Voice of the Customer (VOC) programs are an asset to contact centers. According to CRMSearch.com, when VoC isn’t correctly taken into account, customer experience goals, as well as marketing and sales objectives, suffer. Below are five VOC best practices.
- Add VOC data collection to the customer experience strategy
According to the American Marketing Association, customer-focused organizations routinely conduct surveys and hold focus group sessions; ask for comments, including complaints; and search social media for customer commentary. Online, customers write solicited and unsolicited reviews, which is where companies can find out about customer wants, needs, likes and dislikes
- Categorize and prioritize VOC data.
Create a hierarchy of VOC data, with related preferences grouped together. Within that, customers can be segmented based on a variety of details, including objectives, transactions, buying behaviors, loyalty program attributes and social media behaviors, among others.
- Gather VOC data in one area
Contact centers use multiple applications and systems to manage VOC data, including survey tools, Excel, marketing applications, and VOc solutions from organizations such as NICE, Verint, and InMoment. These systems should be consolidated so that VOC data can be easily accessed and leveraged. Master Data Management is used to consolidate, standardize and distribute data. A VOC program shouldn’t be launched before the IT department has created a way to handle the complex data.
- Train employees to match behaviors to VOC discoveries.
VOC data can be part of training programs for staff members who deal directly with customers. While a company may tell their customer service reps that customers expect courteous and responsive service, the meaning of those expectations isn’t always clear. According to Bain & Company, while 80% of CEOs feel that they deliver superior customer experience, just 8% of customers agree. By using specific customer feedback data, “courteous” and “responsive” can be defined. Employees will then understand exactly what customers expect.
- Tell others about achieved excellence in customer service.
Improvement in customer experience and awards for customer service excellence should be promoted. Information can be used on the company’s website, in social media messaging, on advertisements, and as part of marketing campaigns. Positive data influences buying decisions, attracts new customers, directs public opinion, and builds a positive reputation for a business. Customer experience stories should be shared with staff members as well. Providing examples of how agents have gone above and beyond customer expectations promotes a culture that’s focused on customer loyalty
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