{"id":659246,"date":"2017-05-17T00:05:05","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T07:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/customerthink.com\/?p=659246"},"modified":"2017-12-26T17:57:51","modified_gmt":"2017-12-27T01:57:51","slug":"voice-of-customer-industry-trends-consolidation-disruption-and-the-rise-of-real-time-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customerthink.com\/voice-of-customer-industry-trends-consolidation-disruption-and-the-rise-of-real-time-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Voice of Customer Industry Trends: Consolidation, Disruption, and the Rise of Real-Time Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\n Are you listening to the voice of your customers? Of course you are. Based on CustomerThink research, nearly all large enterprises conduct \r\n relationship and\/or transaction surveys. And increasingly, small and mid-sized firms are doing so, too.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

But wait, did I say \u201cvoice\u201d \u2013 singular? You should be listening to several \u201cvoices,\u201d deciding what actions are needed, and — this is the most important thing — taking action! My customer-centric research<\/a> has identified five \u201cListen\u201d practices that leading brands implement more effectively, in order of relative impact:\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n
  1. Systematically close the loop between customer feedback and action\r\n<\/li>
  2. Integrate multiple sources to create a more complete view of feedback\r\n<\/li>
  3. Invest in research to learn what factors drive customer loyalty\r\n<\/li>
  4. Regularly ask customers to give their feedback\r\n<\/li>
  5. Share customer feedback widely throughout organization.\r\n<\/li><\/ol>\r\n

    \r\n This article will explore five industry trends related to the first two practices,\r\n where there is a huge gap between Leaders and Laggards.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n Trend 1: Convergence and Consolidation\r\n<\/h2>\r\n\"9663685_s-ctmedia\"\r\n

    \r\n Nearly 20 years ago, CustomerSat and Satmetrix were founded to spark what\r\n most analysts now call the Enterprise Feedback Management<\/a> (EFM) industry.\r\n That\u2019s a really long time in enterprise software. Since then, more than a dozen major vendors have entered the space, with customer survey management\r\n as a core function.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n CustomerSat was sold to MarketTools in 2008, then to Confirmit<\/a> in 2012. \r\n During the past few years there has been some minor consolidation of the industry, with the bigger — and better financed — players picking up technology to expand their\r\n platforms.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n For example, Clarabridge<\/a> entered the industry in 2006 as a text analytics\r\n provider, then acquired survey vendor Market Metrix in 2014 and social monitoring vendor Engagor in 2015. This was, according to founder Sid\r\n Banerjee, part of its strategy to become a VoC platform that would \u201cbring together customer feedback from all channels into one intelligence hub.\u201d\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n In other activity, InMoment<\/a> (formerly Mindshare) acquired Empathica in 2013\r\n to expand its geographic and industry footprints. At the time, CEO John Sperry\r\n noted<\/a> a desire to reach $100M in revenue in three to four years — right about\r\n now \u2013 which would make an IPO or acquisition a viable exit strategy for\r\n investors. In recent years OpinionLab and Vovici were snapped up by Verint,\r\n and NICE acquired Attensity by way of InContact.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    MaritzCX<\/a>, one of the few vendors with an equal emphasis on software and services (Walker is the other), is the \r\nresult of market research firm Maritz acquiring EFM vendor Allegiance in 2014. In late 2016, newly minted CEO\r\nMike Sinoway told me that, although investors don’t always “get” the combination of product and services, and not every customer wants both, nonetheless\r\nit’s a way to differentiate in a crowded EFM space and help clients improve customer experience and loyalty. \r\nForrester gave MaritzCX strong ratings in “support, professional services,\r\nbenchmarking, and client success” along with InMoment, Qualtrics, and SMG. \r\n\r\n<\/p>

    \r\n Without recounting all the M&A activity, this pattern of bigger fish\r\n eating smaller fish is commonplace in the tech industry, causing markets to\r\n narrow to fewer and more comprehensive solutions that look more and more alike. That’s what\r\n Forrester\u2019s recent \r\n Customer Feedback Management report<\/a> found: seven vendors in a fairly tight cluster of either \u201cleaders\u201d\r\n (Confirmit, InMoment, Qualtrics, Medallia) or \u201cstrong performers\u201d\r\n (Clarabridge, MaritzCX, SMG). NICE, Satmetrix, and Verint were assessed as\r\n \u201ccontenders.\u201d\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n To that list, I would add Walker<\/a>, which is strong in large\/complex B2B,\r\n especially if consulting services are also required. And possibly IBM, which made a splash with a Voice of Customer Analytics<\/a> announcement in 2009, but hasn’t followed it up with much since. Still,\r\nwhile Big Blue doesn\u2019t go to market with a packaged offering, it nonetheless has the tech components needed to build a VoC analytics platform for very\r\n large complex enterprises.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n In any case, that\u2019s at least 12 key players in large enterprises. With the exception of IBM, most could be\r\n acquired by either a) a bigger EFM player after an IPO, or b) much larger tech firms active in the CRM market, like Oracle, Salesforce.com, or SAP.\r\n Or, possibly a big contact center player like Cisco or Genesys. I think it\u2019s inevitable that as VoC platforms evolve and grow, CRM\/CX systems will eventually \r\ntightly integrate VoC capabilities. As soon as one of the bigger fish makes a move, the rest will follow.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n Trend 2: Multi-Channel VoC Platforms\r\n<\/h2>\r\n\"\"\r\n

