Having recently posted my 100^th blog, I thought it would be worth-while to share my list of 100 reasons why companies should embrace Six Sigma . . .

Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers . . . Customers

Any questions?

Today’s world seems to have us all going 90 miles an hour, multi-tasking and stretching ourselves to the limit to get things done. Finding time for home, work, school, kids, parents, church, volunteering etc. has become one of our biggest challenges. Time has become a precious commodity for everyone. No one has it to waste and no one wants to wait. So what does all this have to do with W.O.W.? Everything.

What’s Needed – On Time – With Value . . . Save time for your customers by enabling efficient transactions and watch your WOW-O-Meter go off scale. How? Reduce the time waiting in line, reduce the time holding on the phone, reduce the time a customer has to wait for a delivery, and enable transactions when your customer has time. It’s all about the process. Cut out bottlenecks and things will keep moving. Eliminate defects and you won’t have to stop to fix them. Remove unneeded steps or hand-offs and you’ll be one step closer to ‘lean time’. Best of all, enable efficient transactions at a time that’s convenient to your customer and increase customer delight.

So, don’t keep your customers waiting for W.O.W. Act now!

What’s Needed - On Time - With Value (W.O.W.) It’s even more relevant in today’s economy. As families struggle to make ends meet, the value provided for the dollar spent is more important than ever. What does this mean? Higher expectations from customers at a time when businesses themselves are tightening up the spending reins. What should we do? Panic? No - we don’t need to stinkin’ panic . . . we got Six Sigma!

For decades, the "excellence minded" have used Six Sigma to balance the Quality - Delivery - Cost equation. And it’s times like these that will separate the "excellence minded" from the "naysayers". For excellence is not a linear function of money rather it is a combination of passion, planning, process and people. It’s not about squeezing the last dollar out of your process; it’s about finding new and innovative ways to deliver value at a lower cost. So what are you waiting for? Get out your six sigma toolbox, get engaged and take the lead in creating customer W.O.W. It’s time!

Consistently delighting customers and providing exceptional handling of issues and errors using the R.A.P.I.D. methodology are two ways to create customer W.O.W. (What’s Needed - On Time - With Value) But just figuring out how it’s done is of little value if you cannot consistently deliver. Process maps, which are an integral part of the Six Sigma methodology, enable this consistency.

Process maps identify inputs and outputs of the process. Targeting specific inputs where best practices can be applied will help assure actions that create customer W.O.W. (delighters) are integrated into the process. Customer feedback on past performance as well as trends related to customer issues can also be linked back to specific steps in the process map where the process can be modified to prevent problems or add delighters.

Once finalized, a process map serves as a learning tool to help train all stakeholders on the consistent approach that has been developed. The process map provides a broad view of how specific actions, consistently applied, help create the type of overall experience needed to achieve Customer W.O.W. And, if needed, the map can also serve as a basis for creating a Standard Operating Procedure or Job Aid that provides steps that will facilitate this consistent approach.

Finding your way to the W.O.W. Side is not an easy task. But once there, helping others consistently find the way is much easier if you build them a map.

The best way to create customer W.O.W. is to consistently provide customers with What’s Needed - On Time - With Value. In a perfect world it is always W.O.W. time. But in the real world sometimes things go wrong. The clothes don’t fit, the food is cold, the hostess is rude, the cable goes out, the list goes on. What next?

Customer concerns and/or complaints are not a basic ingredient for W.O.W. but in themselves create an opportunity to turn OW into WOW. All it takes is RAPID response. RAPID response considers two elements in fixing a customer’s concern - the operational action and the emotional factor. Maintaining a positive interaction while fixing a problem or concern can sometimes turn a customer OW to WOW. But you need both parts - fixing the problem but snubbing the emotional side can leave your customer feeling bruised. Being empathetic and caring but not getting the problem fixed doesn’t hit the mark either. It is the right combination of what you do and how you do it that will establish your service level one notch above the rest.

So next time your customer experiences an OW moment, put RAPID response to work and see if you can turn OW to WOW.

In my December blog I touched on customer feedback and understanding how to translate this feedback into action. It is important to analyze variation in customer feedback to fully understand how customers feel. For example, if your customers rate you a "7" on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best), do your customer ratings range from 6 to 8 or do they range from 4 to 10? What would you do with this information?

First, segmentation of customer feedback is critical. But before you can slice and dice all the data, you need to figure out what information needs to be gathered to allow for meaningful ’slicing and dicing’. Age, demographic, location, product usage, the list can become quite unwieldy if no prework has been done. In most cases, one size does not fit all. Before you launch into a huge customer survey, defining your ’slice and dice’ variables is critical or all you will end up with is a bunch of data. Sort of like a bunch of grapes. As we learned from Kaj Ahlmann at the iSixSigma Live Summit, you’ve got to have better sorting than "green" and "purple" to make a fine glass of Six Sigma wine.

