So, you want to build a VOC program?
You probably have heard a lot about voice of the customer from a friend or colleague. Or perhaps you have read our article about Voice of the Customer: How to listen to them.
Whatever the case may be, you have discovered how important it is and want to learn more about it. You now know that in order to listen to your customers, you need an effective VOC program.
A voice of the customer program will enable you collect, analyse, interpret, and take action on customer data. The data provides you with real insights into the needs, expectations, and complaints of your customers.
With a VOC program, you can adjust your products or services to suit the needs of your customers and improve their experience.
But before you go ahead to design a VOC, their 5 key components you must consider.
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Is It Comprehensive?
Did you know your balance would be severely impaired if you were deaf in one ear?
But some business owners try to design VOC programs that focus on just one channel of customer feedback. While some marketers focus on social media comments, others focus on review sites.
It’s like walking around with one of your ears stoppered.
That’s absolutely bonkers.
An effective VOC program takes as many channels as possible into consideration. Your program should collect customer data from multiple touchpoints and channels.
Collect data from social media, review sites, search engine results, blogpost comments, email, call-centre data, online surveys, etc.
This way, you will have ample data to work with, making your program more robust.
Bottom line – make your VOC program comprehensive!
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Is It Scalable?
Thanks to technology, VOC programs can now be scalable.
Unlike previous generations, modern VoC programs can be built up to accommodate new customer data.
Instead of gathering and managing data from random samples, you can now collect data from every stage of your customers’ journey.
You can now hear every whisper of customer sentiment and compare them with existing data. And also analyse them on many levels using different parameters like demographics.
Thus, you want to check that your VOC campaign is scalable. Because a scalable VOC program will help you use the past and the present to predict the future.
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Is It Timely?
Timing is everything.
How quickly can your VOC program notify about a customer feedback?
Time is a critical factor in the design of a VOC program. The ability to tackle customer issues as soon as they arise can help you improve your customer experience by a lot.
You should ensure that your program can alert you of customer complaints or feedback as they happen. This way you will be on top of things and be able to recognize patterns and trends.
Did you know that 45% of customers will visit a business that replies to negative reviews?
That is because customers expect you to respond to their reviews on time.
Therefore, you should incorporate a notification feature into your VOC program to give you a timely heads-up.
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Does It Provide Insight?
Because what is the use of a VOC program if it doesn’t provide insight, right?
An effective VOC program will provide thorough insight about what your customers want. Fancy pie charts and colourful reporting will not cut it if you can’t make anything out of it.
You and your team should be able to interpret the VOC data to understand your customers’ experience. And then make informed decisions on what you have learned.
Remember this: the main purpose of a VOC program is to gain insight into what your customers desire. Anything short of that is a waste of investment.
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Does It Foster Engagement?
Your team is important, too.
You don’t need to sacrifice the unity of your team on the altar of customer experience.
Therefore, you need to design a VOC program that will engage every department in your company. Everyone should have a part to play in the process.
This way, everybody in your team will understand how their actions impact customer experience. It will give them a sense of responsibility, build a customer-centric mind-set, and also strengthen your team.
In Conclusion…
You can connect with your customer with the help of a well-designed VOC program. An effective voice of the customer program is a smart investment for any business serious about their customers.
Consequently, the data gathered from your customers will help you deliver better products/services and customer experience.
In sum, ensure that your voice of the customer is comprehensive, scalable, timely, insightful, and engaging.
POSTED ON January 23, 2020