The Kano model, developed by Professor Noriaki Kano, is one of the most prominent tools used in product design and measuring customer satisfaction. While companies use this method before launching a new product or to gauge customer satisfaction, I aim to explore how this approach has evolved over the years by comparing it with Steve Jobs’ philosophy.
Before diving into Jobs’ approach, let’s first examine the features of the Kano model, which classifies customer perceptions into five categories:
- Basic Attributes (Must-be Quality):
These are the features that must exist in a product or service. Their absence causes dissatisfaction, but their presence doesn’t create additional satisfaction. For example, when buying a car, customers expect side mirrors and functioning brakes. Similarly, in a hotel room, a bed, curtains, and a bathroom are non-negotiables. Customers take these features for granted, and if they’re missing, dissatisfaction arises, potentially leading to customer loss. - Performance Attributes (One-dimensional Quality):
These attributes create satisfaction when fulfilled and dissatisfaction when absent. Customers expect these features, and they influence their buying decisions. For example, car buyers may expect strong braking performance. A car with a high-performing braking system satisfies customers, while poor performance results in dissatisfaction. However, performance attributes vary among customers—some may prioritize fuel efficiency, accepting lower acceleration, while others expect fast acceleration but care less about fuel consumption. In a hotel, a business traveler might value fast internet service, whereas a tourist may not. - Indifferent Attributes (Indifferent Quality):
These features neither create satisfaction nor dissatisfaction. They don’t significantly impact the customer experience. For example, whether a car’s fuel tank holds 50 or 55 liters, or whether a hotel room has artificial flowers, these elements don’t usually sway customers’ opinions. - Reverse Attributes (Reverse Quality):
These attributes can either satisfy or dissatisfy customers depending on individual preferences. A high-tech camera with complex features may be appealing to some users but frustrating and overly complicated for others. - Excitement Attributes (Attractive Quality):
These are unexpected features that delight customers when present but don’t cause dissatisfaction when absent. Over time, these features may become expected. For instance, car services initially offering a free car wash during routine maintenance created excitement, but now many customers expect it as a standard offering. Similarly, complimentary fruit baskets in luxury hotel rooms initially surprised guests, but now they anticipate them. Another example is the “Follow Me Home” feature in cars, where headlights stay on until the driver enters their home. This innovation, initially seen as an exciting feature, eventually became a norm.
While customer surveys and market research have traditionally identified these attributes, some groundbreaking features can’t always be predicted through these methods. One prime example of this is Steve Jobs’ approach to innovation at Apple.
Jobs didn’t rely on customer feedback to innovate. Instead, he famously said, “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” He believed that it was Apple’s job to anticipate customer needs before customers themselves knew what they wanted.
In his words, “Some say, ‘Give customers what they want.’ That’s not our approach. Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they do. I don’t rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.”
Jobs’ philosophy shifted the focus from merely meeting customer expectations to redefining what they could expect, introducing a different layer of excitement and satisfaction in product design—one that goes beyond what traditional models like Kano can measure.