Your voice of the customer program won’t take care of itself. It needs to be nurtured through every phase of its existence. According to a recent article by Claire Sporton, a voice of the customer program works with multiple levels including, strategic, tactical, leadership, frontline, financial, and operational. But the problem with these levels is that they can develop at different times and in different directions, so it’s a challenge to keep track of all levels.
Sporton recommends mapping out every aspect of the voice of the customer program in order to plan and deliver your desired business results. It’s not always going to go perfectly as planned, but if you have five pillars or milestones to reach your goal, you’ll maintain focus in the journey even if the direction isn’t always linear. Sporton offers the following five pillars of maturity for voice of the customer programs.
1) Program Vision
When planning the program, it’s important to plan for it as though it’s in the future, as opposed to being something complete ASAP. Make a clear strategy with adjustable steps to help understand the milestones for the plan as whole. The key is to know your business objectives, how long you expect the plan to take, and the steps to achieve your objectives.
2) Design
Your voice of the customer program must be designed with your business and customers in mind. The key is to make sure you’re asking customers for relevant information with a clear reason why you’re requesting the information. When it comes to the business side, the voice of the customer program must keep delivering information as long as it exists as opposed to tapering off after it’s established. Customer voices change over time, so keep up with them!
3) Engagement
When delivering the voice of the customer, you want to present the information across the entire company on all levels. Telling the customer voice in a relatable story enables employees to focus on the customer and engage in the program. Other ways to engage your company in the voice of the customer program include customer journey mapping and providing clear ROI metrics.
4) Action
In the beginning of the program, there will be small wins that should be celebrated. However, after the honeymoon phase when the quick wins end, it’s time to make strategic changes to be successful in the long term. Using predictive analytics can help you learn the steps for long-term actions. As Sporton puts it, “A mature program will have a well-established process for closing the loop with customers when it comes to taking tactical action, as well as a more strategic approach using advanced analytics for root-cause analysis.”
5) Business Value
No new program is accepted without providing value to the company. This holds true for voice of the customer programs. You need to not only explain what value the program will bring to the company, but also deliver on the projections and keep delivering value as the company evolves. The value the program provides should be unquestioned because the financial and operational benefits are quantifiable.
These five pillars are explained in detail in the original CustomerThink article. To read the article, please click the link below:
Follow the Path to VoC Maturity – Claire Sporton
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