{"id":1009286,"date":"2022-01-15T11:57:05","date_gmt":"2022-01-15T19:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondphilosophy.com\/?p=27896"},"modified":"2022-01-15T12:00:46","modified_gmt":"2022-01-15T20:00:46","slug":"the-big-fail-why-are-you-not-listening-to-the-voice-of-your-product","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customerthink.com\/the-big-fail-why-are-you-not-listening-to-the-voice-of-your-product\/","title":{"rendered":"The Big Fail: Why Are You Not Listening to the \u2018Voice of Your Product\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Proactive is a key word for me for the future of experiences and customer strategy. Anticipating the needs of your customers is going to be the next level of exceeding their expectations. However, to be proactive, you need to add a new voice into the mix with the \u201cVoice of the Customer (VoC).\u201d It\u2019s the \u201cVoice of the Product (VoP),\u201d and it can tell you a lot about what your customers want.<\/p>
The VOP adds another data stream from a crucial part of a customer\u2019s experience\u2014using the product. With this data, organizations can anticipate and provide a proactive experience. <\/p>\r\n
In a recent podcast, we hosted Tobias Goebel<\/a> (@tpgoebel<\/a>) Product Marketing Principal at Twilio IoT<\/a>. Goebel recently wrote a great article, \u201c<\/i>It\u2019s Time for the VoC to Get a Little Brother: The Voice of the Product,\u201d<\/i><\/a> that introduced me to the idea of the \u2018Voice of the Product\u2019. Goebel comes to us with nearly 20 years\u2019 experience with enterprise software and a career of product management, sales engineering, and product marketing. Goebel describes himself as a technology solution evangelist with a passion for leveraging the potential for connecting the physical product world with the internet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Goebel says \u201cthe <\/i>Internet of Things (IoT)<\/i><\/a> is at its heart about communication. IoT describes giving the physical objects in the world a voice so that things can tell us about themselves\u201d<\/i>. Goebel also believes that without giving those objects a voice, we are missing out on a significant constituent in the business-to-customer relationship. \u201cListening to the VoP can help organizations not only help their customers faster and more efficiently, particularly in the contact center (reducing call time, avoiding calls in the first place), but also become more competitive,\u201d<\/i> says Goebel.<\/p>\r\n In the last few years, IoT technology has advanced. The software solutions and platforms exist to handle the interface, and cross-carrier cellular connectivity has become reliable. Also, the costs of sensors, modems, and connectivity have come down enough to make solutions affordable. IoT is now ready for a wider application in the physical product world. <\/p>\r\n\r\n Goebel sees many benefits of adding this element to those who build products. However, he also sees sweeping implications for contact centers. \u201cFor example, an organization\u2019s contact center agent could see on their screen data from the product when a customer calls or chats,\u201d <\/i>Goebel says.<\/p>\r\n According to Goebel, there are a few benefits from connecting a product into an organization. First, it can make a company proactive for customers\u2019 needs. Goebel says a common use case for IoT is to do predictive or proactive maintenance. In other words, monitoring the state and the condition of a product to know beforehand when it might break. \u201cFor example, when a product needs maintenance, it can alert the customer or suggest a replacement part it needs with a link to order it,\u201d suggests Goebel \u201cSo, in other words, the product knows before the customer that it has an issue and helps the customer resolve the problem before it happens. This prevents inbound calls \u2013 an important goal for any contact center, which is still widely considered a cost center.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n Second, IoT can make it easier to act upon customer concerns. Because the product is connected, the call center agent should be able to pull up and have a frame in their agent desktop with data about not only the product, but also the connectivity itself (e.g.: Is there a cellular outage currently impacting the functionality of the product?). This data would reinforce or explain some of the issues the customer is having. Then, the agent can resolve the issue with more information than they would have had with the Voice of the Customer (VoC) alone. But not only that: having direct access to the VoP will also reduce call time, as \u201ca log file often says more than a customer\u2019s 1000 words.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Finally, connecting a product into an organization allows companies to react. Companies could use the data from the VoP to do a historical analysis. The data could help manufacturers spot trends, understand usage in hindsight, and make educated decisions on how to improve product functionality or stability. Mingled with VoC data, the VoP provides a more informed view of what\u2019s really going on.<\/p>\r\n Goebel\u2019s interest in the VoP started when he had a mind-blowing experience with a connected mopping robot from iRobot. For a while, the appliance was working great and his kitchen\u2019s hardwood floors had never looked better. Then, Goebel\u2019s iRobot started acting up, so he called the contact center, an experience that he dreaded since he anticipated a long wait and cumbersome conversation. However, he was connected to a very knowledgeable agent, trained in the product. Then, she accessed the robot remotely and \u201clistened\u201d to it. Within a few seconds, she had identified the problem and pushed a software upgrade to the robot from her desktop. This example of a modern, digital native company that \u201cgets it\u201d and builds technology into their customer service was a fantastic experience, leaving Goebel wondering why other companies weren\u2019t doing this, too.<\/p>\r\n Goebel doesn\u2019t see the VoP replacing the VoC. \u201cThere is much insight that you can get from a VoC, even if it is biased or subjective. But the VoP provides another potential source of information that breaks through the bias and presents the facts\u201d<\/i>. Maybe it\u2019s how often the customer uses the product, or how they use it. Perhaps the VoP shows a mistake on the user\u2019s side that results in less than satisfying results that the company can address with customers. The opportunity to use the VoP for forward-looking insights that improve the product in ways the customer can\u2019t articulate is new and interesting for the product space.<\/p>\r\nIoT and Product Management for Experience Improvement<\/b><\/h3>\r\n