How do you use the Kano model to identify and eliminate customer dissatisfaction?

1 What is the Kano model?

The Kano model is a tool developed by Professor Noriaki Kano in the 1980s to help understand how different features or attributes of a product or service affect customer satisfaction. The model is based on the idea that not all customer needs are equal, and divides them into three categories: basic, performance, and excitement. Basic needs are the minimum requirements customers expect from a product or service, and are also called must-be or dissatisfiers. Performance needs are the features used to compare products, and are referred to as one-dimensional or satisfiers. Excitement needs are features customers don't expect but delight in finding, called attractive or delighters. For example, a basic need for a hotel is cleanliness, a performance need is location, and an excitement need is a free upgrade.

2 How to use the Kano model?

To use the Kano model, you should conduct a survey with your current or potential customers and ask them two questions for each feature or attribute of your product or service. The first question should be how they would feel if the feature or attribute was present, and the second question should be how they would feel if it was absent. Possible answers include liking it, expecting it, being neutral, tolerating it, or disliking it. After analyzing the combination of answers, you can assign each feature or attribute to one of the three types of needs: basic, performance, or excitement. Additionally, you can use a Kano diagram - a matrix that plots the answers on the x-axis and y-axis - to visualize the results.

3 How to eliminate customer dissatisfaction?

To eliminate customer dissatisfaction, you need to focus on meeting the basic needs of your customers, as they are the most important and influential factors. You need to ensure that your product or service delivers the minimum level of quality and functionality that customers expect, and that you avoid any defects, errors, or problems that can frustrate them. You also need to monitor and measure customer feedback and satisfaction regularly, and identify and fix any gaps or issues that may arise.

4 How to enhance customer satisfaction?

To enhance customer satisfaction, you need to balance between meeting the performance needs and creating the excitement needs of your customers. You need to understand what features or attributes customers value and use to compare your product or service with others, and try to deliver them better than your competitors. You also need to innovate and surprise your customers with features or attributes that they do not expect or ask for, but they appreciate and enjoy. You need to create a memorable and positive customer experience that differentiates your product or service from others.