The voice of the customer, or VoC, is arguably one of the most critical elements of a successful business strategy. After all, your customers are your source of revenue, so listening to them should be a top priority.
In more recent years, however, the need to understand the voice of the customer has become even more imperative to hone in on. With new technologies and the increase in customer expectations, voice of customer strategies have emerged as a proven tactic to increase satisfaction and boost the bottom line. In fact, just a few short years ago Gartner reported that best-in-class VoC users enjoy an almost 10-times-greater year-over-year increase in annual company revenue compared to all others. Not to mention, companies that actively engage in a voice of customer program, spend 25% less on customer retention than those that don’t.
https://www.benbria.com/the-top-tools-for-optimizing-your-voice-of-customer-program/
When I ask retail CEOs about their top objectives, I often hear them say: “we want to put the customer at the center of everything we do.” This sounds easy, but it is increasingly difficult. Years ago, when I was a merchant for a retailer with a small chain of stores, I could walk the selling floor and ask our loyal customers for feedback. With 500 or 1000 stores, a rapidly growing e-commerce channel, and millions of customers, this is no longer possible.
An entire category of Voice of the Customer (VoC) tools has arisen to address this challenge, and these tools can help retailers shape their in-store experience, pricing strategies, and product offerings. However, even with the vast amount of data and analytical tools at an executive’s fingertips, there are still enormous missed opportunities. While many retailers in the fashion, apparel and footwear industry have embraced them, other industries are far behind the curve. There is a misconception that these tools are best applied to fashion, whereas in reality they can be applied to virtually every product sector.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2019/02/22/excluding-the-voice-of-the-customer-a-curable-epidemic/
Customer feedback isn’t always pretty, but it can be vital to your bottom line.
Although gathering data about your business seems like a daunting task, there are proven ways to accomplish this when you have limited experience and a limited budget. One such method, as Sergio Perez explains, involves a trial and error strategy he refers to as the “science experiment” method. It involves crafting specific theories about products and services and then testing them with guests.
Note that this is vastly different from asking for general feedback. The process involves three easy-to-follow steps:
https://www.mileoneinc.com/the-scientific-method/
The case for capturing, understanding and acting on the Voice of the Customer (VoC) is well documented. It’s a powerful driver for change, and helps to create differentiation in competitive markets. You’ve mapped your customer journey, defined key touchpoints, identified the channels through which to gather feedback and you are taking action based on the insights rolling in. Fantastic.
But are you still missing something?
https://www.mycustomer.com/experience/voice-of-the-customer/frontline-feedback-how-to-capture-the-voice-of-the-customer-through/
Companies spend millions of dollars on Voice of the Customer (VOC) tools. The goal? Understand their customers and prospects in order to improve products, customer service, messaging and marketing. These tools include surveys, focus groups, customer service reports and athlete or celebrity endorsements, among others. However, collecting and measuring the true Voice of the Buyer (VOB) is often not in the mix of the typical VOC initiative.
https://channelsignal.com/blog/benchmark-voice-customer/
Tides are shifting in retail marketing. The final sale is no longer the end goal — certainly, it’s important, but as competition for retail business intensifies, creating an exceptional consumer experience that increases lifetime value is taking priority.
Retail brands are rethinking the way they approach marketing to consumers. Rather than designing channel-specific strategies that segment the marketing message, we’re seeing the focus move to a cohesive experience across all touchpoints. The strategy is called omnichannel marketing, and it’s helping brands take a more holistic approach to customer relations.
https://martechseries.com/mts-insights/guest-authors/omnichannel-marketing-work-3-ways-measure-success/
Does Customer Experience matter more for B2C companies (business to consumer) or B2B (business to business)? The answer is they both matter equally. The reason is because people buy from people. B2B buyers are behaving like consumers more than ever before. Though CX methodologies differ, the principles and best practices are similar and it’s important to apply them to B2B and to B2C.
http://customerthink.com/b2b-versus-b2c-which-matters-more-for-cx/
Data-driven Voice of Customer analytics is proven to increase lifecycle value and reduce churn by delivering the insights companies need to dramatically improve brand and product experiences. There are six steps involved in building an effective VoC analytics program:
https://www.lexalytics.com/lexablog/effective-voice-of-customer-voc-analytics/
The introduction of conversational AI to chatbots has expanded their capabilities and is driving business performance to new levels.
Conversational AI focuses on communicating through natural language. Users interact with chatbots as though they were having a normal conversation instead of clicking through a menu or using a predetermined command with prefixes.
https://www.financemagnates.com/thought-leadership/ai-driven-chatbots-will-be-the-most-reliable-employees-in-business/
What do revenue, retention and reputation all have in common? Yes, they all start with the letter R, but more importantly, they all revolve around the customer. And like those three words, everything in your business should too.
Your customers fuel your organization’s most important initiative: revenue. But increasing revenue would be nearly impossible without retaining the customers who impact your bottom line. How can you work to retain those customers as you continue to evolve, innovate and grow your business? Develop a consistent voice of the customer (VoC) program that meets your customer’s emotional needs and drives your brand’s reputation throughout each experience.
https://www.cmswire.com/customer-experience/5-steps-for-building-a-voice-of-the-customer-program/
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