How to Solve customer problems by identifying Critical to Quality (CTQ) approach.

Many a times we are faced with situations with problems being reports from customers. If we do not look into the problems quickly and handle them carefully then we may end up with unwanted escalations and loss of business opportunities.

To manage customer problems there are many frameworks available that helps understand the problem areas and then work towards correcting them. One of such technique is Voice of Customer (VOC) to Critical to Quality (CTQ) mapping techniques in Six Sigma. This is a very effective methodology to understand and solve customer problems very quickly and effectively. Some of the elements that we need to consider for this are listed below:

1. Identify Voice of Customer (VOC) - It is very important to understand the customer problems clearly. This may include carefully examine feedback provided by customer, talking directly to customers or getting details from customer issue base etc.
2. Service/Quality Affected - Once you identify the problem customer is reporting then try to map this to a specific Service/Quality Area. This will help in alignment of identifying team and other resources needed to resolve the problem.
3. Customer Expectations - Try to understand what exactly customer needs. If the need is understood correctly then you can target the corrective measures effectively.
4. Critical to Quality (CTQ) measurement - Identify the CTQ data measurement that will help you evaluate whether the exact problem is solved or not with the suggested corrective actions. This will also define benchmark for tracking and identification of improvement in future.
5. Action Items - This will help tracking of various action items that are identified while solving the problem. 

I'm giving an example for your easier understanding of this methodology:

Voice of Customer (VOC)	Service/Quality Area Affected	Customer Expectations	Critical To Quality (CTQ)
Customers complains that bills are either not provided to them or not delivered timely	Inconsistency of Billing cycle	Bill needs to be delivered consistently  and on time	Bill needs to be delivered on 10th of every month with a exception of +/- 1 day