Now, disc brakes have taken over, so even though some cars still use brake drums, there’s no doubt that some day in the near future they will be extinct. This example reflects the way businesses are constantly changing. Future customers are setting the trends, and new convenient products are being developed for them to purchase.

Stay close to your customers — they may suggest products or services that will fulfill their needs in the future. If the small car parts business had not only stayed close to trends in the automotive industry, but also listened to their customers, they would have been prepared for what the future held and designed a new product or service. Now with disc brakes, the old brake drum businesses probably went out of business. Had they been ready to pivot, they might have changed to a service-based business specializing in old cars or designer cars or whatever the market would support.

The Voice of Customer (VOC) tool is a priceless tool used by Six Sigma. For the business owner, it should be as important as paying your bills. Make it part of how you invest in the future of your company or business, so when a need for a new product that could help you pivot your business arrives, you’ll be ready.

DFSS (Design for Six Sigma) is one of the most important Six Sigma templates you will need to invest in the future of your business. The actual template is DMADV which stands for:

•  Define
•  Measure
•  Analyze
•  Design
•  Verify

DFSS is used for completely redesigning a product or service, or creating a brand new product or service. Interested in learning more? For more information on our on-demand online classes or our virtual classroom training, please visit 6sigma.com. 

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Here are the methods used to apprehend the Voice of Customer:

• Surveys: To use this method, you must target the specific audience that you are trying to please. Each generation has their set of high priorities. If the product or service that your business provides is for millennials, then you need to target your customers that are between the ages of 23-38.
• Focus Groups: This is used for more detailed information about behaviors and motivation of this targeted group.
• Customer Interview: This is actually your best bet if you can obtain it. It is best if you can make your customer feel as though it is a friendly chat rather than an interview. Many people are complimented that you would take time out from your business day to speak to them. It helps build good client relationships.
• Employee Feedback: Employees would be considered internal customers, and their feedback can be considered suggestions.
• Third-party sites such as Yelp, Google, Group Forums: Since these are open forums, the data given can’t be trusted 100%, but consider it a gauge.

The business owner who really is invested in his business will go out of his way to get this information and why you ask. 

Many companies have talked to their customers to gather this kind of information to improve customer service processes. As an example, consider the next time you are trying to locate a prescription medication made by a specific manufacturer or lab. So you call the pharmacy, and they tell you that you would have to come in to get that information.

So, you call your health insurance company, and without batting an eye they offer to call the pharmacy. This is great customer service, and you the customer, is why this is important. There are many health insurance companies that use Six Sigma methodologies for their excellence.

For more information on our Lean Six Sigma courses and services, please visit 6sigma.com. 

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Since many small businesses are now worldwide with their online presence, the days of truly knowing the customers that frequent your establishment are not what they used to be. In the days of yore, you as the owner might see your customer on a daily basis and talk to them as “friends,” and they would give you an honest answer, as well as remaining loyal to your business. 

Now with the internet, businesses grow faster and quicker, and may not have the personal touch of a local business, so you can’t always establish those friendships with your customers. We discuss the Voice of Customer (VOC) in this infographic, which is an effective way to gather that pertinent information.

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It is easy to run a business when everything flows smoothly, but true colors come out when something doesn’t work out. The first rule is to treat employees with the same respect you would treat a customer. 

By that we aren’t saying you should stop to chit-chat when there is work to be done, but if your employee is working directly with the customers, ask them what they feel would add value to the existing quality in the product or service. 

Let’s review Six Sigma’s Voice of Customer (VOC):

Voice of Customer, or VOC, is the customer’s requirement, what they expect of the product or service — basically what they are paying for. This would include expectations, preferences and any comments on how the product or service could be improved to a higher quality.

How this relates to the company employees is interesting, because how the company treats its employees directly affects customer service and the quality of its products or services all the way around. Creating a company culture of unity and respect will produce loyalty, less turnover, and less sick day absenteeism. Health insurance costs will begin to decrease; because stress is the cause for many illnesses, removing or lowering stress levels will help make the issue go away.

According to an extensive study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016, 71% of adults reported at least one symptom of stress directly related to work such as a headache, feeling overwhelmed, or anxiety. 

Six Sigma core principles and culture could once again prove to be the light at the end of the tunnel for today’s companies. Stay tuned for more on the subject. For more information on our courses and services please visit 6sigma.com. 

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Voice of Customer, or VOC, is how you will stay above the competition. Many business owners feel they know exactly what their customers/clients want, but in actuality they don’t. People are constantly changing, so the Six Sigma tool VOC is extremely important.

Let’s take a fictitious scenario that could have happened. As we all know, milk delivery stopped many years ago.Today people buy their milk from supermarkets, and the need for milk delivery has diminished. This didn’t happen overnight; it was gradual, until one day many people lost their jobs as businesses closed down. 

