Archive for February, 2011

The Oprah Winfrey Network is nearing its second month anniversary. The Huffington Post reports OWN’s rapidly growing viewership has already surpassed that of the network it’s replacing.

I’m not about to guess whether OWN will be successful or not, but here is why it should be: According to Christina Norman, the network’s CEO, “It is not a network built around a person. It’s a network built around a person’s world view.”

A “world view” establishes the beliefs, the values, and the appropriate behaviors of its people. In other words, it defines their culture.

Norman is telling us that OWN is not just a network; it is a culture in and of itself. It doesn’t serve a demographic audience; it leads people who feel in some way leaderless. It’s viewers don’t simply tune in to watch; they tune in to learn what they ought to watch.

So how can you stop serving your customers and start leading them? Figure that out, and your brand will have not just loyal fans, but a long-term competitive advantage that is impossible to copy.

If you’re not doing a Voice Of The Customer (VOC) project, you should. Just be careful how you use what you learn.

Don Draper said it back in 1964, "A new idea is something they don’t know yet. So of course it’s not going to come up as an option." — Mad Men, Season 4, Episode 4

Using VOC to benchmark how well you are meeting expectations is a fine practice — for operations. However, using VOC as input for designing new products or services is the beginning of the end.

Why? In VOC, customer wants and needs are defined in terms of satisfaction with current alternatives. When customers tell you what’s good, what’s bad, or even what’s missing from your product or service, their answers are bounded by their alternatives. You can ask “blue sky” or “magic wand” questions all day long, but if it doesn’t exist, customers can’t want it.

It’s natural to want to listen to what customers ask for and give it to them. It seems predictable. And because of its origins in QFD, it’s defensible. Just don’t expect it to produce anything innovative.

Instead, recognize VOC as a potentially commoditizing force. By the time your new product or service is launched, it will look even more like your competitor’s. After all, they are listening to the voice of the customer too.