    \r\n Nearly six years ago I wrote about the need for a \r\nVoice of the Customer Command Center<\/a>\r\n as a platform to consolidate and analyze six different feedback dimensions, so that appropriate action could be taken.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n It was just a proposal, because there was no such thing back then. But it\r\n seemed to me that customer-centric business leaders would need such a capability, either by integrating specialized listening tools, or\r\n eventually moving to an all-singing-all-dancing VoC platform.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n And indeed, subsequent CustomerThink research revealed that leading brands are much more aggressive in their use of unstructured sources including text,\r\n social media and speech. They are also more likely to use data collected via enterprise systems and web sites.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n Based on recent interviews, the multi-channel VoC strategy is in full force\r\n for the EFM industry. Dorian Stone, VP CX Strategy at Medallia<\/a>, says that\r\n in addition to surveys, their platform can handle receipt-based codes,\r\n mobile, text messages, web site intercepts, IVR, agent feedback, social\r\n media, and more. And, the system has been \u201carchitected to play well with\r\n others\u201d \u2013 data can be imported from CRM, POS and ERP systems.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n Of course, other major EFM vendors are pursuing similar strategies. In my view, the incorporation of unstructured (text, speech, social) feedback along\r\n with enterprise data (CRM, POS, web) is critical. Clarabridge, InMoment, and Medallia stood out in Forrester\u2019s analysis. \r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    Although all of the major EFM platforms are multi-channel to some degree, there are important nuances in exactly which channels are supported and how the data can be analyzed, reported, and made actionable.\r\nGiven the overriding importance of action, some sophisticated enterprises might find it more effective to select a strong data analytics platform and integrate in survey input, rather than investing in a strong survey vendor with weak integration capability.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n Trend 3: Cross-Channel Triangulation\r\n<\/h2>\r\n\"\"\r\n

    \r\n In CRM\u2019s heyday, there was much talk of getting to \u201cone version of the truth\u201d by investing in a platform with one customer database, supporting\r\n marketing, sales, and service. Left hand, meet right hand!\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n In the VoC industry, there is a similar issue. With multiple potential sources of customer feedback (up to 40 according to this\r\n article<\/a> by Bill Price), companies need to triangulate<\/a>\r\n to reach the right conclusions about what should be done.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n Why can\u2019t you rely on just one source of feedback? For starters, only a small percentage of customers will fill out a survey, leaving a VoC blind\r\n spot. And, due to social desirability bias<\/a>\r\n and other factors, what people say doesn\u2019t always match what they do.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\nCanadian-based iPerceptions<\/a>\r\n incorporates triangulation into a solution that combines solicited feedback\r\n from web surveys with behavioral clues from web analytics. SVP and\r\n Co-founder Duff Anderson says combining what people say with what they do improves the quality of decisions, so that \r\nfirms can target visitors that show signs of distress, or engage with the best prospects for marketing outreach.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n Timing and context also matter. Social media can serve as the \u201ccanary\r\n in the coal mine\u201d for incidents that will be reported via email and surveys much later. For\r\n example, a large food company was able to use Anexinet\u2019s ListenLogic Omni-Channel Analytics Platform<\/a> to pinpoint the source of a quality problem by finding a pattern of complaints that started in social media, then migrated to email and calls.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\nA relatively new entry in the VoC multi-channel derby is CloudCherry<\/a>, which provides a\r\n \u201cone view\u201d dashboard of 17 different channels. SVP & GM Rose Bentley, an EFM industry veteran formerly with Satmetrix, says they expect\r\n to differentiate based on an open stack platform that can easily integrate with anything. While CloudCherry can support surveys, it\u2019s clear from\r\n Bentley\u2019s remarks that they see more opportunity in digital channels. Retail scenarios could include analyzing text messages,\r\n QR codes, video, even beacons.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n Noah Grayson, Walker\u2019s SVP of Consulting Services, agrees that it\u2019s important to use multiple sources, even if they reveal the same issue. It helps build\r\n the case for action when similar issues are surfaced via face-to-face feedback (e.g. customer advisory councils), surveys, and social media.\r\n Unfortunately, while there\u2019s a lot of interest, Grayson says not many are doing a good job \u201cconnecting the dots\u201d on different source of input. \r\nClarabridge CMO Susan Ganeshan agrees: VoC is a “big data problem” with only a few advanced organizations managing to “pull it all together.” \r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n Trend 4: Real-Time Action\r\n<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n

