Customer Satisfaction Model
(Kano)

Knowledge Center

What is the customer satisfaction model? Description

The customer satisfaction model from N. Kano is a quality management and marketing technique that can be used for measuring client happiness.

Kano's model of customer satisfaction distinguishes six categories of quality attributes, from which the first three actually influence customer satisfaction:

1. Basic Factors. (Dissatisfiers. Must have.) - The minimum requirements which will cause dissatisfaction if they are not fulfilled, but do not cause customer satisfaction if they are fulfilled (or are exceeded). The customer regards these as prerequisites and takes these for granted. Basic factors establish a market entry 'threshold'.
2. Excitement Factors. (Satisfiers. Attractive.) - The factors that increase customer satisfaction if delivered but do not cause dissatisfaction if they are not delivered. These factors surprise the customer and generate 'delight'. Using these factors, a company can really distinguish itself from its competitors in a positive way.
3. Performance Factors. The factors that cause satisfaction if the performance is high, and they cause dissatisfaction if the performance is low. Here, the attribute performance-overall satisfaction is linear and symmetric. Typically these factors are directly connected to customers' explicit needs and desires and a company should try to be competitive here.

The additional three attributes which Kano mentions are:

4. Indifferent attributes. The customer does not care about this feature.
5. Questionable attributes. It is unclear whether this attribute is expected by the customer.
6. Reverse attributes. The reverse of this product feature was expected by the customer.
    

Origin of the customer satisfaction model. History

The approach towards analyzing customer satisfaction was first published in an article by KANO, N. SERAKU, N., TAKAHASHI, F. & TSUJI, S. (1984) Attractive quality and must-be quality, Hinshitsu (Quality, the Journal of Japanese Society for Quality Control), 14, pp. 39-48.

Usage of the customer satisfaction model. Applications

Besides the obvious quality management and marketing usage, Kurt Matzler, Matthias Fuchs and Astrid Schubert wonder in their article "Employee Satisfaction: Does Kano's Model Apply?" (Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, November-December 2004) whether Kano's model on customer satisfaction factors is also relevant to describe employee satisfaction. Since employees can be perceived as internal customers. They reach the conclusion that Kano's theory is indeed useable for internal customers analysis as well.

Steps in the customer satisfaction model. Process

Kano developed a questionnaire to identify the basic, performance and excitement factors as well as the other three additional factors.

1. For each product feature a pair of questions is formulated to which the customer can answer in one of five different ways.
2. The first question concerns the reaction of the customer if the product shows that feature (functional question);
3. The second question concerns the reaction of the customer if the product does NOT show this feature (dysfunctional question).
4. By combining the answers all attributes can be classified into the six factors.

