Voice of the customer is a term used to describe the processes your business uses to get your customers’ feedback about their experiences and expectations of your products and services. VoC can be captured in a number of ways, including direct discussions or interviews, surveys, complaint logs, focus groups, and observation.

So why should you conduct VoC research? The short answer is that it gives you the information you need to connect and engage with your customers. And when you can successfully engage your customers, you then have the tools you need to improve your services or product, and in turn, improve your overall customer retention.

VoC is important in customer engagement, because when customers share their experience with you, whether it’s through a survey, a complaint, or a focus group, they expect you to listen and act on their feedback. There is almost always room for improvement when it comes to customer service, so using a VoC program is an important piece of making the necessary changes to improve.

• Your first priority is going to be setting a strategy for your data collection. Have a clear goal in mind, like improving customer engagement. Keep this goal in mind throughout the process, so that it informs every action you take.
• Now think of your VoC program as an ongoing conversation. That means you need to identify all of the different customer listening posts, both internally and externally. Don’t rely solely on one or two methods of data collection if you have several more available. The best VoC programs connect multiple types of feedback, so that you’re getting the big picture and not only what you want to see.
• Next, you need to be able to analyze all your data and provide clear and actionable insights that your employees can use to help engage your customers and provide better service. Use data from all areas where you received feedback. Now that you know where the problems are, it’s time to act. Incorporate your employees into this step. Get the voice of the employee, so to speak. Your employees may have quite a bit to say about what they could be doing better to promote customer engagement.
• Lastly, you have to keep monitoring and analyzing the data from your VoC program. Like we said before, it should be an ongoing conversation. You can’t stop listening after a certain period of time. VoC allows you to keep monitoring the situation, looking for frequent complaints and uncovering patterns to see where you’re making improvements.

If you’re looking for a way to start implementing your own VoC program, then contact KOVA today. Our Verint Media Recorder Customer Experience Survey Software can help you gather valuable feedback from customers at the end of their calls through IVR or email surveys. A browser-based solution, Verint Media Recorder Customer Feedback uses short, context-sensitive, dynamic customer surveys to collect data on products, processes, staff performance, customer loyalty and level of satisfaction.

So don’t wait—start improving your customer service today!