It wasn’t long ago that you rarely heard the term “customer experience” as a serious business agenda. Customer service was as simple a philosophy as “the customer is always right,” and the goal was to get customer issues fixed as fast as possible and move onto the next problem. However, times have changed and companies are now starting to take the voice of the customer and the customer experience very seriously. From this shift towards a customer-centric philosophy comes a new focus on creating the ultimate voice of the customer program.
Many companies have set out to create the best customer experience possible and have found ways to easily connect with their customers on a personal and meaningful level. However, with customer experience being the hot new trend for many industries, it’s very easy to go through the motions and put together a rushed customer experience plan for the sake of getting it done. It’s important that you listen to the voice of the customer and put together a customer experience strategy based on real, high-quality information. The article “Voice of the customer: Your 4-point action plan” by Jeanne Bliss gives four steps for how to get to the correct voice of the customer.
1) Data
You shouldn’t rely strictly on data numbers, but rather, piece together the data in a way that tells a story about your customers. This includes listening to your customer feedback from surveys and focus groups, but also on feedback you don’t request like through social media platforms. Listen to what your customers are telling you and actually use the data to change your processes for the better.
2) One-company leadership
Bliss says that separating your voice of the customer into different buckets or silos can cause more frustration than value. It’s important to keep your categorization together as one, which helps lead to stronger data.
3) Make it human
Automation is helpful when trying to keep up with the demand of customer service in the modern world, but it’s now more important than ever is to connect with customers on a human level. Actually listen to customers during calls and connect to them on an emotional level and you’ll gain a better understanding of the voice of the customer.
4) How you present the information
It’s not enough to break down the voice of the customer by survey questions; you need to present the information as it pertains to each step within the customer journey. The reason you should present it this way is because it brings the data into a relatable, real-world example. It allows people to see and relate to the issues and questions customers are having and enables you to discover insights into how you can fix the customer experience process. To get your voice of the customer programs off the ground, you have to connect with your stockholders and managers, otherwise it will have a tough time getting implemented.
This blog post is based on a CustomerThink article by Jeanne Bliss. To read the original article, please click the link below:
Voice of the customer: Your 4-point action plan – Jeanne Bliss
If you’re interested in outsourcing with a call center, we can help at no charge!
Outsource Consultants are call center experts with over 25 years of outsourcing industry experience that have spent thousands of hours vetting and analyzing the strengths and specializations of the industry-leading outsource call center vendors. If you’re considering call center outsourcing, simply call 888-766-4482 or request a free call center cost proposal today and we’ll help you find the solution that best fits your exact requirements.
