What is the 'Voice of the Customer?'

In today's age of instant gratification, consumers have higher expectations than ever and many brands are increasing their investments in Voice of the Customer (VoC) programmes just to keep up. But you’re probably wondering, what exactly is the Voice of the Customer? This article will explain everything you should know to tune into what your customers are saying so you can turn it into success.

Voice of Customer explained 

Voice of the Customer (VoC) captures what customers have to say about a brand, product or service based on their needs and expectations.

When trying to understand the Voice of the Customer, you need to make sure your focus is always on them because, without them, you won’t have a business. That means you need to speak to their needs and offer them effective solutions as well as ask for their active input. These actions make users feel heard, valued and connected which keeps them engaged for longer. It also encourages them to use their voice as a satisfied customer to promote your business - win-win! 

Why does the Voice of the Customer matter?

When you consider how influential a customer's opinion is for other prospective buyers, it’s not surprising that it can result in significant damage to a brand's success. In fact, every year, poor customer experiences cause an estimated $83 billion loss for US enterprises alone. That’s because people abandon purchases, deter other consumers with their complaints and defect to rival brands. The only way to avoid those situations is by listening to what your users want and need, and then delivering them the solution. 

Online reviews

It’s no secret that online reviews have a powerful effect on consumers, especially since online shopping has become so prevalent. Studies show that 67.7% of purchasing decisions are influenced by online reviews which go to show how the Voice of the Customer can make or break a business. The reason online reviews have become so important is that many consumers feel they can trust existing users more than a brand itself. And if they are going to invest in a product or service, they want to know they’re getting what they pay for. 

Fortunately, if your online reviews are insufficient or consist mostly of complaints, there are ways to improve them. While you can’t actively post or edit online reviews about your brand, you can encourage customers to leave reviews when they’ve just had a positive interaction with you. Over time, these positive reviews will overtake the negative ones leading more and more customers to invest. 

Reduce bad-press

Whether it’s online reviews, word-of-mouth or otherwise, negative reviews can seriously hurt a brand's reputation. After a bad experience with a brand, 95% of users will share it with others, so it’s worth listening to what they have to say before their criticism gets out. If you’re not sure how to respond to negative feedback, all you need to do is listen, thank them for their feedback and take immediate action to make things right.

Pinpoint issues and resolve them faster

Listening to your customers is the fastest way to identify what works and what doesn’t because it comes directly from the source. Unfortunately, many businesses miss out on this valuable information because users tend to leave the brand without communicating why. While 96% of unhappy customers will not tell the company about their complaint, they will still tell 9 to 15 other people. To keep that negative influence to a minimum, you need to ensure you actively listen to and respond to your customer's needs. In doing this, you can resolve problems much more efficiently than with guesswork or speculation. 

Taking advantage of the Voice of the Customer

As soon as your users share their voice in real-time with your organization, they expect you to listen, act, and report back to them. So to stay ahead of your competition, you need to listen to your customers and act fast. Some common examples of changes include:

• Enhancing your brand website.
• Improving products and services according to requests. 
• Offering better customer support and service. 
• Providing more information about products and services. 

Specialised software for Voice of Customer 

The best way to keep on top of customer expectations is to use a specialised platform that helps you gather, understand, and share all Voice of the Customer data and feedback. 

Voice of the Customer platforms are designed to give insights into consumers' preferences, problems, and complaints by collecting, organising and analysing the information. This puts businesses in a strong position to identify key problems in the Customer Experience (CX) and resolve them efficiently. When this is done right, it’s a proven way to boost customer satisfaction and retention. 

A good Voice of Customer platform will include:

• CRM Integration for easy personalisation.
• A user-friendly dashboard displaying all data and insights. 
• An intuitive survey builder.  
• Measurable feedback metrics for benchmarking and reporting. 
• Opportunities to incorporate the employee's perspective as well.
• Adaptability across a range of communication channels. 
• Clear results to track return on investment (ROI). 

Review Tui platform

Taking all of this into account, Review Tui decided there was a need for customisable feedback management. So to help you build surveys, get real-time reporting, and analyze insights, we developed our intuitive, streamlined software. 

Stay tuned for updates and sign up to be the first to know when our platform launches later this year. We'll give you invite-only access and expert advice to develop your winning customer feedback strategy. We can't wait to share it with you because we know it will be the powerful tool you need to embrace customers' input and grow your business.