Living the Fantasy
Voice of the Customer programs are crucial to the success of your business. The problem is so many think they know exactly what their customers think and feel. You have been in business for 30 years and do things the same way, that’s what your customers want. Are you sure about that? For many businesses, they are either disconnected from their customers or they live with rose colored glasses when it comes to the voice of the customer. Those same businesses are very quick to deal with a vocal, disgruntled customer. Immediately, they are showered with attention, promises and apologies, then a discount to make up for the upset. The customer walks out and everyone breathes a sigh of relief and pats each other on the back, thinking they have saved another customer. Truth be told, what you think just happened is probably not what the customer thinks just happened. This begs the question: do you really know what your customer thinks about you?
What They Really Think of You
Using a solid Voice of the Customer program, you are going to get to the core of what your customers really think of you. For some, it might just be a bit unsettling. Here are some facts you should keep in mind as you begin your journey down the road of truth:
- 78% of customers have walked out on a transaction because of a poor service.
- On average, loyal customers are worth more then 10 times as much as their first purchase.
- It takes up to 12 positive experiences to make up for one negative experience.
- 91% of frustrated customers will not continue to do business with you.
- 40% of customers expressed that if they could improve one thing, they would improve the human element of the service.
These facts are both enlightening and staggering to some. They should disturb organizations enough to happily engage in a viable Voice of the Customer program that is effective. The days of reactive customer service experiences are over. Your customers expect you to be proactive and anticipate their needs and exceed them!
Listening to the Voice of the Customer
The Voice of the Customer is a process used to capture customer expectations and opinions, then provide world class services and products. The key to a successful Voice of the Customer program is to be extremely proactive, not reactive. This will allow your business to grow with your customer base, anticipating their expectations. These expectations are both stated and unstated. A vibrant program will instill a sense of loyalty and satisfaction towards your brand, in a consistent manner.
Resources
Consider downloading our eBook titled Voice of the Customer and Critical to Quality. Shmula Pro membership provides access to 34 other eBooks and reference guides
Hey Pete
The key here is to pamper your customers, give them attention and do what they say. It is important that you take almost every customer’s suggestions into consideration and make efforts to implement them. It actually sometimes overwhelms customers when they witness the changes they recommended and would definitely spread a lot of good words about your business.
Sophia Briggs