What if we added Six Sigma methodologies to this scenario?

DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control)

Define: Business is down as people are cancelling their service. I have 10 truck drivers delivering milk and dairy products to many customers. I will reach out to my customers and ask if milk is still important to them, and if not what is their new beverage or product of choice.

Measure: Look at the ledgers and find the data that shows how much business is down and in what areas. Then get all the data that shows how much is spent on gas and maintenance of trucks. Assess all outgoing and incoming data.

Analyze: After looking at all the data, it seems that people are moving away from milk and dairy products. After speaking with customers, they all agree that delivery service is appreciated but lifestyles are changing.

Improve: I have decided to start offer delivery of groceries for the busy family. As a trial run, I have taken three of my trucks and offered my current milk clients this service. They stated that early morning delivery is still great because both parents are at work all day. This has kept my business going, and business is up since I am the only one to offer this service.

Control: I will monitor and change as my customers’ needs change. I will continue to keep in touch with my customers and keep an eye on the data and receipts that dictate how business is doing financially. I was also able to keep my drivers on the job. 

* Note: This is a condensed example of could have been done.

For more information on our Lean Six Sigma courses and services, please visit 6sigma.com. 

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Reaching out to your customers is essential to the success of your business. Unless special packaging is required for the safety of your product, then any extra processing or materials used that is not important to your customer is waste, and it can happen quickly.

By the same token, for an entirely different reason don’t mess with your original product trying to improve it. The year was 1985, the month was April, and the day was the 23rd. This was the day that will forever haunt the Coca-Cola Company as they introduced New Coke. Needless to say, that dark period is over and we shall not speak of it, but please note the customers never asked for Coca-Cola’s original formula to change; the company just went ahead and decided to make the change. If the customers ask for it or request it, then it is the VOC and you as the business owner are doing your due diligence in keeping a customer-focused business. 

Ways to Reach out to Customers

• One-on-One Interviews
• Surveys
• Focus Groups
• Customer Suggestions
• Call Centers/Complaint Logs

For more information on our Lean Six Sigma courses and services, please visit 6sigma.com.

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What is Voice of Customer (VOC)?

These are the preferences, requirements, expectations and any comments that your customer has to offer about your product or service. 

These can be obtained by:

1. Surveys
2. Interviews
3. Focus Groups
4. Suggestions

A good rule of thumb is to give the customer what they want, but many large companies will make you work for it. A colleague of ours told us about a credit card company that she has been a loyal customer of for 30+ years. She noticed she had been charged double for the same purchase, and it was on her statement. She called the company, and they said that she had waited too long.

So she told them about her long-standing loyalty with the company and asked to speak with a manager. The representative then went on to see what she could do to help the customer. At the end, the individual received credit, but it had been a rollercoaster ride! A better scenario would have been to agree to it since this issue was apparent from the very beginning.

Everyone understands about company policies, but when those policies stand in the way of good customer service, it is time for that company to become immersed with the Six Sigma culture and bring great customer service back.

Fact: All companies need their customers to stay in business.

Fact: A customer is not going to get rich from returning an item or asking for a refund when they were charged twice.

Fact: The company will always make money from their customers.

Fact: Six Sigma’s mindset will always treat the customer like gold because they are the reason you are in business.

For more information on our Lean Six Sigma courses and services, please visit 6sigma.com.

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Understanding your customers will enable you to set priorities and goals for your business that are in agreement to fulfill your customer’s needs. The beauty of social media as a VOC tool is that it is social! A customer could feel like they are under a microscope when being asked questions through a formal interview situation; social media removes that. Although you can ask direct questions through social media, the platforms offer a more casual environment, where friends talk and discuss opinions on a product or service and how they feel about it.

Establishing a good social media presence is crucial in determining how your business will keep evolving, and in what direction you will need to take it in order to fill the ever changing customer needs.

Social Media is all About Sharing:

In the old days, businesses and companies would send out a holiday card (with the staff picture on it) during the holiday season, and that was about the extent of their sharing. Today, with social media at its peak, most savvy businesses have a company page that keeps customers in touch with new products, allowing them to have a voice and establish a “friendship” with your business and staff.

Social media is a modern way of establishing the customer service relationship of yesteryear. Without changing the subject too much, social media is also a great advertising tool, as the new digital word of mouth. Your customer will invite a friend to “like” your company page and they will start reading and pretty soon you will have another like-minded customer at your helm.

Let’s face it, your customer or client is the most important part of your business, so establishing a “friendship” with them by sharing and keeping in touch with them and their ever changing needs is just a smart business practice and will ensure future on-going success.

Interested in learning more about other Lean Six Sigma tools such as VOC? Enroll at our Six Sigma training courses near you! For more information on our courses or services please click here: www.6sigma.com/course-schedule-and-registration/.

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