Kano’s Model of Customer SatisfactionHow to Delight Your Customers

A. Nitipan RatanasawadwatAssumption University of Thailand

Origins of the Kano Model

Noriaki Kano Professor at Tokyo Rika UniversityInternational ConsultantReceived individual Demming Prize in 1997

Introduction• Product/service quality is main

antecedent of customer satisfaction (Cronin & Taylor 1992; Anderson & Sullivan 1993; Brady et al. 2002)

• Important to find out how each attribute performance impacts on satisfaction

• Prof. Kano pointed out that not all product/service attributes have same role in satisfying customer needs

Origins of the Kano Model

• Developed foundation for an approach on “Attractive Quality Creation” commonly referred to as the “Kano Model”

• Challenged traditional Customer Satisfaction Models that More is better, i.e. the more you perform on each service attribute the more satisfied the customers will be

Origins of the Kano Model

Proposed new Customer Satisfaction model (Kano Model)Performance on product and service

attributes is not equal in the eyes of the customers

Performance on certain categories attributes produces higher levels of satisfaction than others

Introduction• Separate among satisfaction, dissatisfaction

and delight since factors that dissatisfy and that delight are often different (Rust, Zahorik & Keiningham 1994)

• Ex. If a customer approaches an ATM then finds it to be out of cash, the customer will likely be dissatisfied, but it is unlikely that finding an ATM stocked with cash would

satisfy or delight the customer

Kano’s Model of Satisfaction

Technique use to determine which influence the attributes of products and/or services have on customer satisfaction (Kano et al. 1984)

Kano’s Model of Satisfaction

• Which products and services can be used to obtain a high level of customer satisfaction?

• Which product features have a more than proportional influence on satisfaction

• Which attributes are an absolute must in the eyes of the customer?

Kano’s Model of Satisfaction

Product/service attributes can be classified into three groups1. Basic attributes/dissatisfiers/Must-have2. Performance/one-dimensional

attributes3. Exciting attributes/satisfiers/Attractive

Basic Attributes/Dissatisfiers

• Minimum required features that customer naturally expect from a product/service

• Not able to elicit satisfaction but can produce dissatisfaction when not fulfilled

• ex. Punctually and safety of airline

Performance/One-dimensional Attributes

• Produce both satisfaction dissatisfaction depending on performance levels

• satisfaction is proportional to the level of fulfillment of these attributes

• ex. Gasoline consumption of a car; lower consumption leads to higher customer satisfaction

Exciting Attributes/Satisfiers

• Produce satisfaction when delivered but cause no dissatisfaction if not delivered

• High performance on these has a greater impact on overall satisfaction rather than low performance

• ex. (unexpected) promotional offers

Three-Factor Theory

Typical Research Framework

Kano’s Model Process

• Identify the Voice of the Customer• Translate Voice of the Customer into

Critical to Quality Characteristics (CTQs)• Rank the CTQs into three categories:

– Dissatisfier - Must be’s – Cost of Entry– Satisfier – More is better – Competitive – Delighter – Latent Need – Differentiator

• Evaluate Current Performance

Kano Model

DelightersExcited Quality

DissatisfierMust-be

Expected Quality

“Didn’t know I wanted it but I

like it.”

“Cannot increase my satisfaction, but

can decrease.”

Dissatisfaction

Satisfaction

Service Performance

Service Performance

SatisfierOne DimensionalDesired Quality

Kano Model Procedure

Analyze & Brainstorm

Analyze & BrainstormResearchResearch Plot &

Diagram

Plot & Diagram Strategize Strategize

•Research available data sources•Determine data collection strategy•Design data collection instruments •Collect and summarize data

•Analyze results from data collection•Brainstorm list of features and functionality•Develop Functional and Dysfunctional Questionnaire•Distribute Questionnaire

•Develop Customer Requirement Matrix •Record Questionnaire results in Matrix and Summarize•Plot results on Kano Model

•Determine Project selection•Product Development•Service Development•Identify Marketing Strategy

1. Research

• Must Be’s - Focus Groups, Lawsuits and Regulations, Buzz on Internet

• Satisfiers - Competitive Analysis, Interviews, Surveys, Search Logs, Usablity Testing, Customer Forums

• Delighters - Field Research, Marketing/Branding Vision, Industrial Design, Packaging, Call Center Data, Site Logs

2. Analyze & Brainstorm• Analyze data from available sources• Brainstorm list of features and functionality• Determine type of requirements:

– Output Requirements – Service Requirements

• Kano Model Requirements Survey – User Survey

• “Functional form” vs. “Dysfunctional Form”– “How would you feel if the product had feature X?”– “How would you feel if the product didn’t have feature X?”

– Kano Questionnaire Answers:• I like it.• I expect it.• I’m neutral.• I can tolerate it.• I dislike it.

