. 22Customer Listening Posts e Comment cards and formal surveys © Focus groups © Direct customer contact ° Field intelligence © Complaints e Internet and social media monitoringFIGURE 3.3 Customer Listening Posts at Nestlé Purina PetCare Company to ‘Consumer: Millward Brown Surveys Nielsen Data Panel Data Advertising score Consumer complaintseedback Focus groups New product testing Customer “Top-to-Top” meetings with each key customer Poa Bac Joint volume planning meetings Monthly business meetings with each key account Customer Advisory Councils Meetings with NPPC CDG VP at each key account Source: Malcolm Baldrige Award Application Summary Determine brand awarenessimage Monitor consumer product usage Monitor consumer behavior Measure TV ad effectiveness Obtain consumer feedback Get detailed feedback on products Evaluate extended usage/feedback Understand unique goals/strategies and high- level issues/concerns Align tactical execution Review tactical execution; make necessary adjustments Leam about industy trends ‘Assess quality of account management & execution; lear about key strategic issues 24nalyzing Voice of the Customer Data Affinity diagram| EXAMPLE 3.2 | Creating an Affinity Diagram for Customer Needs Suppose that a banking team determined that the most important requirement for mort- gage customers is timely dosings.*° Through focus groups and ather customer inter- views, Customers listed the following as key elements of timely dosings: 1. Expeditious processes 8. Moder link between computers 2. Reliability 9. Buyer orientation 3. Consistent and accurate information 10. Diversity of programs 4. Competitive rates 11. Mutual job understanding 5. Notification of industry changes 12. Flexibility 6. Prior approvals 13. Professionalism 7. innovation 14. Timely and accurate status reports The company's team would group these items into logical categories (Post-t® notes are often used because they can be easily moved around on a wall) and provide a descriptive title for each category. The result & an affinity diagram, shown in Figure 3.4, which indicates that the key customer requirements for timely dosings are communica tion, effective service, and loan products.FIGURE 3.4 Affinity Diagram Tw id rae imal and accu | Relabity Innovation Flexibility of ‘programs — [meson Diversity of Programs = rates Moder link ne 9 co | estos | (© Cangoga nang——= Eee = Gap Model — Linking the VOC to Internal Processes rms ae ‘The Gap Mode!~ Building a Customer-Focused Organization 1. Making sincere commitments to customers 2. Ensuring quality customer contact 3. Selecting and developing customer contact employees 4. Managing complaints and service recoveryMoments of Truth » Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction takes place during moments of truth—every interaction between a customer and the organization. e Example (airline) Making a reservation Purchasing tickets Checking baggage Boarding a flight Ordering a beverage Requests a magazine Deplanes Picks up baggageCustomer Contact Requirements ...measurable performance levels or expectations that define the quality of customer contact with an organization. « Technical requirements: response time (answering the telephone within two rings or shipping orders the same day) * Behavioral requirements (using a customer's name whenever possible) 31FIGURE 3.6 —_ St. Luke's Hospital of Kansas City Custorner-Contact Requirements 1. Greet patients)guests by introducing myself, address patients/‘quests by last name unless otherwise told. 2. Ask sincerely, "How may | help you?” 3. Knock, request permission to enter the room, and explain what | am going to do. 4. Complete initial assessment on all patients within eight hours. 5. Acknowledge all patient/quests requests, and be accountable for follow-up. 6. Address all complaints within 24 hours or less. 7. introduce any replacement caregiver. 8. Promote family-centered care: listen thoughtfully to all patenty/quests, and provide timely communication to the appropriate person(s) for action. 9. Respect and acknowledge diversity, culture, and values of my patients, their family, visitors, and my coworkers. 10. Maintain confidentiality of all information. 11. Know, or have access to, legal and regulatory requirements and standards of care related to my’ specific responsibilities, 12. Thank my customers for choosing Saint Luke's Hospital, Source: Naicolin Baldrige National Quality Award Application Summary, 2003, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Depart- mentof Commerce, Courtesy of St Luke's Health System.ervice Recovery and Complaint Management © The average company never hears from 96 percent of its unhappy customers. Dissatisfied individual and business customers tend not to complain. For every complaint received, the company has 26 more customers with problems, six of whom have problems that are serious. © Of the customers who make a complaint, more than half will again do business with that organization if their complaint is resolved. If the customer feels that the complaint was resolved quickly, the figure jumps to 95 percent. © Customers who remain unsatisfied after complaining result in substantial amounts of negative word of mouthComplaint Resolution » Acknowledge that a customer had a problem (“We're sorry you had a problem’) » Express empathy for the inconvenience that the customer encountered; willingly accepting the complaint (“Thanks for letting us know about it”) © Describe corrective action concisely and clearly (“Here’s what we're going to do about it”) © Appeal to the customer for continued loyalty (“We'd appreciate you giving us another chance’).FIGURE 3.7 Complaint Management Process at Cargill Corn Milling Customer reports a nonconformance Immediate corrective actions taken to alloviate issue Customer notified of onconformance solution avelwill be ellective? Nonconformance is Problem Solving Tearn Review Team entered into CRT —— identfies cliectve me cores ae ‘evaluates RCA and ‘System corrective actions ate corrective actions Source; Cargill Com Milling 2008 8aldrige Award Application Summary ~ Public Version; [Link] gowbaldnge.Manage Customer Relationships © Customer-supplier partnerships - long-term relationships characterized by teamwork and mutual confidence © Customer-focused technology and analytics * Most major companies use advanced analytics to “mine” and understand customer data. Grocery and retail stores use loyalty cards to capture and analyze detailed data about customer purchase behavior. e Customer relationship management (CRM) software, designed to help organizations increase customer loyalty, target their most profitable customers, and streamline customer communication processes.easuring Customer Satisfaction and Engagement 1. Discover customer perceptions of how well the organization is doing in meeting customer needs, and compare performance relative to competitors. 