The Kano Model is a theory developed by Noriaki Kano in the 1980s to categorize customer preferences into five categories based on their impact on satisfaction.
In this blog, we’re introducing you to Kano Model, a valuable tool for product development and customer satisfaction research.
Welcome back to the “Customers Needs Decoded” series!
So far, we’ve delved into your customers’ motivations and the Jobs they deeply want to complete, learning to innovate based on outcomes.
Now that you’ve innovated, it’s time to enhance your product by embracing good features and rejecting bad ones.
As an entrepreneur, a major part of product development rests in your hands. Merely testing and wasting time and money are of no use. In large companies, Product Managers must determine which features to build next quarter. This is where the Kano Model comes to their aid.
In this blog, we’ll dive into the Kano Model, understanding it in detail, and finding ways to enhance our product features to align with what your customers would truly value.
As an entrepreneur, you’ll discover:
- What is Kano Model?
- The different categories of customer requirements.
- How to use Kano Model for your product or service?
- Step-by-step guidance on conducting a Kano Analysis
- Tools to do the Kano Analysis
- Evaluating your Kano Model survey results
- Real-world examples of the Kano Model in action
Are You Ready? Let's dive in without further ado!
1. What is Kano Model?
Imagine you’re baking delicious cupcakes for your new bakery. You want them to be a huge hit, so you brainstorm all sorts of features – fancy frosting designs, unique flavors, even customized orders.
You want your customers to keep coming back for more. But with so many options, what should you focus on?
The Kano Model helps you understand which features are most important to your customers.
Maybe everyone expects delicious cupcakes (that’s a must-have!), but some might be delighted by fun frosting designs (a bonus!), while others might not care at all (they just want a tasty treat!).
By using the Kano Model, you can focus on the “Must-Haves” first to ensure a solid foundation.
Then you can explore “Nice-to-Haves” to differentiate yourself from competitors. Finally, consider adding a few “Delighters” to create a truly memorable brand experience for your customers.
2. The Different Categories of Customer Requirements
The Kano Model helps you understand what features will make your customers say “WOW!” and what they might not even care about.
The following can also be seen as different categories of features.
Here's the breakdown:
- Must-be Quality: These are the features your customers absolutely NEED, like a phone that makes calls or a bakery with fresh bread. Without these, your product flops!
- One-dimensional Quality (Performance Features): These are features that make your product more appealing, like a phone with a great camera or a bakery with delicious cookies. They’re not essential, but they can definitely win over customers.
- Attractive Quality (Wow Factors): These are the unexpected features that truly surprise and delight your customers, like a phone that charges wirelessly or a bakery with a free loyalty program. These features turn happy customers into raving fans!
- Indifferent Quality (Meh Features): These are features that customers just don’t care much about one way or another. Maybe a fancy phone case or a bakery with a loyalty program that’s hard to use.
3. How to use Kano Model?
The Kano Model helps you understand what features of your product or service will truly excite your customers, but how do you actually use it?
Here's the breakdown:
- Identify Potential Features: Start by brainstorming a list of all the features you could potentially include in your product or service. This could involve discussions with your team, customer feedback, or competitor analysis.
- Survey Your Customers: Once you have a list of features, it’s time to get feedback from your target audience. You can use a Kano questionnaire where you ask customers two questions (functional and dysfunctional questions) about each feature :
- How do you feel if the product HAS this feature? Functional
- How do you feel if the product DOESN’T HAVE this feature? Dysfunctional
- Gather Responses: Reach out to past customers or people who are interested in your service. Explain the survey questions clearly so they understand. Aim to get many responses for more accurate results.
- Analyze the Results: Use tools like an Free Kano Model Excel template to sort responses into categories like Must-have, Attractive, Performance, Indifferent, and Questionable.
- Clean Up Data: Remove unclear responses to get a clear picture of each feature’s value.
Some folks might just tick the “yes” box for every question, even if they accidentally clicked “yes” to both liking cookies and NOT liking cookies! These random answers can mess up your results.
Cleaning up the data means getting rid of these confusing answers. We want to focus on clear “yes” or “no” answers so we can truly understand what features people care about. Even in a small group, a few random answers can make a big difference!- Interpret Findings: Analyze the cleaned data to see which features are most valuable to customers.
- Implement Insights: Use these insights to guide product decisions, focusing on Must-have and Attractive features to boost customer satisfaction.
- Iterate and Improve: Keep gathering feedback, refining your surveys, and using the Kano Model to meet customer needs better.
Knowing which category each feature falls into allows you to prioritize effectively.
Focus on developing “Basic Needs” first, then consider “Performance Needs” and “Excitement Needs” to stand out. “Indifferent Needs” can be left out and “Reverse Needs” should be avoided altogether.
By following these steps, the Kano Model equips you with valuable customer insights to make informed decisions about product development and ultimately create a product or service that truly wows your target market!
4. How to do Kano Analysis?
Imagine you’re building a new phone app to connect easily with friends.
The Kano Model helps you understand what features really matter to your users. But how do you ask the right questions?
The Kano Questionnaire: Keeping it Simple
The Kano questionnaire uses clear and easy questions, usually with multiple choices. This lets users give quick feedback without writing long essays!
