Tool: Voice of the Customer The customer is the person you are trying to serve. It could be students, parents, the Dean, or other departments. By understanding our customers, we can increase customer-perceived quality – the leading driver of business success. Without customer-perceived quality, there is no long- term future for your operations! D Voice of the Customer

Customers can be internal to the organization as well as external. An external customer the vendor receiving payment from the Clemson process. An internal customer is the next person within your department or the University to handle the work you have begun. The customer is always the office or individual downstream of you in the process. D Voice of the Customer Customers

D Voice of the Customer A’s customer is B A Provider & Customer B C is B’s customer C

Product characteristics or attributes Product quality Service Company image and personnel Total cost (ease of use versus inconvenience of use) D Voice of the Customer Some things customers value:

Ways to determine customer needs: Surveys (for student or parent groups) Department meetings (for internal groups) Direct interaction (other customer groups) D Voice of the Customer Who are your customers? How can you determine their need?

EXAMPLE Process: Vendor Payment Process Customer: Clemson University Voice of the Customer Statement: Our customer is Clemson University. It is the mission of this team to reduce costs and provide savings to the University through leveraging payment terms with vendors. D Voice of the Customer