The Six Sigma Handbook, Revised and Expanded, 2nd Edition

20.2. WHAT IS VALUE TO THE CUSTOMER?

Value is what customers want or need, and are willing and able to pay for. This isn't always easy to determine, especially for new products or services, but it must be done. For existing products use focus groups, surveys, and other methods described in Chapter 3. For new products, consider the DFSS methods described in Chapter 19. Most importantly, DO NOT RELY ON INTERNAL SOURCES! Most companies start with what they already know and go from there, tweaking their existing offering in some way. Customer input involves asking customers what they like or don't like about the existing offering, or what they'd like to see added or changed. The result is incremental change that may or may not address what the customers ...