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<\/p>\nWhat is the \u201cVoice of The Customer\u201d? Is it only external customers? The end users? What about internal customers? Do they have a \u201cvoice\u201d as well? Who are the \u201cCustomers\u201d anyway?<\/p>\n
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These are all good questions. Ones that need to be definitively answered as early in a project as possible. The terms \u201cCustomer\u201d and \u201cStakeholder\u201d are synonymous in this respect. The \u201cVoice of The Customer\u201d is \u201c\u2026 the term used to describe the stated and unstated needs or requirements of the customer.\u201d 1 \u201cCustomers\u201d are the people, organizations, or groups that are going to be affected by this product or process in some way. It can be either a positive or negative effect. Both are equally influential and equally critical to pay attention to.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A great deal of up-front planning is required to effectively execute a project from start to finish. All that planning can be in serious jeopardy if an influential \u201ccustomer\u201d is suddenly discovered late in the game and their voice hasn\u2019t been heard. The best-case scenario is that they are in favor of this project and you can move forward (with their future participation and input of course!). Worst case, you start over, from the beginning.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The beginning is where the \u201cvoice of the customer\u201d sets the stage for the entire project. The \u201ccustomer\u201d determines what is, and is not, important in the finished product. This is always the case. We do not determine those attributes. Our job is to provide advice and make recommendations based on our knowledge and experience, but we do not make the final decision. What is and isn\u2019t important in the product affects the process. The process, therefore, must meet the customer\u2019s needs as well.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, who are the \u201cCustomers\u201d? As mentioned previously, customers are any person, group, organization, either internal or external, that will be affected by this project or process in some way. Your client is a customer too, but for this exercise, we are looking at this from their perspective.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n External<\/strong> \u2013 The external customers can include:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Internal<\/strong> \u2013 This group can include:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Listening to the \u201cVoice of The Customer\u201d entails much more than people may think. It is a simple phrase but a complicated subject. It is \u201c\u2026 a process used to capture the requirements\/feedback from the customer (internal or external) to provide the customers with the best in class service\/product quality. This process is all about being proactive and constantly innovative to capture the changing requirements of the customers with time.\u201d 1<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The voice of the customer can be captured in a variety of ways: Direct discussion or interviews, surveys, focus groups, customer specifications, observation, warranty data, field reports, complaint logs, etc. All these things are tools to help us listen to what the customers are saying. Assembling that information in a coherent package and analyzing it as a whole will lead to simplified solutions and smoother project execution. Seeing the issues before they happen by listening to the customers, all of them<\/em>, will greatly help in avoiding major headaches later.<\/p>\n This series explored ways to apply Six Sigma principles to Client Operations to ensure efficiency, quality, and that all users’ needs are being met. Read the previous blogs here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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