The Kano Model Explained

The Kano Model Explained

Everyone is excited when it comes time to create and creating new products. From concept to project management every member of the team has an idea and wants to make them happen.

As great as the energy is, what usually happens is that teams wind having too many options to contemplate and, consequently you aren’t sure what to do to begin.

It’s time to think about what features are going to be game changers and which ones will result in unsatisfactory financially drains.

There are also concerns about the usefulness of some features, and whether they add value the customers you serve. In addition the cost and time to get the upgrade not done correctly could put you and your team back for months.

This is where kano analyses come into. In this guide, we examine how you can utilize the analysis of kanos to improve your services and products along with the process and provide you with the best practices for support.
What is Kano analysis?

Kano Analysis model (pronounced “Kah-no”) Kano Analysis method (pronounced “Kah-no”), commonly referred to by”the “Customer Delight vs. Implementation Investment” method is a analysis tool that allows you to comprehend the emotional reactions of your customers to features or products could be measured and examined.

Utilizing the Kano model’s questionnaire (used to conduct research focused on the customer) The features of the product are classified into two scales that measure satisfaction and functional. Based on this, companies can prioritize features of a plan based on the likelihood they will be able to please customers as well as how much they will cost to implement.

This is a more strategic, customer-focused method of product development.
The roots of Kano analysis The Kano analysis’s beginnings: The origins of Kano analysis. Noriaki Kano

The Kano analysis model was created by Dr. Noriaki Kano who was a professor of management and quality at Tokyo University of Science, in 1984.

In the past, complaint handling and improving well-known features were the standard method to increase customer loyalty. Kano was interested in seeing if there were other options for brands to sustain and increase customer loyalty.

He believed that loyalty of customers depended on their emotional responses to the features. He proposed that there are five types of emotional responses to the features and conducted a study of over 900 participants to test his theories. Based on his findings and findings, he designed the Kano response graph (below ) that depicts the five emotional responses in curves.

Through this reaction graph the researcher was able to demonstrate that satisfaction with customers is contingent on how sophisticated the functional feature is. This creates an emotional reaction.

Kano’s Five Types of Emotional Responses

It is a must-have (or must-have) features
Performance features
Attractive features
Different features
Reverse features

What are the reasons to use Kano analysis?

Kano analysis is extremely useful for teams in the product industry who want to answer these important questions:

What can we do to measure the level of satisfaction with our customers?
What features can we design to improve customer satisfaction?
Are our current features causing an increase in satisfaction with our customers?
How can we improve our offerings so that customers are satisfied at an top degree (‘delight clients’)?

By focusing on these issues and responding to customer demands Product teams can determine what is required for their product to be able to enter or remain in the market and to be successful in the market they want to be.

What are the best times to use Kano analysis?

Do you have any questions about when to employ the Kano model? Here’s the time when it will be the most beneficial and efficient to your business:

In the event of a time limit, it is best to use the duration

When teams of product developers have to meet strict deadlines, the Kano model can be an effective instrument to speed the process of making decisions.

If resources are scarce

The simplest method of conducting Kano analysis involves using an email questionnaire. This means that you don’t require any specialist resources to complete the study.

If you’re looking to know the things that will impress your customers

If you’re looking to think outside the box’ or to think bigger You can utilize Kano analysis to determine the features that customers would want and discover valuable.

If you’re looking to enhance the current product

When the time is right to refresh the product or stay in line with your competitors by using Kano analysis, you can evaluate the various options available to you and provide you with clear options to make.

Kano analysis has many benefits and benefits. analysis

A few of the advantages of using the Kano model include:

You can save time and money.

Kano’s model helps avoid the waste of time and money the development of features that aren’t attractive to the intended customers.

Prioritize areas

The Kano model helps you identify the most important areas of your product’s features which require immediate attention to fix the problem.

Group your best features

The Kano model puts your ideas for features into a clear plan of development that is based on improvement in performance and levels of customer satisfaction.

Enhance customer satisfaction

The Kano model is a way to avoid the development of features based with ideas that don’t improve the customer’s satisfaction, so you can satisfy your customers more quickly.
Kano’s advantages and drawbacks analysis

However the drawbacks of this tool must be considered too:

Primarily quantitative

The results provided by the questionnaire usually give the quantitative (numerical) results that cannot provide the “why” behind findings. Additional research to dig more deeply into the results could be required.

