6 Ds For Voice Of The Customer Programs

April 17, 2011 Leave a comment

In the recent report, Voice Of The Customer Programs Grow Up, we introduced the “Six Ds” which are the elements of a good closed-loop voice of the customer (VoC) program:

The report identifies 20 best practices across these 6 Ds that will increasingly push companies to invest in Customer Insight and Action (CIA) platforms and force market research organizations to radically change how they operate (or become obsolete). In our recent assessment of VoC programs, we found that only on out 105 large firms reached the the level of “Transformer,” the highest level of VoC maturity. Here’s some things to think about across the 6 Ds if you want to improve your VoC program:

  • Detect:  Companies often use the term “listening” to describe the first step in a VoC program. If companies had unlimited resources, then passive “listening” might be the appropriate approach. But companies don’t have unlimited resources. VoC leaders need to be strategic about when, where, and from whom they solicit information.
  • Disseminate: The success of VoC programs does not come from collecting customer feedback, it comes from putting actionable insights into the hands of the right people. Leading VoC programs need to invest in making sure that key people get the right information at the right time and in the right form to help them make better decisions.
  • Diagnose: Many VoC programs act as if the data they collect contains all of the answers. In many cases, however, the data just highlights potential problems or opportunities. That’s why VoC programs need to develop processes for uncovering the insights and testing hypotheses.
  • Discuss: While some issues can be handled within a single department, VoC insights often highlight issues and opportunities that span multiple organizations. Firms need to make put in place cross-functional forums to make sure that VoC insights don’t get lost across organizational silos.
  • Design: Once companies find a problem or opportunity, they are ready to do something about it. But you can’t take this design step for granted. Follow user-centric approaches for identifying changes that will improve the customer experience.
  • Deploy: Since VoC programs only succeed when companies take action on what they learn, it makes sense for them to prepare for those changes by establishing release cycles and allotting resources to make and test ongoing changes to the experiences.

The bottom line: To improve VoC maturity, master the 6 Ds

Filed under CCXP2 Voice of the Customer, Customer Insight, and Understanding, Customer experience, Voice of the customer

About Bruce Temkin, CCXP
I'm an experience (XM) management catalyst; helping organizations improve results by engaging the hearts and minds of their employees, customers, and partners. I enjoy researching and speaking about these topics. I lead the Qualtrics XM Institute, which is the world's best job. We're igniting a global community of XM Professionals who are inspired and empowered to radically improve the human experience. To achieve this goal, my team focuses on thought leadership, training, and community building. My work is driven by a set of fundamental beliefs: 1) Everything starts and ends with human beings, so you need to understand how people think, feel, and behave; 2) XM is a discipline that needs to be woven throughout an organization's entire operating fabric; and 3) Building the XM discipline requires a combination of culture, competency, and technology.

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