Voice of the Customer (VOC): Are You Just Putting Out Fires?

Do you feel like you’re just putting out fires with Voice of the Customer (VOC) programs? Always in a defensive, under siege mentality, arbitrarily moving in different directions without real focus or strategy? Well, you probably aren’t alone. If you are thinking it, then you are probably doing it! It’s time to step back, take a deep breath and get control of your VOC program ” especially if you find the following points describe any or all of your program:

Listening Overload Listening and managing more listening posts or sources than is practical or valuable.

Maxed Out Your responsibilities as a VOC Manager have taken on a life of their own and control and keep you reeling and reactive.

Confidence Drains Pressing on with a program that does not present real and measurable results or impact. Energy and effort seem to be just getting poured down a drain in the name of running the VOC program.

Recent surveys indicated 90% of executives understand the importance of VOC programs, and 86% did not expect to see tangible business results from them. If you can relate to these points and feel strongly your program is accurate described in those statistics, then maybe it’s time to step back and reboot.

The first consideration when rebooting your VOC program is to be strategic and stop being a worn out reactionary! When you start anew, start by dreaming big! Have a big vision for success and how you will achieve it. Stop expending energy on the smallest item and focus on the big picture with big results.

One of the strongest elements of rebooting your VOC is creating a shift to actionability. Shift your energy to strategic plans that incorporate your vision and are completely actionable. Change funding from being tied up on eternally broken things to creating real value for customers that are in sync with customer demands. This will give you wins in your program and give managers a level of success that wasn’t experienced before.

Lastly, ensure that your VOC is measuring the expectations of the customer, not just their every complaint. Stop putting out fires and start embracing the true Voice of the Customer. Transforming your program in this manner creates an environment of true value and eliminates those small picky complaints that bogged down your VOC. Managers will then create a tempo of success and responsibility. Actionability and action are the new wisdom for any VOC program.