3. Collaboration and Engagement:
The Benefits of Customer Interviews
Background: Hewlett-Packard has been a leader in developing
and using these customer interview best practices. Over 200
HP practitioners responded to a survey as follows…
This Program…
Has been valuable 96%
Directly impacted products offered to customers 90%
Led to greater customer satisfaction 88%
Led to unexpected or surprising info 76%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Yes No
Source: Edward McQuarrie, Customer Visits, 1998; HP study was conducted in 1990 by Corporate Marketing Education
4. Value of Up-Front Definition:
Causes of New Product Failures
High quality up-front work is critical to understanding customer needs & responding to them.
Frequency Factor Was Cited as Reason for Failure
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Inadequate Market Analysis 45%
Product Problems or Defects 29%
Lack of Focused Marketing Effort 25%
Higher Costs than Anticipated 19%
Competitive Strength or Reaction 17%
Poor Timing of Introduction 14%
Technical or Production Problems 12%
All Other Causes 24%
Source: The Conference Board, Adapted by Robert S. Cooper, Winning at New Products, from D. S. Hopkins & E. L. Bailey, “New Product Pressures”
7. Customer Interviews
The Industrial Analogue to the Focus Group…
Similarities to a Focus Group
Questions prepared prior to session
Phone call & confirmation note used to set up
Strong moderator skills required
Significant probing employed
Moderator does not have primary note-taking responsibility
Rigorous post-session debriefing used
Contrasts to a Focus Group
You often have a prior relationship with participants
Participants are usually in competition with each other
Smaller groups (typically 8-10 for focus groups)
Session conducted at customer’s site
No one-way mirrors, audio-taping or video-taping
8. Who Should Conduct Customer Interviews?
Technical-Marketing
Team
Provides
These
Advantages
Buy-in by your cross-functional team… Evidence
acquired firsthand is much more compelling
Clarity of purpose… If a sales person leads the
effort, it may be confused for a sales call
Richer content… Inquiry is more productive with
technical experts interacting and probing
Customer willingness… They are often eager to talk
to technical experts who speak the same language
Better accuracy…More than one set of ears to
capture the dialogue and interpret the commentary
9. Basic Interviewing Skills
Don't ask customers for solutions
Don't talk too much.
Probe customer answers.
Use visual aids.
Paraphrase.
Accept criticism gratefully.
Don’t be arrogant.
Be patient.
Avoid peer group pressures.
Allow some rambling.
10. Who Should You Interview?
Visit demanding customers & harsh environments
that “push the envelope”
Don’t keep going back to the same “comfortable”
group of favorite customers
The market leader is not necessarily the “innovator”
Consider going downstream to talk to your
customer’s customer
Interview multiple buying influences at each customer
location…
▪ Management ▪ Technical ▪ Marketing
▪ Manufacturing ▪ Purchasing ▪ Product Users
11. Five Parts of the Roadmapping Interview
1. Feedback on 10 attributes These are the most
important questions.
“How important is this attribute to you?”
“How satisfied are you with what you can get today in this attribute?”
“What test procedure do you recommend to measure this attribute?”
“What test result would make you totally satisfied?”
“What test result would you consider to be barely acceptable?”
2. “Did we miss any attributes?”
3. More feedback on top 3 attributes
“If we could totally satisfy you in any three, which would you pick?”
“What is the primary benefit you would get from this?”
“How aggressively should we pursue each of these top three?”
4. “What products should we test against?”
