IENG 451 - Lecture 07

1. IENG 451 - Lecture 07 Voice of the Customer: Collecting VOC information IENG 451 Operational Strategies

2. Voice of the Customer (VOC) • The VOC is integral to the assessment of Value: • External customers assess value in deciding what they will pay for, and whom they will buy from, to fulfill their perceived needs • Internal customers assess value in deciding what form and orientation they desire their inputs in; in deciding what processes (inspection, re-work, …) they will need to perform and what equipment and operator quantities they will need to use to produce their outputs • The company needs to address these expectations and desires – without sub-optimizing for either internal or external viewpoints – in order to prioritize, survive & thrive IENG 451 Operational Strategies

3. VOC Data and Selection • Collecting VOC data requires targeted efforts: • Collecting data from customers is not cost free … • Not all kinds of data have equal value … • Not all data sources have equal value … • The method(s) employed to collect data impact all of the above, and limit what kinds of analysis can be performed … • … which, in turn, limits what kinds of questions can be answered! IENG 451 Operational Strategies

4. Data Types • There are four levels of data: • Nominal – (names) allow you to group things, only. In terms of value, it can only provide attribute information, i.e.: good or bad, etc. • Ordinal – (order) allow you to both group things and put them into some kind of order – a sequence that might connote increasing levels of value … but not compare how much different. • Interval – allows you all the benefits of Ordinal, and adds the ability to address how much different. This level allows the use of most statistical analysis methods … • Ratio – allows all the benefits of the other levels, plus adds an absolute zero point, which allows for differences between measurement scales to be resolved (conversions) IENG 451 Operational Strategies

5. Sources of Data • There are different sources of data: • Existing Company Records – are not free, but are pretty close: • Product / Service sales records • Product / Service maintenance and returns records • Product / Service contract cancellations • Product / Service referrals and preference notes (and sales closure rates) • Customer Listening Posts – require a bit more mining: • Matter of course “How are we doing” surveys • Hotlines / Blogs / User Groups • Complaint / Suggestion boxes (or websites) • Research – investing in deeper understanding specific to the current project goal(s) • Direct: Interviews, surveys, focus groups, point-of-use observations • Indirect: Market share trends, industry experts, market watch (news letters, etc) IENG 451 Operational Strategies

6. Contact Methods for Data • There are different methods of direct contact data: • Face-to-Face Interviews • Telephone Interviews • Surveys • Focus Groups • Point-of-Use Observation • All of these require: • Being clear about the purpose(s) • Being respectful of the contacted individual(s) • Deciding how, how many and which persons to contact • Preparing questions beforehand • Pilot Testing and revision • Collecting information • Transcribing and coding information collected IENG 451 Operational Strategies

7. Segmentation • There are different users, and their data have different value. Examples of segmentation criteria: • Economic: • Revenue • Profit • Loyalty • Frequency of Use • Purchase Size • Cost of business • Strategic Goals • Descriptive: • Location • Personal Demographics • Product / Service Demographics • Attitudinal: • Price • Value • Service IENG 451 Operational Strategies

8. Face-to-Face Interviews • This method allows you to develop communication on an individual basis – permitting flexibility and probing questions – while helping the individual feel “listened to” • Use early to find out what is important to customers • Use interviews during a project to: • Better understand customer issues • Get ideas or suggestions from the customer • To cheaply test ideas with customers • Use at the end of a project to validate findings and get “buy-in” • Mistakes to Avoid: • Not having a clear purpose • Not having prepared questions • Not planning for the logistics – timing, sample size, costs & training • Not performing practice / pilot interviews before going public IENG 451 Operational Strategies

9. Telephone Interviews • Similar to Face-to-Face, this method may obtain similar benefits (below), but is perceived as “less personal” • Use early to find out what is important to customers • Use interviews during a project to: • Better understand customer issues • Get ideas or suggestions from the customer • To cheaply test ideas with customers • Use at the end of a project to validate findings and get “buy-in” • Mistakes to Avoid: • Not having a clear purpose • Not having prepared questions or having an overly prepared “script” • Not planning for the logistics – timing, sample size, costs & training • Not performing practice / pilot interviews before going public • Not “hearing” the “body language” during a call IENG 451 Operational Strategies

10. Surveys • Similar to Interviews, this method is perceived as even less personal and cannot easily go into as much depth; but can efficiently gather more & anonymous information • Use get information from many customers (quantitative data) • Use as pre-work for interviews in order to: • Better understand the range of customer issues / responses • To identify target areas for in-depth exploration • Use as a follow-up to focus groups and interviews to quantify relationships and identified patterns • Mistakes to Avoid: • Not having a clear purpose • Not planning for the logistics – timing, sample size, costs & training • Not doing a pilot survey before going public • Not planning for a long enough response time or a low response rate IENG 451 Operational Strategies

11. Focus Groups • This method allows you to get feedback on new concepts or existing problems / products – along with a quantitative feel for the results • Use for same reasons as the interviews (see before) • Use with open-ended questions to get more creativity in answers • Use to observe physical interactions among participants: • Customer interactions with existing products / materials • Customer interactions with new prototypes / materials • Customer interactions with the community (providers / customers) • Mistakes to Avoid: • Not having a clear purpose • Not planning for the logistics – timing, sample size, costs & training • Not doing a pilot focus group before going public • Not having an experienced focus group leader (avoid biasing the group!) IENG 451 Operational Strategies

12. Point-of-Use Observations • This method is very similar to Focus Groups – minus the stimulated creativity benefits and biasing dis-benefits – but with a realistic qualitative feel for the user experience • Use to observe physical interactions among participants: • Customer interactions with existing products / materials • Customer interactions with new prototypes / materials • Customer interactions with the community (providers / customers) • Mistakes to Avoid: • Not having a clear purpose • Not planning for the logistics – timing, sample size, costs & training • Not developing and testing the observation form in a pilot study! • Not giving the observer(s) observation experience through a pilot study! • If going on-site (to a customer): • Not giving enough consideration to the customer’s logistics • Not giving the customer sufficient follow-up results (partnership!) IENG 451 Operational Strategies

13. Questions & Issues IENG 451 Operational Strategies