Source: Wizu
The fact that you are reading this article means it is more than likely you have come across the phrase ‘Voice of the Customer’. But do you know exactly what this means and how you can capture this voice?
In this article we are going to look at explaining what this is, how you can measure it and how you can use voice of the customer to improve your customer experience.
So, what is it then?
Voice of the Customer (often referred to as simply VoC) is a term used to describe the process of capturing customer’s experiences, expectations, preferences and aversions. It is a process that provides a detailed set of customer wants and needs and often includes both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Basically – you collect feedback on your customer’s experience with your products and services.
How do you capture it?
There a number of ways to gather this information, from focus groups, ethnographic techniques etc but all methods essentially rely on some form of interview to gather the information. In more recent years, with the advancement of technology, VoC can be carried out on a much larger scale through online surveys. Once your customer feedback is gathered, this information can then be shared within a business to help them make informed decisions.
Why is it important?
Voice of the Customer is vital in a business as customer experience becomes one of the main tools in gaining a competitive advantage. It allows you to better understand your customers and therefore make more informed decisions that align with the needs of your customers.
What are the benefits?
Voice of the Customer programs have been proven to help companies retain customers, deliver improved service and understand customer experience better in order to drive change.
Implementing a Voice of Customer program can lead to a number of benefits including:
Improve your customer experience
Getting feedback from your customers can help you improve your product and/or services. If you can improve your service by taking action from your feedback, then your customers are more likely to return to you in the future. They may also be more likely to refer you to friends or family which you can measure through Net Promoter Score (NPS) questions.
Stay ahead of competitors
Customer expectations are always changing, and you are not just being compared to your direct competitors but to experiences customers are having anywhere. By listening to your customers, you can get a better understanding of what they want and where you can improve your product.
Manage your brand
Understanding how customers perceive your brand can help you maintain a positive reputation in the market and capturing their voice directly makes it less likely they are going to engage in a discussion with you through social platforms.
Reducing risk
If you are going to launch a new company or product then you can reduce risk by getting a better understand of what the customer wants before launching.
Increase revenue
VoC enables you to improve customer experience which can reduce customer churn and improve your ability to attract new customers.
Taking VoC to the next level
Today’s market leaders are shifting their listening and response mechanisms faster as VoC programs offer a huge opportunity to increase sales and drive loyalty. There are a number of ways you can evolve your VoC strategy to gain the maximum impact within your business.
Make Data Actionable
Collecting your data is one thing but it is just as important to take action on the information you collected. Go beyond metrics and try to understand the why behind your customer ratings.
Distribute Internally
The information you collect should also be shared within your organisation and you should always try to distribute specific feedback to the relevant person or department. This encourages your organisation to take responsibility as a whole and enables employees and stake holders to see a more complete picture.
Turn Detractors Into Promoters
Your Voice of the Customer program will allow you to identify unhappy customers, so this presents you with an opportunity to deal with these issues in real time. By showing the customer that you are listening and dealing with any concerns they have, you increase the chance of correcting and improve the experience and turning the customer into a potential promoter.
Incorporate Voice of the Employee
Connect your employee and customer experiences to give you a complete picture of what is happening in your business and why. Employee feedback can help provide context for customer experiences and helps identify areas process or technology hurdles that are hindering experience delivery.
Summary
A company is nothing without its customers and the only way to deliver a fantastic customer experience is to understand how your customers feel about you and what they like and dislike about their experiences. A Voice of the Customer program allows you to collect this feedback and take actions that can directly improve your business performance. Tools like Wizu take this a step further by helping you engage more closely with your customers and identify a deeper level of actionable insight.
