Six New Voice of the Customer Trends

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:

1. 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.
   
   
2. 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.
   
   
3. 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.
   
   
4. 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!
   
   
5. 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.
   
   
6. 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.

Advice From Effective Voice of the Customer Leaders

Every year the Voice of the Customer (VoC) Awards process gives Forrester's Andrew McInnes and his fellow judges the opportunity to explore the inner workings of the day's best VoC programs.

Here are the pieces of advice that this year's nominees provided for other organizations to learn from, grouped into common themes. Straight from the horses' mouths...

1. Do pursue executive sponsorship:

• When the leader of the organization is paying attention to the customer and taking time to be educated by the customer, the rest of the company notices and emulates that behavior. --Midsize B2C software maker


• We believe involvement at the top executive level has been a main driver of our success so far. --Large retailer

Don't wait for executive sponsorship to get started:

• Don't wait for executive sponsorship to begin your VoC measurement and insight program. Much of your program's success will be driven by bringing tangible proof points to the table that serve to accelerate executives' appetite for more. --Midsize business services firm
  
• Start small, and create advocates to help excite others throughout the organization. --Large retailer

2. Do engage employees at all levels of the organization:

• Involvement across the board, from executives, to sales management, to account managers, will drive your success and maintain interest and excitement for the program. --Large B2B/B2C software maker


• It is critical that the "voice of the employee" is also considered when defining the VoC program. --Midsize B2B software maker

Don't waste time chasing after resistors:

• Don't waste your time on employees who resist you and challenge the data gathering methods - go towards the "yes" people. --Midsize B2B technology and services firm


• Start small, and create advocates to help excite others throughout the organization. --Large retailer

3. Do communicate broadly about the program:

• Giving the program a name/brand/identity brings the initiative to life. --Large B2B technology and services firm


• One third of your program team's job is communication about the program and results. --Large B2B/B2C software maker

Don't forget to tell employees what's in it for them:

• Any VoC program has to be in employees' language and enable them to see the results and ROI in order to get engaged. --Large B2B/B2C software maker


• Understand how leaders across product and services make decisions, and ensure the metrics and reporting help leaders make those decisions wisely and efficiently. --Large airline

4. Do hold employees accountable:

• By linking compensation to customer experience performance, you will make it clear that this initiative should be treated as a priority at all levels. --Large retailer


• Build regular stakeholder review sessions into the process. --Large health plan

Don't just focus on problems:

• Do not use guest feedback as a means to embarrass or penalize local management. Create the notion among employees that we want guest feedback. Don't fear it, embrace it. --Casual dining chain


• Without proper attention, feedback can quickly become a succession of small, daily fires. Give at least an equal amount of time scaling successes as you do solving problems. --Quick-serve restaurant chain

5. Do use all of the insights at your disposal:

• Embrace analytics and data patterns from information collected outside traditional VoC survey questions. --Large airline


• A multifaceted voice of the customer effort must consist of a variety of formal and informal efforts, leveraging the latest communication tools to meet customers where they live and play. --Large B2B technology and services firm

Don't lose sight of the path to action:

• Before moving forward with a specific VOC survey question, ask yourself, "Who owns this question? Who is accountable for the data?" --Quick-serve restaurant


• Maintaining line of sight to the insights that your organization values and understanding the data that provides this insight can limit data scope creep and deliver business impact faster. --Large B2C financial services firm

6. Do quantify customer feedback:

• It's extremely important to put in place some kind of measurement capability in order to separate hearsay from important opinion. --Large B2B technology and services firm


• Do the analytical work to show how customer satisfaction has economic impact. --Large B2B/B2C technology and services firm

Don't remove the human element:

• Listen to the customer's actual experience. If you see that a customer has noted they waited on hold for 15 minutes while an employee was assisting them - find the call and listen to it. --Midsize business services firm


• Utilize customer journey mapping to make your customers' experiences real to the people in your organization not directly familiar with what customers actually experience. --Large B2B/B2C software maker

