Listening to the “Voice of the Customer” has almost become synonymous with smart business in recent years. So I think it’s interesting, and appropriate, to examine what it means to listen to the voice of the customer and to discuss whether it’s good, bad, or indifferent; who should listen, who shouldn’t, and the risks associated with “listening” to what your customer has to say.

The voice of the customer may not be all it’s cracked up to be. In his recent book, The Culture Code, Clotaire Rapaille reveals the stark difference between what people say they want and what really turns them on. In one fascinating study, Rapaille demonstrates how Chrysler revived the Jeep in the 1990s, not by asking people what they wanted, but by studying their subconscious coding of the product. The difference is this: when asked what they “wanted,” people stated things like reliability, a good price, safety, etc. But during the study, when asked about their first memories of the Jeep and studying their subconscious perceptions, Rapaille discovered that the “Culture Code” for the Jeep in America is “the horse.” For American people, the Jeep symbolizes the Wild West, that feeling of wind in the hair, bravado, etc. Yet in Europe the culture code for the Jeep was revealed to be the “liberator” as a result of the European image of American soldiers coming over the hill in a Jeep to liberate a town. By using these images, the manufacturer slightly restyled the Jeep, launched appropriate ad campaigns, and watched Jeep sales take off.

Rapaille believes that these codes or meanings are buried deep in our subconscious, that they differ dramatically by culture, and that they have a huge bearing on whether a company’s sales and marketing approach succeeds. The thinking goes like this: by digging deeply into the psyche of your customers, you can reach them with a message that resonates not just cognitively but emotionally. Furthermore, when you understand why people do what they do, you can develop products and messages that resonate with them and that further the success of your product or service. Rapaille’s three-hour sessions with clients are reminiscent of many psychotherapeutic approaches – his three-step approach involves first asking the group questions about the product as if he is a “visitor from another planet,” paying close attention to not just the words people say but the “spaces in between.” He then has clients make collages from magazine clippings and, finally, has them lay down on the floor with pillows to recall their earliest memories of topics as they relate to the product. Out of this work, Rapaille believes, comes every company’s true answer to where they should go to meet customer needs – and it has absolutely nothing to do with what they may say they want when you ask them.

Along similar lines, a lot of work has been done in recent years to discover what is often referred to as the “unarticulated needs of the customer.” In other words, if the customer can tell you, “I need this,” you may be a little late to the game. But if you can discover your customers’ unarticulated needs by studying their business and your ability to add value, you can stay one step ahead of the competition.

Innovation guru and author Robert B. Tucker gives an example of meeting the unarticulated needs at Callaway Golf in his article Seven Strategies for Generating Ideas. Rather than using a focus group or random survey to ask people about their needs, Callaway evidently sent researchers out to watch golfers interact on the course. By watching and talking to players around the country, researchers determined that golfers tended to be frustrated and intimidated by the game, and what they truly desired was to succeed at doing something they loved – play well! So in turn, Callaway developed its now famous “Big Bertha” clubs, which have since become a mainstay of the modern golf bag. Big Berthas were designed with a larger “soft spot” – thereby making it easier for golfers to hit the ball farther and thereby succeed at their true goal.

What does all of this mean for the modern Lean Six Sigma company? It means that there is more to Voice of the Customer (VOC) than simply gaining feedback in the traditional ways. VOC is taking on new meaning, and the most competitive companies will embrace these new methods, find ways to use them to dig deeper, and gain a greater advantage in the global marketplace.

David Silverstein is the President and CEO of Breakthrough Management Group, a leading provider of performance excellence solutions including Lean, Lean Six Sigma, Design for Lean Six Sigma, innovation and strategic planning. He is a highly-regarded public speaker and author, as well as a certified Master Black Belt and a member of the International Society for Lean Six Sigma Professionals (ISSSP).