Report: Prepare for Next Generation VoC Programs

August 28, 2012 Leave a comment

We just published a Temkin Group report, Prepare for Next Generation Voice of the Customer Programs. It examines the current state of VoC programs as well as identifying where these programs need to head. Here’s the executive summary:

Most voice of the customer (VoC) programs are underachieving, being weighed down by historical practices. The next wave of VoC programs will be based on more action-orientation, unstructured data sources, integration, and predictive modeling. We surveyed more than 200 large companies about their voice of the customer programs and compared the results from last year’s research. The typical VoC program has three to five full-time employees and does not measure the ROI of these efforts. Shifts in VoC programs include more use of text mining, predictive analytics, social media, customer interaction history, and mobile feedback while relying less on multiple-choice surveys. We examined six areas of competency for VoC programs: Detect, Disseminate, Diagnose, Discuss, Design, and Deploy. While companies have made the largest improvement in their Detect skills, this remains one of the lowest scoring areas. Using our VoC maturity model, we found that only 16% of companies have reached the two highest levels of maturity—Collaborators and Transformers—while 46% remain in the two lowest levels, Novices and Collectors. We also found that high-performing companies have more VoC employees, act more on feedback, and use more analytics. The report includes a self-assessment and data for benchmarking a company’s VoC competencies and maturity level. As VoC programs mature, companies will increasingly need to invest in Customer Insight and Action platforms.

Download report for $195

The report contains 27 figures with data on current VoC programs, our VoC competency and maturity assessment tool, results from companies that completed the VoC  assessment, listing of leading-edge VoC capabilities, and what to look for in a Customer Insight and Action platform. Here are some high-level results from our VoC assessments:

Download report for $195

The bottom line: Don’t settle for your current VoC program

Filed under Best Practices, Customer Connectedness, Customer experience, Temkin Group Research, Trends, 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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