2. Identify causes of dissatisfaction and failed expectations as well as drivers of delight to understand the reasons why customers are loyal or not loyal to the company. 3. Identify internal work process that drive satisfaction and loyalty and discover areas for improvement in the design and delivery of products and services, as well as for training and coaching of employees. 4. Track trends to determine whether changes actually result in improvements. 37Designing Satisfaction Surveys © Identify purpose - who will make decisions using the survey results? © Identify the customer © Determine who should conduct the survey (internal, third party, etc.) © Select the appropriate survey instrument (written, telephone, face- to-face, etc.) © Design questions and response scales to achieve actionable results: * responses are tied directly to key business processes, so that what needs to be improved is clear; and information can be translated into cost/revenue implications to support the setting of improvement priorities.TABLE 3.3 Examples of Likert Seales Used for Customer Satistaction Measurement Neither Poor nor Good 3 Neither Agee nor Disagree 3 Neither Satisfied ‘Nor Dissatisfied 2 very Good Good 4 5 Strongly Agree Agree 4 5 VeryFIGURE 3.11 Performance- Importance Comparison © Comeg toonryMEET a tyzing customer Satistaction dare Analyze the following customer satisfaction results (messured on a Sipaint scale) for a ‘fast-food restaurant. What recommendations would you make to the managers? Attribute Importance Performance Fresh buns 483 4.80. Cheese is meted 426 402 Cink is not watery 488 464 Fes are erp. aes 4.40. Fees are sexsoned 4nd 44g Service is fast 493 461 ‘Open 24 hours 39) 48h Goad variety of food 446 7 Nutitional data isplayed 376 4, Children's menu avaiable 4.80 397 Tables kept clean gy 439. Lowsatitems avalatve 3.62 455 Figure 3.12 shows the performancedmportance grid. The means are shown by the sold Hines and the data nbels correspond to the performance measures. The aitutes in each ‘quudtant are: Whe Cares? fries are seasoned, low-fat tems aualathe © Overil, cheese is melted, oven 24 hovrs, nuttiona dats vispayed + Vilnerable: Good vanity of food, chiren’s meri availabe, Strengths: thes are crisp, sence i fast, drink snot watery tables kept clean, fresh buns ‘This analysis suggests that efforts should be made to increase food variety and have . chilen’s menu in order to compete in this market. Also, the restaurant may save sig- rificant maney by not belig apen 24 houts. Few resources are probally spent on ensur- ing that cheese is meted oF that nutitional data are displayed, so it probably does not rake any difference to changes these atibutes. The restaurant should mahtan is focus on the strengths that ate identi. aFIGURE 3.12 Performance- Importance Com- ; parison Example abe 04.29 $18 ease east #408 = a7 49 | ° 8Why Customer Satisfaction Efforts Fail © Poor measurement schemes « Failure to identify appropriate quality dimensions Failure to weight dimensions appropriately Lack of comparison with leading competitors e Failure to measure potential and former customers * Confusing loyalty with satisfactionMeasuring Customer Loyalty Overall satisfaction ® Likelihood of a first-time purchaser to repurchase © Likelihood to recommend © Likelihood to continue purchasing the same products or services © Likelihood to purchase different products or services ° Likelihood to increase frequency of purchasing © Likelihood to switch to a different providerNet Promoter Score (NPS) ° Developed by (and is a registered trademark of) Fred Reichheld, Bain & Company, and Satmetrix © “What is the likelihood that you would recommend us?” evaluated on a scale from 0 to 10. * Promoters: scores of 9 or 10 are usually associated with loyal customers who will typically be repeat customers (“promoters”) Passives: scores of 7 or 8 are associated with customers who are satisfied but may switch to competitors * Detractors: scores of 6 or below represent unhappy customers who may spread negative comments © NPS is the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors. 45Te Calculating a Net Promoter Score Asample of 300 customers who responded to the question “What is the likelihood that you would recommend us?” resulted in the following: 10 9 o-NWaUanm The total number of promoters is 63 + 82 Frequency 63 82 64 4 2 12 ~owna = 145; the total number of detractors is 21412+6+7+3+0+ 1=50. Asa percentage of the total, these are 48.3 per- cent and 16.7 percent, so the net promoter score is 48.3% - 16.7% = 31.6%.Customer Perceived Valu e CPV measures how customers assess benefits—such as product performance, ease of use, or time savings—against costs, such as purchase price, installation cost or time, and so on, in making purchase decisions. 47Assessing Competitive Performance In assessing the relative importance of four attributes of a casual restaurant, a customer might assign 30 percent to menu variety, 20 percent to food quality, 10 percent to atmosphere, and 40 percent to value. This essentially provides a ranking of these attri- utes as value, menu variety, food quality, and atmosphere. In rating the performance of comparing two restaurants, 4 and B, we might find the folowing: Relative Relative Attribute importance RestaurantA Restaurant B Performance Menu variety 30% 8g 10 2 Foot quality 20% 7 4 3 Atmosphere 10% 8 8 ° Value 40% T 6 1 By multiplying the relative importance values by the performance ratings and sum- rring, we see that restaurant A has a weighted value of 7.4 while restaurant B has a weighted value of 7.0. Therefore, the weighted difference is 0.4. Overall, restaurant A has a higher perceived value but could improve its perceived value by improving its menu variety. Such information becomes the basis for strategic decisions.