Expansion of the Kano model to identify relevant customer segments and functional requirements

The Kano model of customer satisfaction has been widely used to analyse perceived needs of customers. The model provides product developers valuable information about if, and then how much a given functional requirement (FR) will impact customer satisfaction if implemented within a product, system or a service. A current limitation of the Kano model is that it does not allow developers to visualise which combined sets of FRs would provide the highest satisfaction between different customer segments. In this paper, a stepwise method to address this particular shortcoming is presented. First, a traditional Kano analysis is conducted for the different segments of interest. Second, for each FR, relationship functions are integrated between x=0 and x=1. Third, integrals are inserted into a combination matrix crossing segments and FRs, where FRs with the highest sum across the chosen segments are identified. At last, the functions of the chosen segments with the smallest interval, define the FRs appealing to the biggest target group. The proposed extension to the model should assist product developers within various fields to more effectively evaluate which FRs should be implemented when considering more than one combined customer segment. It further shows which segments provide the highest possibility for high satisfaction of combined sets of FRs. We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach in a case study involving customers’ preference for outdoor sports equipment.