Once you’ve been able to appropriately segment your feedback, you can start looking at the satisfaction level of various groups and identify if ratings "within and between" various segments are the same or statistically different. Once you have great segmentation and analysis, then the hard part begins - answering the following questions . . .

• Which process drives the customer satisfaction metric that you are evaluating?
• What is the variation in the process?
• Is the variation in the process correlated to the variation in customer satisfaction?

If the process is stable but the customer feedback has lots of variation, there is most likely another variable that may be driving satisfaction or dissatisfaction. If the process has a lot of variation, it is worth exploring to see if the process variation is indeed driving variation in customer satisfaction.

Soon it may become clear that there are two types of process issues that are reflected in the satisfaction levels. Some may involve processes that have little variation but clearly need to move up a notch to improve satisfaction. On the other hand, feedback may show a large process variation (resulting in scores of 4 to 10). This feedback is interesting because it identifies a small group of customers that are highly satisfied (those providing a 10 rating). All else being equal, should you first focus on the process that requires reduction in variation or take a good process (little variation) and try to move it up a couple of notches?

In this particular example, I’d pick the process that has the most variation and set an objective to reduce the variation using best process performance as the target mean. The reason I picked this approach is that the process has already proven its ability to satisfy at a ’10’ level so I already have data related to what a ’10’ performance looks (and feels) like to the customer. If the process has little variation and customer ratings range from 6 to 8, trying to define what a ’10’ may feel like to the customer will require further research and customer feedback to determine the process improvement target (worth pursuing at a later time).

Some of you out there may agree or disagree with this approach. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts.

The one thing that I think we can all agree on is that when faced with a ’bunch’ of stuff to improve, we should try to ’pick’ the types of things that can make the biggest difference to our customer and go for it. The only bad choice is to not make a choice and do nothing. And when you do nothing your Grapes of W.O.W. will surely turn into Sour Grapes.

Just got back from 2 awesome days at the 2009 iSixSigma "Back to Breakthrough" summit in Miami where I was surrounded by a gaziilion leaders and professionals who are passionate about excellence. The summit was packed full of speakers, panels, and workshops all geared at helping companies get ’back to breakthrough’. Thank you iSixSigma for leading the way.

Besides meeting some really cool people, the best thing for me was that that the experience helped me re-energize my personal commitment to excellence. After all was said and done, I walked away with this . . . "Have the Courage to Lead". Whether it’s a deployment, a business or a department, the one thing that each of us can personally contribute to achieving excellence in our company is to have the courage to lead.

The global economic situation has created a burning platform for all of us to reach beyond incremental improvement and focus on breakthrough. Six Sigma provides a methodology to get you there. The only question that remains is "Do you have the courage to lead?"

So you’ve decided that you are ready to embark on the journey to the W.O.W. Side. Now what? What does it look like - feel like? Who’s got the directions? And how do you know when you’ve arrived? Simple . . . Just Ask.

If you are providing your Customers with a W.O.W. experience, you will know it. If you are not, you will know it as well. Defining What’s needed, On time, With value goes beyond having great customer service. It is using customer input to help you design and define products, services and channels to deliver them in a way that creates customer delight.

Being right on the heels of the shopping season for many across the globe, now is a perfect time to ask customers about W.O.W. Most have spent the last month either shopping in stores or on-line and many have already experienced the joy of returning or exchanging items. Both of these transactions, either buying or returning are opportunities to W.O.W. your customer. How do you know if you passed the W.O.W. test? Ask them. It is the most direct form of customer feedback that you can get.

Customer feedback, of all types, is the backbone of W.O.W. It comes in many forms. Market research is a form of feedback that helps define what customers want. Analyzing buying patterns and market data and developing surveys that ask questions related to your product or service is key. Once a product or service is developed or provided, again asking customers what they think is important. And, when your customers have a question or problem that needs to be resolved, asking them if you are providing a delightful experience is again an opportunity to learn more. Surveys, whether on the spot, or after a time-lapse can capture valuable insights as to how customers feel about the service or product and are a true gage of W.O.W.

Here’s an example of how immediate feedback works. Yesterday I had a lengthy transaction at a bank and next to each teller was a sign that said, "Ring the bell if you got exceptional service." I was in the bank for at least twenty minutes and never heard the bell ring. I was wondering if my teller was going to W.O.W. me and yes she did. Awesome service. I finished my transaction in the back and as I walked out went past her workspace, said thank you and rang the bell. Everyone looked up and across the counter I saw a big smile. It made me feel good - looks like my W.O.W. experience turned into hers. (Double W.O.W)

I can’t leave the customer feedback discussion without touching on customer complaints. Customer complaints provide valuable input as well. Reviewing, categorizing and analyzing complaints to identify trends and any recurring issues is a great way to capture customer feedback (even if it is not the preferred method.) All of this analysis begs for application of Six Sigma tools.