5. Anything else we should know before starting?”
13. Attribute Importance vs. Current Satisfaction
High
Important need not now Important need already
being met (Opportunity!) being met (Threshold)
Importance
Low customer interest
Low
Low Satisfaction High
14. Measuring the Satisfaction Gap
Satisfaction Gap used Satisfaction Gap*
Industry to measure customer eagerness
Market Satisfaction Gap*
for improvement in an attribute
Scrub Resistance 22%
It Hiding Poweryou to pinpoint attributes that are important to
helps 38%
the customer that are not being satisfied
Brushability 28%
Satisfaction Gap = Importance times “Dissatisfaction”
Fading Resistance 25%
Stain Resistance 22%
SG = (Avg. Importance Rating) x (10 – Avg. Satisfaction Rating)
24-Hour Window Stick 27%
Example:
Sprayability 25%
Customers rate an attribute 32%9 in Importance and 6 in
Factory Mix Time as
Satisfaction on14%
Brushmark Leveling average
SG = 9 x (10 – 6) 16%
Crayon Removal
= 36%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
Ratings > 30% generally indicateDissatisfaction
*Importance times high eagerness
(100% = Totally Dissatisfied on a Critical Attribute)
15. Satisfactio w C rren S p ly
n ith u t u p
Importance of Property
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17. Road Mapping Conclusions
Architectural Specialties:
Vertical Masonry
Satisfaction Gap
Dirt Pick-Up
Weathering
High Interest in a “Thin Film Coating”
Semi-Elastomeric (8 mil DFT)
Less elasticity than “true elastomeric”
Long-lasting clean, appearance
Application over higher alkaline materials
Crack bridging performance
18. Road Map…then Benchmark
Commercial products available in the
marketplace
Competitive products
Products from your current product
offering and experimental products if
you have them
Evaluate the products using the
parameters and performance standards
revealed in the road mapping
19. Identify Product Development Objectives
Dirt Pick-Up Resistance
Weathering and Yellowing Resistance
Tint Retention
Efflorescence & Alkali Resistance
Water Resistance
Quick Dry to Prevent Blotching Due to
Early Rain
Elongation & Elasticity
Low Film Formation Temperature – 0oC
Binding Power for Fillers & Pigments
20. Translate Satisfaction Gap to Value Proposition
Noveon Waterborne Carboset®
Acrylic and Styrene Acrylic Semi-
elastomeric polymers for High
Performance Masonry Coatings
Carboset® AE-960 & Carboset® SA-860
offer the complete combination of
performance properties:
Clean, long-lasting coatings
Consistent coating appearance and color
Application flexibility
Crack bridging performance
In-can stability
Carboset® is a registered trademark of The Lubrizol Corporation
21. Use Satisfaction Gap to Develop Selling Tools
Carboset® AE-960 and Carboset® SA-860
Outstanding Dirt Pickup Resistance
Commercial Competitive Carboset ®
Coating Polymer SA-860
Carboset ®
AE-960
23. Understanding Customers Emerging Needs
Clear Wood Finishes: High performance floor coatings
Industry Satisfaction Gap(Importance x Dissatisfaction)
New Product Roadmapping
New Product Roadmapping (100% = Totally Unsatisfied on a "Critical" Property)
30%
Surveyed 16 global
Satisfaction Gap
leaders 20%
Queried on 10 properties 10% 20% 18%
23% 22%
Satisfaction 14% 12%
8%
12% 12%
3%
Importance 0%
Test Procedure
or
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Desired test results
Ad
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Top competitors
W
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Higher solids and lower VOC for formulation and polymer
usage versatility
Lower color development, high gloss capability and better
in-can stability
Rapid early hardness development
24. Road Map…then Benchmark
Comparison with Commercial Benchmarks
Solution Color VOC
Solids, 120°F Early Hardness
WB OMU Polymers
WB OMU Polymers after 4 wk. in 120°F
wt. % Stability Development g/L
Oven
Commercial Excellent
31 Yellow/Amber Excellent 250
WB OMU - A (No change in visc.)
Commercial Poor, Visc.
33 Light Yellow/Amber Poor 200
WB OMU - B Increase
Excellent No change, Milky
Sancure® OM-945 45 Excellent <130
(No change in visc.) White
SANCURE ®
SANCURE® COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL
OM -945
OM-945 WB OMU - A WB OMU - B CWF - 1 CWF - 2
NOVEON WB OMU LEADING COMMERCIAL WB OMU BASED ON COMMERCIAL WB OMU
Sancure® is a registered trademark of The Lubrizol Corporation
25. Translate Satisfaction Gap into Value Proposition
Sancure® OM-945
Waterborne Oil-Modified Urethane Dispersion
Outstanding durability in a waterborne one-component
Ideal for both DIY and Contractor markets
Higher solids excellent pigment compatibility –
suitable for line-marking paints and specialty enamel
Lower VOC’s and reduced worker exposure
Excellent in-can color stability and non-yellowing
Sancure® OM-933
Waterborne Oil-Modified Urethane Dispersion
Traditional solids level
Quick drying, early mar and water resistance
