Feature
The Gist
- Strategy evolution. Voice of the customer strategies now extend beyond traditional surveys to include data analysis, focus groups and user testing.
- Two-way engagement. Successful VoC programs require interaction from both the company and the customer for authentic feedback and improvement.
- Data integration. VoC data becomes actionable when integrated into a broader customer data management plan, maximizing its value for the organization.
Understanding customer needs and perspectives is crucial for providing exceptional experiences. That makes it important that organizations are well-tuned at all times to the voice of their customers and customer feedback tools.
But voice of the customer (VoC) strategies today go far beyond yesterday’s traditional surveys. They include focus groups, customer advisory boards, user testing, journey mapping and customer data analysis. Let’s explore ways that organizations can more broadly capture candid customer feedback through proven qualitative and quantitative VoC strategies.
Elements of a Robust Voice of the Customer Strategy
Voice of the customer strategies involve collecting and analyzing customer feedback in order to improve the customer experience and to align business processes with that mission. A robust CX program can be a significant differentiator for an organization, and a VoC program ensures that customer input is sought and valued at all times.
Benefits of a VoC program can include improving the customer experience, increasing revenue, securing customer loyalty and retention, and providing products and services that better meet customer needs and wants.
In the past, organizations largely solicited customer feedback through surveys — whether in print, online or verbally. But according to research firm Gartner Inc., by 2025, 60% of organizations with VoC programs will supplement traditional surveys by analyzing voice and text interactions with customers. At the same time, CX and business leaders will face pressure to demonstrate the value of their CX strategies by pointing to demonstrated ROI.
Quite simply, VoC strategies focus on analyzing and better understanding customer data, and then acting on it, rather than just gathering it.
Related Article: 10 Voice of the Customer Tools to Maximize Customer Experience
Using VoC Practices to Drive Products and Services
One organization that is doing exactly that is Customer.io, a product-led growth company. According to Shannon Nishi, director of customer success at the firm, “our VoC strategy is to stay as close to the customer across the organization as possible, regardless of role or department. Teams take responsibility for Voice of Customer (VoC) programs in areas where we are best equipped to deliver outcomes for a better customer experience with our products.”
At Customer.io, the customer success team regularly curates quotes that come directly from emails and snippets of call recordings. These quotes demonstrate the experience that a customer is having in the most direct way possible, Nishi says.
“Wherever possible, each employee who interacts with the feedback gets to read, hear or watch the insights that were shared exactly as the customer shared them,” Nishi explains.
Furthermore, voice of the customer should be an element of any and every customer interaction, Nishi stresses. While it's important to be focused on the execution of the current interaction, organizations also have an opportunity to learn from customers to make products and processes better.
To develop a successful VoC program, organizations must give CX teams a simple way to recognize and track insights from customers in the moment, so that they can stay focused on their interaction, but go back and analyze at another time, Nishi says.
Related Article: What Are Voice of Customer (VoC) Tools?
The Need for Two-Way Interactions
A successful VoC program involves two-way interaction. Collecting customer data is obviously at the heart of the effort. But organizations also need to reach out to customers and let them know they are seeking feedback from them in order to better serve them.
“Customers stay loyal to a product or company because they feel represented in the output of that product,” Nishi stresses. “If customers are renewing their contracts or sticking around beyond the first indicator of value, then it's a good sign that their voices are being heard. If customers are regularly leaving at a specific point in the life cycle or after a certain amount of time, it could be an indication that the VoC program may need some adjusting.”
To be successful with a VoC program, organizations also need to empower employees in the correct roles to make room for meaningful interactions with customers that elicit authentic thoughts, feelings, and ideas about their experiences. There should be a process for distributing the key takeaways to a broader audience that can take action on the relevant insights, Nishi says.
“If enterprises want to manage their VoC programs successfully, they need to make sure they’re integrating that data into their broader customer data management plan. Standalone VoC data isn’t useful — but incorporating context from a unified customer view is where organizations find its value,” says Gartner vice president and analyst Lizzy Foo Kune.
In addition, those responsible for VoC programs must consider the implications of disseminating this new insight to different business partners in different ways that are relevant to their jobs, Deborah Alvord, senior director analyst in the Gartner Customer Service & Support practice, was recently quoted as saying in a Gartner press release.
“Turning voice and text into data is just part of the challenge. Converting that data into relevant and actionable knowledge demands careful considerations of the reports, dashboards, alerts and other communication methods,” Alvord says.
Related Article: Voice of the Customer: What Is It and Why Does It Matter for CX?
Analyzing and Acting on Customer Data
Collecting customer data is the important first step. The next steps involve analyzing that data, and then reacting to it.
Customer.io uses public Slack channels that create visibility for the whole company into NPS, customer feedback, and what the organization is learning in conversations with customers. Each department determines how to use that information to power the initiatives they're working on. That might include setting up keywords to get notified on a specific topic, cross-departmental meetings to review trends and discuss the impacts on prioritization, and/or individual outreach to specific customers to learn more.
Webinar
Sep
25
CMS Briefing: A Live Look at What’s Next in AI-Driven Platforms
Learn how leading organizations are using AI‑driven tools to publish faster, personalize smarter and stay secure.
Register
Webinar
Sep
25
Call Spoofing Trends Financial Institutions Can't Afford to Ignore
Don't let robocalls sabotage your customer relationships. Learn how to secure your voice channel.
Register
Webinar
On demand
Ready or Not: How Data-First Organizations Are Unlocking Agentforce Potential
Learn how to cut through the noise, activate Agentforce and build a Salesforce AI strategy that actually delivers.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
CX Reality Check: What Your Customers Are Really Thinking
Register now and get the insights you need to not just meet rising expectations, but exceed them.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
Content Leaders Collective: What a Good CCMS Actually Looks Like
Discover how content leaders transform clunky systems into growth engines — and why your competitors are ahead.
Watch Now
Webinar
On demand
From Hype to High-Impact CX Strategies That Actually Scale
Turn buzzworthy AI and outsourcing trends into measurable CX wins with fresh 2025 data.
Watch Now
“A perfect VoC program requires a vested interest in the outcomes of the customer at all levels of the organization; avenues to collect insights from customers in an authentic way; methods for distributing firsthand customer interactions across the organization; and accountability to take action on what we learn from those customers,” Nishi says.
