5 Steps to success: Voice of the Customer

Creating a positive and consistent customer experience across multiple channels is one of the biggest challenges facing businesses today, and a solid Voice of the Customer program is core to meeting this challenge.

Building such a program, however, is far from simple and failure to do it well will result in “just another customer survey”. Implement it effectively, though, and you’ll drive business change, deliver ROI and create competitive advantage.

For dedicated CEM professionals, a VoC program is simply the “right thing to do”. However, while some organizations just “get” it, for many, a lot of work is required to secure the financial and operational investment necessary to build a true VoC program.
There is—quite reasonably—a call to demonstrate Return on Investment.

Senior-level support is vital to the success of a VoC program. The million-dollar question is how do you secure the right level of support from the individuals in your organization who can drive the program from the top? You will know who the movers and shakers
are, and to engage these individuals it is critical to understand the key business issues they need to address and then demonstrate the role your VoC program can have in helping them to do so.

Business benefits of a VoC program

The benefits are significant; delivering an excellent customer experience is the most effective way for both B2C and B2B organizations to differentiate themselves from the competition — and VoC is a vital component in improving the customer experience. As you’re building a business case to your senior team, consider which of the key benefits most apply to your
company, and tie financial implications to them. Here are a few examples:

• Retain (and gain) customers
  A well-implemented VoC program contains alerts which enable you to re-engage with unhappy customers, resolve any outstanding issues and retain customers for longer. You’ll
  also drive positive word of mouth and referrals as previously dissatisfied customers become your advocates.
  
• Improve cross-sell and up-sell
  Use customer feedback to better understand how you can meet customers’ needs through additional products and services. Use alerts to react quickly to create tailored offers which increase revenue with low cost of sale.
  
• Streamline processes
  Every business, particularly those that have grown through acquisition, has legacy processes that confuse or infuriate customers. Use the Voice of the Customer, linked to the Voice of the Employee, to reduce costs by identifying broken processes, streamlining them to create better customer experiences and reducing the time your customer teams spend resolving issues.
  
• Drive change
  Real business change requires significant external pressures, and none is stronger than the Voice of the Customer. Use what your customers tell you to guide restructuring, create more effective customer touchpoints and build consistent processes that support your teams and create a customer-centric culture.
  
• Differentiate your company
  Customer experiences are a key differentiator for both B2B and B2C enterprises. A VoC program is a crucial part of understanding, improving and optimizing industry-leading experiences which create loyalty and positive word of mouth. As products and pricing homogenize, customer experience is fast becoming the key battleground.

Once you have defined the linkage between your VoC program and the wider business objectives with key stakeholders, you need to demonstrate and measure success. If you have one, use your existing feedback program to demonstrate previous successes. It’s crucial to focus on financial and operational wins early on since you’re looking to achieve financial and operational support.

Once key stakeholders are engaged in the program, it is critical to build on this, to ensure long-term success. An important building block of this success will be your program steering group which should include senior stakeholders who can drive the program at a strategic level, support decision making, and approve budgets.

5 Steps to success

Forsta has created an engagement model which outlines five key stages in building a successful VoC program.

What’s next?

A VoC program needs to evolve and change with your organization. Review your goals and revise them to keep up with the changing demands of your markets. Be prepared to examine all aspects of this program on a regular basis with a cross-functional team of experts to seek continuous improvements, to re-focus on new issues as they arise and to adjust your business priorities along the way.

There is a lot to consider, but don’t let that put you off taking those first vital steps. By starting small, making sure you’re getting it right, and taking action when you need to, you’ll learn the lessons unique to your business and will be able to grow and develop the
program effectively. The ultimate proof point of a VoC program is change, so set achievable goals, implement in stages and use the Voice of the Customer to make your company more competitive, one step at a time.

To find out how Forsta can set you on the path to VoC success, visit www.forsta.com.