Forum Forum discussions about Customer Satisfaction. Below you can ask a question about this topic, share your experiences, report a new development, or explain something. Start a new topic about Customer Satisfaction Share your knowledge here (or ask a question)   What Customers Truly Value? 30 Elements (Bain) Marketers have generally spent much time and effort on the pricing side of the value equation (marketing mix), because it is the easier part. Given the psychological complexity and analytical difficul... 33   8 comments What is (Customer) Utility? Meaning WHAT IS UTILITY? Suppose you have eaten a pizza and a burger. Which one satisfied you the most? Probably we can express our fondness toward one item but we are not able to express the likene... 10   10 comments Sensemaking: What are your Customers' Needs? Really? Customer Behavior Approaches There are many approaches towards analyzing customer needs, customer satisfaction, customer behavior and customer experiences. They range from market data analysis an... 8   13 comments Software for Measuring Customer Satisfaction What kind of software do you require to work on a CSM survey using Kano's model?... 7   Assumptions of the Kano Model Note that the model by Kano is aimed at finding the average appreciation of certain quality factors in a representative group at a moment in time when the questionnaires are collected. There coul... 7   C-U-S-T-O-M-E-R Service Dynamics in the New Economy In the present economy, organizations must conform to the increased standards of customer service. The consumer’s voice is loud and clear; they are exercising their rights, scrutinizing service, and m... 6   🔥 NEW Customer Satisfaction Depends on Problem-Solving Efforts, not on Empathy It is instinctive that when something goes wrong, we apologise. This is also the first thing we do in customer service. However, saying "sorry" is not enough if companies want to achieve customer sati... 6   2 comments Using Kano Model for Strategic Planning The Kano model can be used to find a new direction, so it can also be used as a method for defining a new strategy.... 5   2 comments Risks associated with Excitement Factor I strongly agree that the excitement factors delight the customer but with the passage of time these factors no longer hold the surprise factor. In fact this becomes a normal expectation by the custom... 5   How to Trigger Customer Satisfaction - Variables Customer satisfaction is a critical marketing construct and involves customer relationship and conflict resolution. According to Fill (2011), the relationship with customers and assisting them in reso... 5   Other Attributes of Features of a Product or Service Kano model basically provides very good direction on features which must be there, must not be there or could be there. There is another kind of attributes of features that also can be used while... 4   Customer Emotions and Actions According to Kano theory there are two components: EMOTIONS and ACTIONS. In the service industry (banking, hotels), if the excitement from experiencing the product does not meet previous standards, th... 4   1 comments Research Software Development Industry? What possible research ideas can be found regarding the applications of customer satisfaction model in the software development industry to maintain customer retention.... 3   Customer Satisfaction as Research Driver Customer satisfaction survey results should help in improving satisfaction and also in generating more revenue, for additional cost on research and development is minimized. By allotting priorities as... 3   1 comments

Best Practices The best, top-rated topics about Customer Satisfaction. Here you will find the most valuable ideas and practical suggestions. Example FMCG and B2B business Who can give an example of these 3 factors in the FMCG and B2B business. What are the basic factors, the excitement and the performance factors...? Thank you... 37   2 comments Overall Satisfaction in Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire? Should we have a question capturing "overall satisfaction" in a survey form, apart from individual product/service attribute rating? If required, what is the additional value?... 16   7 comments Alternate Methods to Measure Customer Satisfaction Are there any other approaches to measuring customer satisfaction or client happiness?... 14   3 comments What is Customer Satisfaction? Definitions Customer satisfaction (CS) is the state at which the requirements are fulfilled in a way that meets the expectation of them and the after sales services are taken care of.... 12   6 comments How to Design a Generic Model Serving Unique Customers? As far as I know, every customer is different. How can we design a model which has a more generic approach irrespective of demographic and geographic differences?... 7   3 comments Customer Satisfaction and Competitive Advantage What is the role of customer satisfaction in gaining a competitive advantage?... 5   5 comments

Expert Tips Advanced insights about Customer Satisfaction. Here you will find professional advices by experts. Advantages of Kano’s Model Classifying quality attributes The advantages of classifying customer requirements by means of the Customer Satisfaction Model of Kano are as follows: ... Importance-Satisfaction Model Classifying quality attributes Kano’s model has a deficiency in that the degree of importance of quality attributes is neglected. As the degree of impo... A Closer Look Into Customer Value Customer Value Analysis, Strategic Marketing, Innovation Strategy It is often argued that customer value is required for staying competitive and successful as organization. But in what w... Classifications of Human Needs (Employees, Consumers) Motivation, Marketing, Human Needs One of possible ways to classify human (employee, consumer) needs is to break them down into: - Biogenic Needs (essenti... Approaches to Understand your Customer's Needs Customer Targeting, Customer Needs Identification, Customer Behavior In order to transform your customer’s experience and to better understand your customer’s needs, it is helpful to constr... Why are Brands Often So Similar? Understanding Brand Similarity/Parity Branding, Brand Management, Brand Parity, Brand Similarity, Know Model, Brand Differentiation Despite of the efforts of companies to differentiate their brand from other brands, in many product categories a high le... Relation Between Employee & Customer Satisfaction Why Employee Satisfaction Matters for Customer Satisfaction Some investigations have shown an explicit realtion between employee and customer satisfaction: - As an example, a stud... The Three Stage Model of Service Consumption (Service Encounter) Consumption Behavior, Service Marketing, Strategic Marketing Management According to the three-stage model of service consumption, consumers go through 3 stages of service encounter namely; th... Extreme Customer Trust as a Source of Competitive Advantage Competitive Advantage, CRM, Customer Loyalty, Customer Intimacy Many companies are already highlighting the importance of trustworthiness by setting and sustaining honest prices and pr...

