Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions I'm asked most about the Customer Needs Solution (CNS) and NetCNS.
What is the Customer Needs Solution (CNS)?
CNS (Customer Needs Solution) is my framework for understanding what customers need. It provides a framework for directing customer strategy and a high resolution, real-time picture of how well you are delivering on your customer needs and wants.
What is NetCNS?
NetCNS, the Net Customer Needs Score, measures how well customers' needs are being met, to find the why. It is an organisation-wide operational measure that also signposts the root causes of why needs are not being met.
What is an alternative to NPS?
I don't suggest dropping NPS. NPS tells you how customers feel, but not which of their needs you are or aren't meeting. NetCNS adds that: it is built against specific, tangible needs, so you can see what needs to be done to improve the score.
How does NetCNS relate to NPS?
NetCNS is to operations what NPS is to marketing. The two work together: NPS is a measurement to which specific insights about how you are meeting customer needs must be added. NetCNS is scored like NPS, the percentage of positive experiences minus the percentage of negative ones, on a range of -100 to +100.
Why isn't NPS enough on its own?
When an NPS score goes down, organisations typically have no idea why. It simply produces a number, rather than an understanding of why customers have scored the way they have. CNS analyses what people say, not just how they score.
How do I measure customer needs?
Ask open questions about needs and wants, and never name the topic first, so the customer chooses what to talk about. Each statement is scored for performance, importance and emotion. The statements are then coded into needs, written as first-person sentences a front-line member of staff would recognise.
How much customer feedback do I need?
It's about the number of customer statements rather than customers. Saturation can be reached with data sets as small as 300 statements, depending on the context. You keep sampling until new statements stop producing new ideas.
What are the six CNS Needs Groups?
Effort: make it easy for me to do business with your organisation. Engagement: I feel connected to and valued by your organisation. Value: deliver me the value I expect. Pace: deliver at the pace I choose and expect. Knowledge: give me the information relevant to me, at the right time. Environment: create the surroundings and conditions that meet my expectations.
How is CNS implemented?
CNS runs as a Listen, Act, Learn cycle through five phases: Scope, Listen, Codify and analyse, Play back and act, and Monitor and embed. Each phase has an exit test, and the work ends in owned actions with a named owner, a date and a measure. The aim is that someone inside the organisation can run the next analysis cycle unaided.
Who created CNS and NetCNS?
CNS and NetCNS were created by Stephen Hewett, a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) and Fellow of the Institute of Consulting. He develops CNS alongside his full-time role.