The Quality Blog

I have been in Australia for the last 7 days and have thoroughly enjoyed it, although I have worked 5 of the 7 days. The most interesting day has been a training session requested by a large Australian bank on the topic of QFD or Quality Function Deployment. I have done quite a few things in this area and the most important part of this day was the understanding of the Voice of the Customer (VOC). Banks and other financial institutions are always developing services that are designed to bring value to the customer, except each one is like a feature on a car. It is hit or miss when it comes to success.

During a demonstration of the VOC, I simply asked questions about what customers want or desire, and the responses came back, Low interest, easy payment terms and access to funding etc… These were nice but were well off the mark for what I was looking for.

The main problem, I noted, was the lack of understanding of the aspirations of the customer. For example: Customers want to buy a home, start a family, retire comfortably etc… When confronted this group was perplexed about where this exercise was going, because in the current way the bank was thinking was to offer a hodge podge of services that the customer can choose on their own if they happen to be in the right place at the right time. My point to them is “What and How can the bank help the customer buy a home” Put in another way, how many depositors do not have homes and want one and how can they bundle services and products to set the goals with the customer and work with them to build the sufficient wealth, credit history, and money management skills to get to the place that the customer can realize the dream.

It is not about the services that are available, but beginning a relationship, setting the goals, measuring the progress and finally achieving the aspiration of the customer. That kind of relationship builds long lasting customer loyalty. Delight from a bunch of banking offerings? You bet if the voice of the customer is heard and we can rise to the challenge of creating delight.