Voice Of Customer (VOC) techniques in the Automotive sector - A Stellantis case study on the use of Clinic Tests

The Automotive sector is undergoing a period of continuous evolution due to the fact that new technologies/opportunities (just to make an example, the transition towards the electrification of the vehicles) are arising or are already ongoing. For this reason, it is crucial to launch on the market a vehicle up-to-date under every aspect but, before all, with design and equipment “tailor-made” according to the feedback received by the customers, what is usually called the Voice Of Customer (VOC). In order to collect customer feedback, some techniques can be employed: the most widely used is the so-called Clinic test, a type of market research in which a precise target of customers has the opportunity to see in advance the new product during different stages of its development, with the aim to provide personal evaluations and opinions regarding it. This thesis has the objective of providing an overview of this technique that, especially in the last few years, has been recognized to be very effective by many car manufacturers all over the world. After a brief introduction on Stellantis, in the second chapter the VOC procedure is introduced, looking also at the main fields in which the technique is used; the third chapter presents a dedicated overview on its deployment in Automotive. The core part of the document is the fourth chapter, which begins with an introduction of the Stellantis Product Development Process and its steps, and then focuses on all the aspects regarding the Clinic tests: typologies, general organization, people involved and outcomes expected from each session. The fifth chapter presents an analysis of two Clinic tests performed in the past. The sixth chapter, dedicated to the conclusions, contains some data supporting the effectiveness of the VOC. This thesis work is the result of a 12-month internship in the Future Products team of FIAT brand, which is in charge of the management of the upcoming vehicles on the market, from the formal approval of the project of a new model up to its commercial launch.