So you have feedback, analysis and some possible recommendations. What next? Translating this feedback into a business plan is the next step. Without this, all you have is feedback. This is the tough part but operationalizing customer feedback and using it to drive your Business Plan is not an option - it’s a requirement. Linking your business plan to process improvements closes the loop (sounds like Hoshin to me). And after improvements are implemented, it is time to ask the customer for feedback to see if your improvements made a difference.

As you can see, the whole process of W.O.W. starts with the customer and ends with the customer. And throughout the journey Six Sigma serves as an integral part of how to make it so. Join me next time as we explore some of these Six Sigma linkages or better yet, join me at iSixSigma Live in January where I’ll be sharing some insights in person on how to Take a Walk on the W.O.W. Side^TM

What’s Needed . . . On Time . . . With Value . . . That’s what you’ll find on the W.O.W. Side. More simply put, it is about customer delight. I like the words "customer delight". Webster’s defines delight as ’extreme satisfaction’ . . . It is what gets your customers to say WOW! Professor Noriaki Kano described the look and feel of WOW with the Kano Model. It’s going past satisfying customer basic needs and performance needs and finding those things that excite or delight the customer thus creating customer WOW. Sounds simple but you will find that many companies, although striving for WOW, have not figured out how to consistently meet basic needs and therefore wallow in the halls of "can’t get there from here". Basic needs are those things that if done correctly do not add to customer satisfaction but if done incorrectly will result in dissatisfaction. For example, if you are checking out of a hotel and your bill is correct it’s a non-event. No one is running around saying WOW, they got my bill right. But having an error on the bill results in customer dissatisfaction.

The first step in mapping your path to the W.O.W. Side is getting the basics right. Sounds simple but it is not. How many times in the past month have you experienced poor service or poor quality? Maybe it was getting home and finding out that the drive-through restaurant left a sandwich out of your order or maybe you had to stand in line for 15 minutes to get through a checkout line. The fact that basic needs are constantly changing makes this step even more complicated. What was a delighter last week will, over time, work its way to a basic need. For example, years ago having internet service in a hotel was a delighter. Today, if a hotel doesn’t provide free wireless service they are teetering on the edge of creating customer dissatisfaction. Customer basic needs and expectations are changing so fast that in the blink of an eye you can find yourself quickly moving from Customer WOW to Customer OW proving once more that meeting basic needs is an ongoing journey - not a one time accomplishment.

So where do you start? Get the basics right. Define your core business and products, review metrics that describe your performance level, identify any defects that keep you from getting the basics right and apply continuous improvement methods such as lean, six sigma, kaizen, etc. to eliminate dissatisfiers. You will also need to constantly draw on customer input to gage your success and keep your ’basics’ up-to-date.

Getting the basics right is a prerequisite to being able to "Take a Walk on the W.O.W. Side". Bypass this step and you may find that the old saying "You can’t get there from here" may be old but still stands true.

^TM

Good enough is just not good enough anymore and has not been for a long time. We have become a society of "I want it all" and "I want it now". Today, in particular, as prices continue to rise and people are feeling the pinch, customers are becoming less tolerant of errors, delays and poor service and instead are demanding excellence. The time is right for a resurgence of customer delight. How? By providing Customer W.O.W.

What’s Needed - On Time - With Value

Sounds simple, but if it was, anyone could do it. What makes creating W.O.W. so tricky is that the components are constantly changing. "What’s Needed" today will be old news tomorrow. If you don’t believe that ask anyone with a teenager. It would seem that as soon as you buy the latest cell phone with all the bells and whistles, another phone hits the market that does twice as much.

The definition of "On Time" has also taken on new meaning. The "I want it now" mentality requires that products and services be delivered exactly when the customer wants them and technology has made this expectation a reality. Need a book - download it. Want some shoes - order from Zappos and get them delivered the next day. Wait two weeks for anything - are you kidding?

But the most volatile component of the W.O.W. equation is "With Value". Value is defined as relative worth, merit or importance. And yes - it is the customer that will define this for your product or service. And yes, they can change their definition as often as they want.

Like it or not, the road to Customer W.O.W. is constantly changing. If you want to "Take a Walk on the W.O.W. Side"™ you’ll need to figure out how to quickly adapt to these changing needs. Join me over the next several weeks as we step our way through a framework for creating customer W.O.W.