Question: Why must organizations ignore their existing products and assets?
Answer: Organizations become biased in their belief that the customer wants what we currently have only because that is what we currently have.
Although the above answer makes no sense, this is precisely what many organizations do. It is common for organizations to look internally at their existing products and services and believe that they are what the customer prefers. Many companies assume they can produce precisely what customers are willing to accept. This is a huge mistake. To excel in any product or service delivery, businesses and service organizations must retrain their thinking and always look outward to determine what is of value to their customers, not what is of value to the company. "Value" becomes what the customer is willing to pay for—at a specific price and time. It is a moving and constantly changing target that demands staying in close touch with your customers by collecting customer feedback. There are many tools available to help organizations accomplish this goal, such as:
- Voice of the customer (VOC) trees
- Critical to quality (CTQ) trees
- Kano analysis
- Market research via interviews, surveys, and focus groups
After all, there is no point in being exceptional in developing and bringing to the market a product or service that no customer wants or is willing to pay for.
