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Voice of the Customer

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Voice of the Customer by Walter McIntyre

Typically, there is not a single voice of the customer.  They are fractioned into multiple groups, each with their own perspective.  Each group may also have different voices in different circumstances.

For the Six Sigma team, identifying the customer involves more than collecting information about who is purchasing the business’s products or services.  Those who purchase the products and services are just one of several customer groups.  Some other classifications are internal supplier/customer hand-offs, customers of competitors, former customers, and potential customers.

Internal customers are those who are involved with supplier/customer hand-offs within the process.  Even though these hand-offs are easy to see in a detailed process map, the process owner often overlooks them.  By taking a process point of view, we capture all of these hand-offs and are able to measure how they ultimately affect the end user (customer) of the process.  Six Sigma tools such as process mapping and SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customers) maps are tools designed to capture these hand-offs.  We will cover these tools later.

Your competitor’s customers are another important source of voice of the customer data.  Some automobile companies, for example, send surveys to their competitor’s customers to learn why they made their choice.  The surveyor can use this information to drive changes in products and services.  The ultimate objective is to gain market share.

This leads us to substitute customers.  These customers use substitute solutions to meet their needs.  They can affect your business in one of two ways.  They can use your products and services as a substitute for that provided by an indirect competitor.  Conversely, they can use an indirect competitor instead of you.  An example would be using a passenger train to travel instead of an airline or a rental car.  All three of these business segments compete indirectly to provide the same service to the customer, transportation. These potential customers can provide an increase in market share achieved through market development rather than direct competition.

In short, there are many ways to view the voice of the customer.  The process improvement team needs a high degree of thoroughness and creativity to collect pertinent and complete information about customer needs and wants.  You must view your business or organization from the perspective of the customer.  What do they see and feel?

Each group may also have different voices in different circumstances.

For the Six Sigma team, identifying the customer involves more than collecting information about who is purchasing the business’s products or services.  Those who purchase the products and services are just one of several customer groups.  Some other classifications are internal supplier/customer hand-offs, customers of competitors, former customers, and potential customers.

Internal customers are those who are involved with supplier/customer hand-offs within the process.  Even though these hand-offs are easy to see in a detailed process map, the process owner often overlooks them.  By taking a process point of view, we capture all of these hand-offs and are able to measure how they ultimately affect the end user (customer) of the process.  Six Sigma tools such as process mapping and SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customers) maps are tools designed to capture these hand-offs.  We will cover these tools later.

Your competitor’s customers are another important source of voice of the customer data.  Some automobile companies, for example, send surveys to their competitor’s customers to learn why they made their choice.  The surveyor can use this information to drive changes in products and services.  The ultimate objective is to gain market share.

This leads us to substitute customers.  These customers use substitute solutions to meet their needs.  They can affect your business in one of two ways.  They can use your products and services as a substitute for that provided by an indirect competitor.  Conversely, they can use an indirect competitor instead of you.  An example would be using a passenger train to travel instead of an airline or a rental car.  All three of these business segments compete indirectly to provide the same service to the customer, transportation. These potential customers can provide an increase in market share achieved through market development rather than direct competition.

In short, there are many ways to view the voice of the customer.  The process improvement team needs a high degree of thoroughness and creativity to collect pertinent and complete information about customer needs and wants.  You must view your business or organization from the perspective of the customer.  What do they see and feel?

Six Sigma Voice of the Customer

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Six Sigma defines the two aspects of customer satisfaction that affect every business. These are customer satisfaction with the process output and customer satisfaction with the service surrounding it. In the service industry, businesses understand that providing quality service is a key to customer satisfaction. At the same time, though, they must have concern about the service product. For example, consider receiving exceptional customer service from an associate at a retail outlet, only to find the selection of merchandise unacceptable. The result is that you chose a different retail outlet on your next shopping trip. Conversely, what happens when you receive very bad customer service at a different retail outlet, which happens to have a very wide selection of merchandise? Even though you can find what you need, you will probably decide not to do business with them in the future.

Many product manufacturers miss this connection as well. An edge in technology or functionality gives a competitive advantage in the market place. Although this physical advantage is important, if the quality of service provided to the customer is poor, it will likely negate the advantage. For example, you would probably not rush to purchase a technically superior automobile from a supplier known for poor service after the sale.

To summarize, in order to improve customer satisfaction in a meaningful way, the business needs to distinguish between the process that provides the service and the process that provides the product. Without this distinction, it is easy to blame defects on the wrong process, or to fail to recognize that the other process exists. Specifically, the service industry must recognize that their customers see a product component associated with the service they receive and the manufacturing industry must recognize that their customers see a service component associated with the product they receive.

Six Sigma process improvement teams must take all of this into consideration. The application of the Six Sigma tool set by itself will not accomplish this. The Six Sigma team must get out of the box and view the process from the customer’s perspective.