    \r\n Customers do care if you listen. But what they really<\/em> want is action.\r\n Unfortunately, my research finds only about one in five companies are effective at closing the loop. Other\r\n research<\/a> by Temkin Group found that about one-third of VoC programs are \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cvery good\u201d at making changes to the business based on VoC insights.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n In 2014 I wrote<\/a> about how Avis used a mobile-optimized survey sent within 15\r\n minutes of a car return, coupled with rules that enabled alerts to local managers, to engage with unhappy customers and resolve issues\r\n immediately. Other applications would involve mining call center recordings, operational data, and geolocation information to act without waiting\r\n for a survey response.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n Increasingly EFM vendors have \u201caction planning\u201d or \u201ccase management\u201d capabilities to help manage the to-dos that flow out of VoC systems.\r\n Forrester ranked InMoment, Medallia, and Clarabridge the top three in this capability. \r\n<\/p>

    \r\n Qualtrics, well-known for its self-serve capabilities, is making a push\r\ninto the VoC mainstream with its recent platform announcement<\/a>,\r\n backed by a $180 million investment that some say portends an IPO. Mike Maughan, head of global insights, says it\u2019s \u201cnot a\r\n great goal to simply react\u201d to problems. Instead, predictive analytics should enable companies to take \u201canticipatory actions\u201d based on data\r\ncollected about the brand, customers, employees, and products. \r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n I think this is the wave of the future: systems recommending action without\r\n waiting for a survey. You might find that what customers are not<\/i> doing is an important signal of a problem, or opportunity. Bill Price of Antuit, in his article \r\nDon\u2019t Ask, Know! What Are Your Customers Not Saying? Not Doing?<\/a> recommends:\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n

    \r\nInstead of spinning up more surveys and spending a lot of effort to interpret what customers are telling you and decipher what\r\n customers are saying and doing, doesn\u2019t it also make sense to figure out what customers are not<\/em> saying and what they are not<\/em>\r\n doing?\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n With the emphasis shifting to data-driven action, it means tighter integration with existing enterprise systems. For instance, very large organizations might\r\n deploy solutions like Pega\u2019s Customer Decision Hub<\/a> — which makes use of\r\n sentiment analysis, predictive models, next-best-actions, and machine\r\n learning — to drive immediate and personalized actions.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n Trend 5: Affordable Solutions for SMBs\r\n<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\"25910952_s-ctmedia\"\r\n

    \r\n Much of what I\u2019ve discussed so far mostly applies to large enterprises. They have been, and continue to be, the focus of most of the traditional\r\n EFM providers. SMBs, however, don\u2019t have six figures or more to invest in these systems.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n A few years ago, a small business might cobble together a VoC \u201csystem\u201d (using the term loosely) using a survey tool like SurveyMonkey<\/a>,\r\n spreadsheets, and email. Now there are more purpose-built solutions available.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n Consider Delighted<\/a>, an all-in-one solution launched just four years ago. Small businesses can start for free and then pick a plan that fits their\r\n needs from $25 to $249\/month. Oh, and larger businesses like these sorts of plans, too. Delighted claims as customers major brands Slack, Sonos, and\r\n Uber, and CEO Caleb Elston hints that further developments could support a \u201cdisrupt from below\u201d strategy.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\nCX experts point to other good options. Lynn Hunsaker of ClearAction<\/a> says SMBs could can get the job done with\r\n ClickTools<\/a> or SurveyGizmo<\/a>. \u201cThey are very reasonably priced (can do well with $20K\/yr) and easy to manage, with all the features necessary to guide\r\n and motivate holistic prevention of chronic issues for customers, integration with CRM, etc.\u201d Jana Sedivy of \r\n Authentic Insight<\/a>\r\n also likes SurveyGizmo, calling it \u201csurprisingly powerful and flexible.\u201d\r\n For medium-sized businesses with retail outlets, she thinks ActoVoice<\/a> is\r\n worth a look.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n There\u2019s also help for mid-market firms needing more sophisticated text\r\n analytics at a price they can afford. To gain actionable insight from unstructured insight, consider \r\nChattermill<\/a> and Keatext<\/a>.\r\nMulti-location retail firms could use new sentiment analytics capabilities from local SEO vendor Chatmeter<\/a> to \r\nmine reviews from industry-specific review sites to identify and spur action to the store level.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n Recommendations\r\n<\/h2>\r\n

    \r\n VoC platforms should be part of strategic CX and IT planning for any\r\n organization, larger or small. To wrap up, I\u2019ll leave you with three tips to make a good choice.\r\n<\/p>\r\n