Example: Requirements Survey

Example: Requirements Questionnaire

Functional vs. Dysfunctional Comparison

Functional vs. Dysfunctional Comparison

Basic Attribute

Functional vs. Dysfunctional Comparison

Performance Attribute

Functional vs. Dysfunctional Comparison

Exciting Attribute

Evaluation Customer Requirements

C.R. A E O R Q I Total Grade1 3 6 14 23 O

2 5 6 11 1 23 O

3 6 1 4 1 11 23 I

4 13 10 23 E

5 11 1 2 9 23 A

Customer Requirement is:A: Attractive R: Reverse Q: Questionable ResultE: Expected O: One Dimensional I: Indifferent

3. Plot & Diagram

DelightersAttractive

Excited Quality

DissatisfierMust Be

Expected Quality

SatisfierOne DimensionalDesired Quality

Dissatisfaction

Satisfaction

Service Performance

Service Performance

Kano Model & QFD

4. Strategize

Project Selection• Lean Six Sigma• Design for Six Sigma

Organizational Strategy• Dissatisfier – Must be’s – Cost of Entry• Satisfier – More is better – Competitive • Delighter – Latent Need – Differentiator

Application• Break into Teams• Select Team Leader• Select Scribe• Select Presenter• Scenario – You work for a Hotel chain and your

company is trying to identify Voice of the Customer information to improve Hotel performance.

• Instructions: Brainstorm important characteristics you expect

when staying at a Hotel Identify whether they are a Must be, Expected or

a Delighter from a Business Client perspective and from a vacationer perspective

Add in what the current performance is for the Hotel

Example Results

Debrief

• Analysis• Strategy Recommendations

Summary of Kano Model

• Analyze and rank the voice of the customer data

• Develop into Categories– Dissatisfier – Must be’s – Cost of Entry– Satisfier – More is better – Competitive – Delighter – Latent Need – Differentiator

• Identify and implement strategy

Questions?

References

• Walder, D., (1993). Kano’s model for understanding customer-defined quality. Center For Quality of Management Journal, 39, 65 – 69.

• Jacobs, R., (1997). Evaluating customer satisfaction with media products and services. European Media Management Journal, 32, 11 – 18.

• Ungvari, S., (1999). Adding the third dimension to auqlity. Triz Journal, 40, 31 – 35.

• Sauerwein, E., Bailom, F., Matzler, K., & Hinterhuber, H. (1996). The kano model: How to delight your customers. International Working Seminar on Production Economics, 19, 313 - 327

• Zultner, R.E. & Mazur, G. H. ( 2006). The Kano Model: Recent Developments. The eighteenth symposium on Quality Function Deployment.

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Dimensions of Quality

• Performance• Reliability• Convenience and

Accessibility• Features• Empathy• Conformance to

Standards

• Serviceability• Durability• Aesthetics• Consistency• Assurance• Responsivene

ss• Perceived

Quality

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Dimensions of Quality ( 1 of 6)

• PERFORMANCE: How well the output

does what it is supposed to do.

• RELIABILITY: probability of operating for

specific time and conditions of use

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Dimensions of Quality (2 of 6)

• CONVENIENCE and ACCESSIBILITY: How

easy it is for a customer to use the product or

service.

• FEATURES: The characteristics of the output

that exceed the output’s basic functions.

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• EMPATHY: The demonstration of caring and

individual attention to customers.

• CONFORMANCE: The degree to which an

output meets specifications or requirements.

Dimensions of Quality (3 of 6)

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• SERVICEABILITY: How easy it is for you or the customer to fix the output with minimum downtime or cost.

• DURABILITY: How long the output lasts.• AESTHETICS: How a product looks, feels,

tastes, etc.

Dimensions of Quality (4 of 6)

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• CONSISTENCY: The degree to which the performance changes over time.

• ASSURANCE: The knowledge and courtesy of the employees and their ability to elicit trust and confidence; The ability of the output (and its provider) to function as promised

Dimensions of Quality (5 of 6)

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• RESPONSIVENESS: Willingness and ability

of employees to help customers and

provide proper services.

• PERCEIVED QUALITY: The relative quality

level of the output in the eyes of the

customers.

Dimensions of Quality (6 of 6)

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When is there too much Quality

• The cost of quality erodes the profit• The quality is too far exceeding

customer expectations• Rational turns to Irrational

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Importance of Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

• “Satisfaction is an attitude; loyalty is a behavior”

• Loyal customers spend more, are willing to pay higher prices, refer new clients, and are less costly to do business with.

• It costs five times more to find a new customer than to keep an existing one happy

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Measuring Customer Satisfaction

• Discover customer perceptions of business effectiveness

• Compare company’s performance relative to competitors

• Identify areas for improvement• Track trends to determine if changes

result in improvements

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Difficulties with Customer Satisfaction Measurement

• Poor measurement schemes• Failure to identify appropriate quality

dimensions• Failure to weight dimensions appropriately• Lack of comparison with leading competitors• Failure to measure potential and former

customers• Confusing loyalty with satisfaction

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Creative Problem Solving

• Mess Finding – identify symptoms• Fact Finding – gather data; operational

definitions• Problem Finding – find the root cause• Idea Finding – brainstorming • Solution Finding – evaluate ideas and

proposals• Implementation – make the solution work