Needs to be analyzed

Results from the survey still must be analysed and require some understanding in order to understand and use results.

It can be difficult to manage

Surveys administered by hand aren’t always easy to manage because they can take a long time to complete and are not easy to measure. The best technology solutions will take care of this task and integrate it into your existing systems.

What is the process behind Kano analysis function?

Kano affirms that the product’s loyalty level is measured by the emotions of the buyer to the product’s characteristics. However, the performance of the product isn’t the only thing which determines its quality the emotions are as important.

In general, the products perform well and meet the fundamental need they’re required to fulfill (e.g. customers can use it to finish an assignment, for example, using the key of a car to start the engine) However, that might not suffice.

An item that functions and is able to fulfill its function can remain boring or behind the trend’. For instance, a vehicle with self-driving capabilities is impressive and goes above the essential requirements and makes a buyer be amazed.

By following this method, the product teams can boost their customer’s satisfaction levels by launching handful of new, exciting featuresinstead of a lot of simple ones. The Kano model allows you determine which ideas are the most useful in order to make a smart business decision on what to pursue.

Function and satisfaction are the two main criteria in the Kano analysis model categories

To fully understand how the Kano reaction graph functions it is important to know satisfaction and the functionality. The two graphs below are included in this model in the form of measurement scales that help analyze the reaction of the user to an item.

Kano developed a scale of satisfaction to measure satisfaction from “Delighted” (indicating an exuberant or happy feeling) to “Frustrated” (indicating the absence of or low satisfaction).

Additionally, Kano created a functionality scale (also called The Investment, Sophistication, or Implementation scale) that ranges from ‘None’ up to “Best”. This is a measure of the level of functionality the customer believes the feature can provide. Is the feature implemented at the highest level? Does this feature get a positive emotional response by the client?

Five Categories of Features Five Categories of Features in Kano analysis

Once we have the measurements of scales to each of the features, the next step are the categories for each feature.

Five types of features that are five possible customer reactions to an item

Features that must be included

In conjunction by that is the Threshold Attribute Line on the Kano graph
The essential features consumers would expect a product service to offer.
They are basic elements that should be included in the service or product as standard. E.g. The customer would expect that the accommodation will be tidy and comfy.
If these features are available they are likely to be neutral regarding these features. The presence of these features will not increase satisfaction.
If these characteristics are not present, it can cause discontent.

Performance features

Associated to the Performance Attribute line of the Kano graph
Performance features are features that consumers are looking to include to their satisfaction with the product or feature e.g. A car with an extensive gas storage tank is thought to hold more gas at the same time and thus performs better than a car which is equipped with a smaller storage tank.
If there is a large number of performance-related features, the customer’s satisfaction rises in response. Kano described the performance features as ‘one-directional’ as they boost satisfaction and the functionality up.

Attractive features

It is connected to the Excitement Atribute line in the Kano graph.
Attractive features are the ones that create excitement or attract customers, which puts your service or product above the competition. e.g. Receiving a second product for free in exchange for the purchase of the first item isn’t desired, but it’s an appealing offer that the buyer cannot get from competitors.
Attractive features provide satisfaction when they’re present However, they don’t create unhappiness when they’re not present because they’re not supposed as part of the product in the first place.

Indifferent characteristics

Associated to the Indifferent Attribute Line in the Kano graph
Indifferent features are those that consumers believe are not either good or bad. They may be of no importance for the consumer, e.g. The font type that is used in a logo for a company
Indifferent features aren’t a cause for satisfaction or discontent. These are features that aren’t observed and do not create an impact on the customer.

Reverse features

Not connected to any lines in Kano graph. Kano graph but it has the ability to influence levels of satisfaction.
Reverse features are those which can result in discontent and are considered undesirable by certain people, e.g. the formatting of visuals in the instruction manual could cause some customers to be unhappy with the step-by-step instruction format.

