Source: The Vovici blog "The Listening Post".
Andrew McInnes, Analyst with Forrester Research Inc., presented six new trends and framed them by discussing the value of customer experience and Voice of the Customer programs.
He is reminding us to evaluate these practices in light of their firm’s customer experience ecosystem. Not all companies will benefit by implementing every item on this list. Rather, when evaluating a new activity, make sure it links to an important customer interaction or moment of truth. Also consider how employees can be empowered and influenced with data and communication.
Why does customer experience matter?
Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart, said “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” Clearly, a company cannot succeed without customers.
Why is the Voice of the Customer important?
If the customer is your boss, the voice of the customer is your performance review. Neglect what he or she says and you are likely to be replaced – by your competition.
Why are VoC Programs important?
Focused VoC programs improve the customer experience by acting on feedback and making systemic improvements across the company. These programs help change company culture via the sharing of customer stories, providing recognition, and offering rewards around customer-centric behavior. Finally, successful VoC programs deliver business results by increasing loyalty and retention, lowering service costs, and increasing sales.
Andrew observed that many trends first seen in 2010 continued throughout 2011. In addition, following are six (6) new trends demonstrated by the finalists and winners of Forrester’s 2011 VoC Awards:
- Tailoring VoC activities for specific customer segments. In 2011, many programs included the powerful element of tailored customer communication and activities. Activities were customized for frequency, content, and level of personalization. For example, a B2B company may identify their customer segments as Executives, Managers, and End-users. Executives may require more one-to-one communication (phone calls, site visits) at a lower frequency. In contrast, the end-user may receive more frequent communication requiring less personalization (surveys, newsletters).
Adobe Systems invites customers to share product ideas via an online portal; product suggestions are then demoted and promoted by the votes of other customers. Feedback from the Adobe product teams is provided through the portal so customers know the status of their idea submissions. - Measuring the value of an improved customer experience in general. Good VoC programs regularly measure the overall value of customer experience efforts, most often linking customer feedback scores to loyalty and revenue. This measurement proves that customer experience and VoC are important – and relevant.
Adobe Systems brought together customer feedback with customer lifetime value data to statistically demonstrate that the most loyal customers were also at the higher end of customer lifetime value. - Proving the value of the VoC program specifically. By linking interventions with cost, retention, and/or revenue, a VoC program proves that it directly drives value. Value can also be driven indirectly by linking the outcomes of VoC-initiated projects to business results.
- Bringing the VoC to life for back office employees. It takes an entire company to serve customers well. In addition to front-line employees, back office teams – such as billing, legal, finance, IT, and marketing – make decisions that directly impact customer experience. VoC leaders can align employee behavior around VoC through a number of ways, including variable compensation and performance evaluations.
Programs must bring VoC to life for all employees by creating a motivational, emotional connection to the VoC program. Intel gives every employee in the company two days off if they reach their “customer delight” goals. Adobe Systems built a customer listening post room; employees can visit and immerse themselves in customer feedback. Twitter comments, survey feedback, and call center data displays – in real-time – on television screens in what is, essentially, a customer NOC. Talk about being dedicated to the customer cause! - Building networks of VoC champions. VoC programs need four levels of ownership: Executive Sponsors, VoC teams, VoC Champions, and everyone else! As an example, Forrester’s award winners were very active in building VoC Champion teams in 2011. While the role and definition of “VoC Champions” varies from one company to the next, they are typically delegates from each business area who understand the operations of their team—and know what the VoC team is doing. They are able to articulate the importance of customer-centric behavior to other team members while bringing the voice of the customer into all business process improvement activities.
- Aligning key functions around VoC insight and action. In 2011, VoC leaders engaged other business functions in VoC activities. They aligned closely with Business process (for organizational and procedure improvements), Market Insights (for survey design and analysis), and Customer Intelligence (for mining customer databases combining operational and behavioral data with feedback). This alignment demonstrates increased sophistication of VoC programs as they drive strategic initiatives and increase value for the organization.