Information Sources Various sources of information regarding Customer Satisfaction. Here you will find powerpoints, videos, news, etc. to use in your own lectures and workshops. Service Quality Models SERVQUAL, Service Quality Management, CRM, CEM, Customer Loyalty, Customer Satisfaction This presentation elaborates on service quality, especially focusing on perceptions and expectations of consumers and th... Overview of the Kano Model Customer Satisfaction, Voice of the Customer Comprehensive overview of the Kano Model by E.L. Farmer. The following sections are included in this presentation. - Au... Mystery Shopping Measuring Customer Satisf. Paper by Martijn Hesselink and Ton van der Wiele discusses the phenomenon Mystery Shopping in the field of customer sati... Five Steps to Increased Customer Satisfaction Customer Satisfaction Improvement, Client Satisfaction Improvement This presentation introduces a five-step customer satisfaction process that can be helpful to realize organizaiton’s aim... Introduction to Customer/Consumer Satisfaction Consumer Satisfaction, Customer Satisfaction 1. What is satisfaction? 2. Satisfaction focuses on fulfillment in varieties 3. What is dissatisfaction? 4. Manageria... Kano Model Recent Developments in QFD Paper by Richard E. Zultner and Glenn Mazur. Most QFD practitioners really don't integrate the Kano model into their QFD... The Costs of DISsatisfied Customers Customer Satisfaction This presentation is about the costs and consequences of customers that are NOT happy with your products or services. T... Customer Satisfaction in Financial Services Financial Services Paper by Mayuram S. Krishnan a.o. studies the drivers of customer satisfaction for financial services. They find that sa... Summary and Introduction to the Kano Model Initial Understanding of the Kano Model The Kano model (Noriaki Kano, 1984) is used to categorize and prioritize customer needs as well as to guide new product ... Surprise... Surprise The Influence of Surprising Consumers on their Satisfaction Research by Joelle Vanhamme investigates the specific influence of the emotion of surprise on customer transaction-speci... Customer Value Management Organizational Management, Value Creation Preesentation about Customer Value Management (CVM) by J. Blanc. It includes the following sections: 1. Definition of C... How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service and Client Satisfaction Customer Experience Management, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Service, CRM This presentation elaborates briefly on customer service delivery for customer experience management. The presentation i... The Expectations Consumers have of Services Customer Experience Management, Customer Satisfaction, Customer Quality, Quality Management, SERVQUAL This presentation elaborates on customer expectations on services. The presentation includes the following sections: 1.... Fundamental Customer Centricity Understanding what Customer Centricity Really is About Professor Ranjay Gulati gives his vision on what Customer Centricity is about: aligning your firm in a fundamental way a... Consumer Behavior in the Service Sector Decision Making, Behavioral Economics Presentation about consumer behavior in services. The presentation includes the following files: 1. Consumer Problems ... Customer Satisfaction Model Diagram Measuring Client Happiness Download and edit this 12manage PowerPoint graphic for limited personal, educational and business use. Republishing in ... How to Understand Individual Customer Needs Account Management, Sales, Uncovering Individual Customer Needs Nicki Weiss reveals how sales people should uncover customer needs: stop talking and start listening to your customers. ...

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