Here are some examples:
- Question Type 1: “How would you feel if the app had a feature that lets you chat with friends?” (This is the feature we’re trying to understand)
Answer choices:- “I dislike it” (not a fan)
- “I can tolerate it” (meh)
- “I am neutral” (don’t care much)
- “I expect it” (should be there!)
- “I like it” (sounds awesome!)
- Question Type 2: “How necessary is this chat feature for you to be happy with the app?”
Answer choices:- “Not necessary” (don’t need it)
- “Somewhat necessary” (nice to have)
- “Necessary” (should be there)
- “Very necessary” (must-have!)
- “Indifferent” (either way)
These answers help us put features into 3 categories:
- Must-Haves: These are features users absolutely expect, like being able to chat with friends (like in our example!). Not having them makes users unhappy.
- Performance Features: The more you offer in these features, the happier users are. Maybe adding video chat or group chats to our chat feature.
- Delighters: These are unexpected features that surprise and wow users! Maybe adding fun filters or games to the chat makes it super cool.
Making it Even Easier:
There are ways to make the Kano questionnaire even more user-friendly:
- Sliding Scales: Imagine a bar you can slide to show how much you like a feature (great for quick feedback).
- Open-Ended Questions: Sometimes, letting users explain their thoughts in their own words is helpful (but can take longer).
- Mixing it Up: Use a mix of both closed-ended (multiple choice) and open-ended questions to gather different types of information.
- Pictures & Videos: Show users what features look like to get clearer feedback.
By using the Kano Model questionnaire, you can understand your customers’ needs and build a product they’ll truly love!
5. Tools to do the Kano Analysis
There are several tools available to help you conduct Kano Analysis, both free and paid options. These include online tools and simpler options like Excel or Google Forms.
- Kano Surveys: This free online tool allows you to easily create and analyze Kano surveys. It offers a user-friendly interface and pre-built templates to get you started quickly. Link to Kano Surveys
- Kano Plus: This online platform provides resources and templates for conducting Kano Analysis, along with paid plans for advanced features like data analysis and reporting. Link to Kano Plus
Evaluation of the Survey
By looking at how someone answers both questions, we can categorize the feature:
How You Feel About the Feature (Functional) | How You Feel About Missing the Feature (Dysfunctional) | Feature Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
I expect it | I dislike it | Must-Have | Essential feature, customers would be unhappy if missing. | |
I like it | I am neutral | Attractive (Nice-to-Have) | Increases satisfaction, but not crucial. | |
I am neutral | I am neutral | Indifferent | Doesn’t significantly impact satisfaction. | |
I dislike it | I expect it | Reverse | Feature that actually annoys customers if present. | |
I like it | I dislike it (illogical answer) | Questionable | May be an error or confusion, best to investigate further. |
Sometimes, people might accidentally give illogical answers (liking something they also dislike). These are usually ignored or put in a special “Questionable” category.
Key Takeaway: To understand what features matter most, we can use two methods:
Option 1: One Answer at a Time (Discrete Analysis): This looks at each person’s answers one by one. We then average the answers for each feature to see what people generally think is important.
Option 2: Picture It! (Continuous Analysis): This creates a visual map of what matters. We plot two scores (0 to 4) for each feature: how much people want it (good) and how much they dislike it missing (bad). The higher the scores, the more important the feature.
By using these methods, the Kano Model helps us turn everyone’s opinions into a clear plan to build a product or service people will love!
6. A Kano Model Case Study: Airbnb's Disruption
While Airbnb wasn’t the first company to offer vacation rentals, it revolutionized the hospitality industry by understanding customer needs through a Kano Model lens
Before Airbnb:
Traditional hotels focused on standardized experiences (Must-Be’s) – clean rooms, reliable amenities, and consistent service. These were essential, but not necessarily exciting.
The Kano Model Shift:
Airbnb identified a gap in the market where basic needs were met (Must-Be’s) but the experience lacked something (absence is a negative).
Customers, according to the Kano Model, desired a more authentic and unique experience (Delighters). Here’s how Airbnb capitalized on this:
- Unique Apartments: They offered a variety of apartments reflecting local flavor, fulfilling the desire for something beyond the standardized hotel room (Delighter)
- Community Connection: Airbnb rentals often placed guests in neighborhoods, allowing them to feel embedded in the local community (Delighter).
- Competitive Prices: Airbnb offered stays at a lower cost compared to hotels, appealing to budget-conscious travelers (Want-Be).
The Impact:
By focusing on these Kano Model insights, Airbnb addressed a customer pain point that traditional hotels weren’t. They offered a more personalized and exciting experience (Delighters) alongside the essential needs (Must-Be’s) at competitive prices (Want-Be).
This customer-centric approach disrupted the hospitality industry, making Airbnb a major player.
Related Post
Utilize the Kano Model and Build Something Customers Crave
As entrepreneurs, we all strive to build products customers love. This blog unpacked the Kano Model, a powerful tool to prioritize features based on what truly excites your target audience.
Remember, focusing on Must-Haves ensures a solid foundation, while Attractive features (Delighters) can set you apart. Don’t waste time on features that don’t resonate!
Your next step is clear: Craft a Kano questionnaire and start gathering customer feedback.
The Kano Model can be your secret weapon for building a product that sparks customer excitement and propels your business to success!
Article Contribution by – Devika Kovachi & Sapna Garg
