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How we work
Customer Value Added
1. Organising a Customer Value Added (CVA) project
Purpose - So there is agreement on why the project is needed,
what it is expected to achieve, who is responsible for achieving it, and
how it will proceed.
2. Assessing the business need
Purpose - CVA research is based on the customer interaction with a
company's products, services and business processes. The starting point
for understanding and mapping these business processes and product features
is within a company.
The business needs must be precisely defined for each of the markets
specified in the previous step. If these needs are not specified correctly
then the CVA research might not supply the most valuable information.
It is important to build on earlier research findings as this information
may be valuable, and using it can often reduce costs in a CVA project.
If future needs are not considered then the research may solve yesterday's
problems.
Managers and subject matter experts who will use the CVA information
will be confident the project will deliver accurate useful information
they can trust, if they are involved before the fieldwork gets underway.
3. Tailoring the Research
Tailoring the research for local country and market conditions.
Purpose - It is important to ask customers only questions that
are relevant to them. It is also important that questions be phrased in
customer language: that is, using the words that customers would typically
use to describe the situations.
Another factor to consider in tailoring the research is the different
business priorities for each market. The response rate for completing
a questionnaire drops off as the length increases. The length of the questionnaire
determines the amount of information to be gathered, so it is critical
to ask only questions that are important to the business and to customers
in any given market.
If a gap in knowledge about what is important to customers or the business
has been identified during the Assessing step then it will be necessary
to undertake qualitative research. The critical customer issues which
emerge from this research, together with an indication of their importance,
allow the purchase criteria to be defined for these areas. While many
product and service criteria are important to customers, some criteria
are expected from all suppliers. A much shorter list of criteria impacts
customer purchasing decisions. It is the criteria that impact purchasing
that we need to include in a questionnaire. Hence the importance of using
qualitative research findings when selecting the questions to be included
in the survey questionnaire.
4. Surveying the Decision Makers
The people who purchase the products and services, use the products and
services, together with the main people who influence their purchase and
use.
Purpose - Collecting accurate views of the decision makers and
key influencers in a market is a critical part of a CVA project. While
it is usually obvious why this step needs to be carried out, it is easy
to carry out the activities incorrectly. It is important to select the
most appropriate method for surveying the respondents, then manage the
way this is done so that high quality data is collected.
5. Modelling the data and Interpretation
Modelling and analysing the data collected during the surveying, interpreting
the information from the modelling, and producing reports.
Purpose - An important reason for undertaking CVA research is to
provide information that reveals the underlying customer needs and perceptions
that drive market share. Other equally important reasons (for undertaking
CVA research) are to identify competitive advantages, competitive disadvantages,
and opportunities for improvement of customer facing service delivery
processes, product design features and performance on issues affecting
market perceptions of the company's performance on price and costs. In
this step of modelling, analysis and interpreting, the raw data is converted
into information, indicating performance and purchase impact. This information
covers the criteria for all critical customer-facing business process
activities, costs and product features. Interpreting this information
allows fact based management and decision making, so that customer loyalty
and market share can be increased at minimum cost. Reporting this information
allows it to be used by managers and subject matter experts.
6. Using the information and acting on the knowledge
Feeding back the information, developing tactics, then acting on the knowledge
and winning business gains.
Purpose - Achieving gains in business performance with CVA information
starts with people throughout an organisation understanding the information,
then believing that it accurately portrays the customer needs and the
market view. This requires winning the hearts and minds of all employees
in the company. Achieving this is more an 'art' than a 'science'. The
usefulness and usability of the CVA information depends to a large extent
on how it is communicated, along with people acquiring the necessary skills
on how to use the information.
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