IENG 451 / 452 Voice of the Customer: Collecting VOC information IENG 451 - Lecture 07 Voice of the Customer: Collecting VOC information 6/4/2018 IENG 451 Operational Strategies (c) 2016 D.H. Jensen

Voice of the Customer (VOC) IENG 451 / 452 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 6/4/2018 IENG 451 Operational Strategies (c) 2016 D.H. Jensen

IENG 451 Operational Strategies 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! 6/4/2018 IENG 451 Operational Strategies (c) 2016 D.H. Jensen

IENG 451 Operational Strategies 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) 6/4/2018 IENG 451 Operational Strategies (c) 2016 D.H. Jensen

IENG 451 Operational Strategies 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) 6/4/2018 IENG 451 Operational Strategies (c) 2016 D.H. Jensen

Contact Methods for Data IENG 451 / 452 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 6/4/2018 IENG 451 Operational Strategies (c) 2016 D.H. Jensen

IENG 451 Operational Strategies 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 6/4/2018 IENG 451 Operational Strategies (c) 2016 D.H. Jensen

Face-to-Face Interviews IENG 451 / 452 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 6/4/2018 IENG 451 Operational Strategies (c) 2016 D.H. Jensen

IENG 451 Operational Strategies 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 6/4/2018 IENG 451 Operational Strategies (c) 2016 D.H. Jensen

IENG 451 Operational Strategies 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 6/4/2018 IENG 451 Operational Strategies (c) 2016 D.H. Jensen

IENG 451 Operational Strategies 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!) 6/4/2018 IENG 451 Operational Strategies (c) 2016 D.H. Jensen

Point-of-Use Observations IENG 451 / 452 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!) 6/4/2018 IENG 451 Operational Strategies (c) 2016 D.H. Jensen

IENG 451 Operational Strategies Questions & Issues 6/4/2018 IENG 451 Operational Strategies (c) 2016 D.H. Jensen