The Kano Model offer a tool commonly used in the product development process to help classify customer wants and needs into one of three main categories.
The first category is called Basic Needs. Basic Needs are customer needs that are usually unspoken unless they are violated. These types of needs don’t add to the overall customer satisfaction of the product, but they can take away from the satisfaction level if they are not met. An example of a Basic Need in an automobile is its ability to keep water from entering the inside of the car and getting the driver wet. A car owner never runs over to his neighbor and brags about how well his new car keeps water out; this is because it is expected. However, if his new car leaked water on him when he went through the car wash, you bet he would complain to his neighbor about that!
The second category is called Performance Needs. Performance Needs are things that the customer will most likely talk about in everyday conversation. These types of needs add to the customers overall satisfaction when delivered well and detract from their overall
satisfaction when done poorly. An example of a Performance Need in the hotel industry would be the quality of the view from your hotel room. If the view is terrible, say looking straight at a brick wall two feet away, the customer would most likely complain about it and be upset. However, if the view is overlooking a beautiful bluff with a view of the ocean, then the customer will be very satisfied.
The third category is called Excitement Needs. Excitement Needs are customer needs that are usually unspoken because the customer doesn’t even know that they are possible. These needs don’t detract from the overall customer satisfaction level because the customer doesn’t even know it is possible but, if they discover it in their product they are excited and feel like they got something extra.