A guide to voice of customer analysis

Voice of Customer, also shortly referred to as VOC, is a collective insight into customers' needs, wants, preferences and perceptions obtained through direct and indirect questioning. Information technology companies translate these findings into meaning objectives that helps to satisfy customer's needs and increases profitability. This article provides a guide to the process of voice of customer (VOC) analysis.

Analysing customer's needs

While developing a product or service, it is extremely important that the customer's needs and requirements are incorporated into its design and development. Voice of Customer is a systematic approach towards incorporating the customer's needs. - In the present scenario, many leading companies have a winning approach to customer listening through a closed-loop enterprise-wide voice of customer program. There are both direct and indirect means of questioning such as focus groups, individual interviews and ethnographic techniques among many others. - The underlying common factor in all the methods involve a series of structured in-depth interviews, focusing on the customer's experiences with the current products or alternatives within the same categories under consideration. A thorough analysis through VOC methods enables the product development team to own the design process effectively and efficiently, producing tangible results and meeting the customer's expectations.

Leveraging the Voice of Customer (VOC)

The voice of the customer needs to be heard and listened to. VOC methods are very effective in measurement of customer satisfaction and also helps make service and product improvements. Depending on the goals and objectives of a company, the VOC data can be leveraged to attain numerous benefits: Customer retention Customer satisfaction leads to customer retention. Strategies and the VOC transaction data help organisations understand the factors that develops loyalty through data modeling and customer research. This is the primary point for improvement. Service and product improvements One of the most basic uses of leveraging VOC data is that this application can be easily administered to improve customer satisfaction. Improved customer satisfaction in turn, enables an organisation's ability to identify and prioritise business improvements. New product opportunities Companies with a research and development units constantly strive to innovate and evolve. VOC data is a rich source for ideas and suggestions. Reliable information VOC data is the most reliable and systematic method of collecting customer feedback and to determine the pulse of your customers' needs and requirements. It helps to formulate actionable objectives. Organisations are equipped to tailor their products and services to customer's specifications and needs. Customer driven quality Quality has gained a lot of importance and six sigma has emerged as an excellent quality control system that widely uses VOC as a means to determine critical to quality (CTQ) requirements. Quality programs recognise customer satisfaction is a key driver for profits.