7. Do create consistency across business areas:

• It is essential for an organization to have a single metric/approach, such as loyalty, that summarizes the health of the company's relationships and is proven to link with business success. --Large B2B technology and services firm


• Unify the capability by bringing together all of the individuals capturing voice of customer data. --Large retailer

Don't sacrifice relevance with a one-size-fits-all approach:

• Make certain to create a balance between consistent feedback touchpoints and regional customization to meet the needs of a diverse organization. --Large B2B manufacturer


• Rather than make customer experience initiatives and activities a separate program or another item on the to-do list, try to seamlessly integrate it into the tools, systems, process and activities people follow every day. --Large B2B manufacturer

8. Do embrace technology to scale up:

• Find a partner that has the same goals as you and can empower you with the information and tools necessary to be successful. --Large B2C services firm


• Implement a VoC reporting application that is easy to use and helps with decision making. --Large airline

Don't let available tools stifle innovation:

• Don't fall into traps where you don't experiment because "it won't scale." It's how to get ahead of the curve--technology will catch up! --Midsize B2C software maker

Plain Talk About the State of Customer Service and Why the Voice of the Customer is Key

I read this interview on ContactCenterWorld.com with Sue Warner, Call Center Manager at Southampton Solent University. It is about the state of customer service in this day and age and who provides good and bad service in the different industry sectors. I liked it because here is one professional who expressess the state of the nation in a nicely succint fashion and touches on What Matters.


In your opinion, do you believe the customer service you get today from other companies is better or worse than it was say 5 years ago?
About the same and very variable. Some companies and organisations have realised the importance of Voice of The Customer and using customer focused measures such as First Time Resolution and SPOC, whilst others seem focused on cost savings and practices and applications which drive inflexibility and failure demand.

Do you believe there is a correlation between the service you receive as a consumer and your loyalty to the supplier?
Yes. Absolutely. If I feel that a business is focussed on my needs and is trying to improve I will stick with it, whereas those who pay lip service to customer focus and are driven purely by internal measures which compromise my experience will soon be ex-suppliers to me.

In your opinion, which industry sectors provide great service and which ones are poor?
Please do not name individual companies just sectors.I believe service is highly variable across most sectors and it is this variation which reflects most people's experiences.

Talking about bad experiences, where do companies go wrong with the service they provide?
There are too many reasons given to "justify" why call centre operatives can't deal with a particular query. Lack of interest in my needs is displayed in favour of internal "operational" considerations. Lack of customer focus. Inefficient transactions. Long transaction times, delays and inflexibility. In short, focussing on the WRONG things.

Have you noticed any differences in service from people from different cultures?
Indian call centre agents are extremely polite (sometimes phrases used are positively arcane). They do seem to want to do the right things even if this isnt always possible. Very deferential though.

If you had to give just 1 tip regarding the use of technology in relation to improving customer service, what would your tip be?
Build the technology around customer needs (current and anticipated) VOC comes BEFORE technological solutions. (Why should a customer care about technology unless it is delivering better service?)

If you had to give just 1 tip regarding staff in relation to improving customer service, what would your tip be?
People are generally more capable than managers give them credit for and enjoy being involved in solutions. Treat them as you would wish them to treat your customers and involve them in improvement. They usually know what needs fixing and just need the tools and methodologies to help them.

If you had to give just 1 tip regarding business processes in relation to improving customer service, what would your tip be?
People are only 4% of the solution. Before focusing on monitoring, training etc, do the real work of finding out "how the work works" Focus first on failure demand and the causes of it, then move on from there. Fixing highly inefficient service processes can be relatively simple and fun if approached in the right way.

In your opinion, how should contact centers measure the level of service they give?
Voice of the Customer is key. Identify those things which are CRITICAL TO QUALITY for your customers and build a "vital few" KPIs around those. Measures such as first time resolution and single point of contact may well be far more important than "Average Talk Time" etc. Align process performance to meet with key organisational goals and build rewards and recognition systems around these.