A product team must include more must-have, performance, and appealing features. Try to stay clear of indifferent or negative features.
Perceptions shift with time

Every feature are subject to change and shifting as time passes:

Expectations of the customer for the product may change in time as new competitors are introduced to the market

Industry leader in the field of product development, Daniel Zacarias calls this phenomenon “the natural decline of joy.” Levels of pleasure increase when products are equipped with more appealing features year after year, including Apple phones.

Customers’ needs may change in response to the setting they’re in.

For example, with businesses becoming more remote due to the COVID-19 epidemic, hotel rooms are increasingly required to be equipped furnished with complimentary WiFi as a fundamental option (when previously it was considered to be an attractive option).

Attitudes may change

What was considered to be an insignificant feature at one time, for instance, the quantity that plastic is used to make sandwich packaging has become more relevant as the demand for recycling increases. The feature that is indifferent can be an advantage, in fact making customers hesitant to purchase the product.

So, it’s crucial to keep track of your feature insight frequently and take into account your customers’ environment.

How to apply kano findings to improve your company

There are many ways to apply Kano analysis to your company to boost customer satisfaction:
Make your products and services more appealing and efficient

You can begin by doing kano analysis using this five-step approach:

Gather ideas for features: Collect existing ideas for features or come up with concepts for features that you believe you’d like to incorporate into your services or products.
Conduct a Kano model survey to assess each of the following: Visit the tutorials in our section on how to start.
Utilize your Kano category of feature to every feature you are interested in: Using the results of your customers and your own judgment, consider each feature and categorize them in accordance with 5 categories that need to be: quality, attractive, indifferent and reverse.
Set the features in the graph for a look at which features be most effective, and also the areas where you can win quickly.
Examine the features by categories and think about ways to enhance your service or product (you need to consider the ways in which each category could contribute positively to your product or service).
For instance, you can enhance the amount of excitement features, while also removing or softening the negative features to ensure they don’t cause a lot of offense to diverse tastes of customers. It’s a good idea to have the basics features in place and then concentrate on the essential features that will encourage competition.

Persona characteristics emerge from kano results

When you know the details about the different categories for each element, you can match the features you like and dislike from the questionnaire to your own marketing personas.

If there is a connection between the opinions about specific characteristics (e.g. those that promote recycling) and peopleas (e.g. young people who are green) and personas (e.g., a young demographic that is environmentally conscious) modify your marketing messages to target these groups and market your products as benefits.

These characteristics will likely to be viewed as appealing to groups that are aligned, which will result in you being more likely of selling more goods and services.

Benefit vs cost modelling

With a prioritized list of features at the conclusion of the five steps You can follow-up your plan with a benefit and cost analysis for every feature.

This will help you understand the features that, if implemented, can result in significant returns on investment growing sales.

Knowing this can help guide the development process of your product particularly in cases where the resources for time and money are scarce.
Utilizing in combination using in conjunction with NPS and customer feedback, or feedback

Net Promoter Score is a measure employed in customer service programs. NPS is a measure of the loyalty of customers towards a company. NPS scores are calculated by one-question surveys and are is reported as a number ranging from 100 to +100. an increase in score is considered desirable.

Through creating features that are positive and increasing the satisfaction with a particular the product or services, you will assist your marketers in improving the NPS of the entire market.

The best practice tips and advice for Kano analysis

Select the best features: It’s recommended to try up to 20 features using the Kano model. The more features you test, the questionnaire will become too long.
Select the most suitable customers: Select the right size of sample that is appropriate for your segmentation of customers, market segmentation, as well as your intended marketing personas. Be sure to consider diversification too! A minimum of 15-20 is the ideal size to start with since there’ll be plenty of data for analysis.
Find the most reliable data Make sure you receive the most effective responses by making sure that your questions are well-defined. Send the questionnaire draft to a team member who can provide new eyes on the questionnaire.
Take into consideration follow-up qualitative interviews Alongside the Kano model questionnaire, you should try to understand the ‘why’ and the context of your answers through qualitative interviews.

Everyone is excited when it comes time to create and creating new products. From concept to project management every member of the team has an idea and wants to make them happen. As great as the energy is, what usually happens is that teams wind having too many options to contemplate and, consequently you aren’t…