There are many factors that determine the success of a company. A talented, productive team and a high quality, in-demand product are a must. But what the most successful companies know is that the customer ultimately determines the quality of a product or service. If the customer is satisfied, the client base will grow, and revenue will increase.
It is because of this that companies turn to capturing the Voice of the Customer (VOC). Voice of the Customer addresses both strategic and operational decisions of the corporation using a hierarchical customer retention and needs analysis. VOC prioritizes customer needs according to what they really need and want. It is based on the idea that there are three types of customer requirements that must be met: Revealed Requirements, Expected Requirements, and Exciting Requirements.
Revealed requirements are those requirements that the client will tell you about if you just ask, but that may not be readily apparent. Expected requirements are requirements that are so basic, the client will not bring them up until a mistake is made and the requirement is not met. Exciting requirements are not expected by the client, but when they are met, the client is excited because the product or service exceeded expectation.
If you decide to use VOC to capture customer requirements and flush out customer expectation, there are several methods for collecting the data you will need. Popular methods include interviews, surveys, and focus groups, and extend to Quality Function Deployment and Empathic Design.
If you choose to use surveys, Qualtrics can provide a variety of question types that were built to accommodate VOC research. These include matrix table, multiple choice, and open-ended text questions. We also provide a library of sample customer feedback surveys that you can incorporate into your project.
Using surveys for VOC can be beneficial for two reasons. One, you can reach a large amount of customers. Two, you can collect feedback right after the customer has encountered your service or purchased a product. Many Qualtrics clients use the VOC system to send automatic surveys to their customers after using a help desk, making an online purchase or registering a new product. VOC surveys are personally addressed to the individual while asking specific question based on the customers recent purchase or request.
After successfully capturing the Voice of the Customer, the final step is to make sure the results of the research are disbursed through the company and used to improve the product or service you are providing. The data collected from VOC can influence the whole product development process and when implemented into decision-making, can greatly improve customer satisfaction and retention.