Get More from Your VoC

Voice of the customer programs go through stages of maturity. When they’re fresh and new, just having good data seems like the holy grail. As they age, though, just having the feedback from customers isn’t enough. As one of our belief statements on the home page says, “It’s all just data until you use it.”

So how can you and your organization use the data to create value and drive change? Here are just a few examples:

Top-to-Top Meetings
In most organizations it’s pretty common for your senior leaders to meet their customer counterparts and peers from time to time. Any feedback from your contacts in that customer account can and should be part of the “prep package” executives receive prior to the meeting.

Share Their Stories
When your VoC program uncovers potential “learning moments,” examples and tales to tell about how your people, service and products have helped customers in a jam or failed to meet expectations, follow up with those customers to capture their stories in greater detail.

  • Invite customers to share their experiences at your leadership meetings
  • Record your customers telling their stories – video of customers makes them real and gives their messages greater impact

Change is Hard for Customers, Too
Whenever the people on your sales or account management teams change, there’s a ripple effect that customers feel. Retirements, promotions, other departures, and reorganizations (including post M&A account realignments) are disruptive for your organization and your customers. Live customer interviews, conducted by your account team members, are a great way to speed up the learning curve for your people and quickly make connections with the people that matter most at your customer.

Kudos!
Some of the best compliments about your people and their work are found in your VoC surveys and interviews. Share those positive comments – privately, publicly, with the employees and their supervisors. Thank ‘em for a job well done and making a difference for customers.

Customer 9-1-1
How do you respond when you find out a major customer is on the verge of “defecting” to a competitor? Your VoC processes could help you save that account.

  • Interview decision-makers to get to the real issues, FAST
  • Scour your VoC data for potential game-changing action items
  • Present the findings and your action plans to the customer; confirm that they’ll make a difference
  • Balance their concerns with positive feedback you’ve received from others in that same organization