WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Individuals or Teams involved in new product development, service design, or any activity requiring input to understand needs—including marketing, market research, engineering, R&D, sales, and management.

WHAT YOU LEARN

1. Define and Apply True VOC: Clearly understand what Voice of the Customer means—not just market research or asking what customers want—and recognize appropriate applications across development, service design, and account management.
2. Design and Execute VOC Studies: Structure effective sampling approaches, develop interview guides that uncover unstated needs, and conduct powerful customer conversations that reveal deeper motivations.
3. Master Both Qualitative and Quantitative: Understand frameworks for both qualitative insights and quantitative validation, and know when and how to deploy each approach effectively.
4. Analyze VOC Data: Process the volume of data that results from comprehensive VOC studies, identify patterns and priorities, and transform findings into actionable insights.
5. Drive Better Decisions: Use VOC findings to set priorities, make resource allocation decisions, and develop well-thought-out plans for implementing VOC in your specific context. 

WHAT YOU GET

1. Clear understanding of the true definition and application of Voice of the Customer
2. Well-thought-out plan for your own VOC activities ready to implement
3. Frameworks for both qualitative and quantitative parts of VOC
4. Sample design tools and interview guide templates
5. Techniques to interview customers effectively, including virtual approaches
6. Methods to analyze data from comprehensive VOC studies
7. Decision-making frameworks to use insights for prioritization

INSTRUCTORS

Gerry Katz is a recognized authority in the areas of new product development, design of new services, process innovation, and market research, with more than 45 years of consulting experience. In October 2022, he was named a Practice Fellow of the Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM).  At Applied Marketing Science, he has led more than 300 major client engagements employing the Voice of the Customer (VOC), Quality Function Deployment (QFD), and a large number of other strategic marketing science applications. His client engagements have covered a wide variety of industries, with particular emphasis on healthcare, medical technology, and commercial / industrial products. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Product Development & Management Association (PDMA), the world’s leading professional society devoted to the study and practice of developing and commercializing new products and services. He is also certified as a New Product Development Professional (NPDP) and is a senior contributing editor to Visions Magazine.

Kristyn Corrigan – In her more than 20 years of consulting experience, she has helped dozens of companies use customer insights to create more successful products, services, and customer experiences. Kristyn has extensive experience leading both domestic and international research engagements in business-to-business and consumer markets. She specializes in helping her clients not only understand stated and latent customer needs through in-depth interviewing and ethnographic observation but also with how to measure their criticality to innovation.

In addition to consulting work, Kristyn trains and coaches companies to create and implement their own in-house Insights and Voice of the Customer programs. Kristyn’s published work has been featured in Fast Company and Marketing News. She has been a featured guest on the Product Mastery Now podcast.  She is a contributing author of the 2023 textbook, The Product Development and Management Association Handbook of Innovation and New Product Development. She has guest lectured at several institutions, including the MIT Sloan School of Management.  Kristyn currently serves on the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) Board of Directors.