In this article, we\u2019ll break down some common challenges in turning Voice of the Customer into customer experience improvements. We\u2019ll also outline some potential solutions that can help your business wow customers across different touchpoints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Table of contents<\/h2>- Why does the gap exist?\u00a0<\/a>
- Limited view of the customer journey\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
- Data is lost in different silos\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
- Lack of focus\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- How to bridge the gap and improve customer experience\u00a0<\/a>
- Enable internal advocates\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
- Centralize customer feedback\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
- Keep an eye on sentiment across the customer journey\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- How David\u2019s Bridal uses VoC to improve customer experience\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
- In conclusion\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Why does the gap exist? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThere’s a reason why the gap between voice of customer and customer experience just keeps getting wider and wider: The number of channels where customers provide feedback today has exploded. Feedback comes in via in-person interactions, reviews, chat, text messages, email, surveys, phone calls etc. Now add to this the complexity of the multiple locations that business may have. The sheer volume of data is simply overwhelming. This is where having a comprehensive VoC program that can fuel your CX strategy can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most businesses that wish to implement a Voice of the Customer program face one or more of the following challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Limited view of the customer journey <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nBetween surveys, social listening, reviews, email, chat and so on \u2013 many businesses simply don\u2019t have the resources in place to truly understand the customer. Team members may listen to one or two channels. But this doesn\u2019t give them a comprehensive view of the customer journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Metrics that are commonly-used to measure customer satisfaction like NPS<\/a> can only tell a business so much. The customer who rated you a 10 yesterday may now have a pressing complaint just lodged over chat. Unfortunately, many businesses are unable to identify these issues until it\u2019s too late. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"NPS](\"https:\/\/birdeye.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/XS-gap-score-1024x293.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nData is lost in different silos <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n <\/strong>Sifting through mountains of data to pull out valuable nuggets of insights can be daunting. What makes it even more difficult is when this data resides in silos and is not available to decision-makers. <\/p>\n\n\n\nData silos are one of the biggest problems that organizations face. 47% of marketers<\/a> say their data is \u2018Siloed and difficult to access\u2019 . This makes it challenging to get an accurate and integrated view of the customer journey<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"marketing](\"https:\/\/birdeye.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog_Customer-analytics-your-bridge-between-VoC-and-customer-experience_ContentImage_1-1024x607.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCheck out this guide on how you can overcome data silos<\/a> and deliver value throughout the customer lifecycle. <\/p>\n\n\n\nLack of focus <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nMany teams simply don\u2019t have the time to focus on Voice of the Customer long-term. Employees may have other priorities that require more pressing attention and simply cannot focus on monitoring customer sentiment<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nHowever, we must remember that the needs of customers evolve constantly and require constant attention. Ultimately, a successful VoC program kicks off a continuous cycle of listening, tracking, and improving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Voice](\"https:\/\/birdeye.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog_Customer-analytics-your-bridge-between-VoC-and-customer-experience_ContentImage_2-1024x774.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow to bridge the gap and improve customer experience <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nTo get the most out of their VoC program and overcome the common obstacles we have outlined, managers need to ensure their team has the structure in place to understand and take action on customer feedback. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enable internal advocates <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nTo overcome institutional barriers, many businesses build teams dedicated to evangelizing the Voice of the Customer across the organization. These teams can help employees from the top-down reorient their actions around what\u2019s best for the customer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ashley Cash, Senior Customer Experience Manager at Globe Life, recommends finding a strong internal candidate to lead the team. Ideally, the employee should have a deep level of familiarity with the business. However, implementing a VoC program cannot simply be an added responsibility to a current job title. To truly make an impact, the employee must transition to a role that\u2019s dedicated to improving customer experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check out the complete webinar to know more Ashley Cash’s insights<\/a> on finding internal advocates. <\/p>\n\n\n\nCentralize customer feedback <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s difficult for any team to keep track of any one customer across a variety of different touchpoints and channels. Ultimately, the best solution is to centralize customer feedback. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
THRIVE Affordable Vet Care<\/a> was having trouble getting insights from their reviews and surveys, which the company collected on two different platforms. Benjamin Trotter, THRIVE\u2019s VP of Marketing, realized that the best way to help his team understand patient sentiment was to centralize patient feedback. Employees were then able to monitor issues across THRIVE\u2019s 100+ locations in one place and hone in on specific locations that were underperforming. After making the change, THRIVE saw improvements in overall star rating and NPS across locations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nCatch the complete interview with Benjamin Trotter<\/a>, VP of Marketing at THRIVE Affordable Vet Care in our on-demand webinar. <\/p>\n\n\n\nKeep an eye on sentiment across the customer journey <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAs we discussed earlier, NPS is a limited metric. But businesses can look elsewhere to get a holistic view of the customer journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To truly get a comprehensive view of customer experience, businesses need to have the tools to track customers across different channels. If a previously happy customer has one negative interaction over chat, employees should know about this immediately. This gives businesses the opportunity to reach out right away and make sure the issue is resolved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How David\u2019s Bridal uses VoC to improve customer experience <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nDavid\u2019s Bridal<\/a>, as you may know, is a 300+ wedding dress destination with locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the U.K. What you may not know is that the company has managed to build a successful VoC program that turns feedback into magical experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\nMorgan Nemath, the company\u2019s Customer Service Operations Manager, keeps a close eye on customer reviews<\/a> across 300+ locations using the Birdeye platform. If Morgan finds specific locations that are receiving negative reviews, she\u2019ll get in contact with a location manager immediately to resolve the issue. Often, she\u2019ll connect poorly-performing location managers with high-performing peers who can help them better understand the problems at hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Limited view of the customer journey\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
- Data is lost in different silos\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
- Lack of focus\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- How to bridge the gap and improve customer experience\u00a0<\/a>
- Enable internal advocates\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
- Centralize customer feedback\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
- Keep an eye on sentiment across the customer journey\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- How David\u2019s Bridal uses VoC to improve customer experience\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
- In conclusion\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Why does the gap exist? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There’s a reason why the gap between voice of customer and customer experience just keeps getting wider and wider: The number of channels where customers provide feedback today has exploded. Feedback comes in via in-person interactions, reviews, chat, text messages, email, surveys, phone calls etc. Now add to this the complexity of the multiple locations that business may have. The sheer volume of data is simply overwhelming. This is where having a comprehensive VoC program that can fuel your CX strategy can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most businesses that wish to implement a Voice of the Customer program face one or more of the following challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Limited view of the customer journey <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Between surveys, social listening, reviews, email, chat and so on \u2013 many businesses simply don\u2019t have the resources in place to truly understand the customer. Team members may listen to one or two channels. But this doesn\u2019t give them a comprehensive view of the customer journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Metrics that are commonly-used to measure customer satisfaction like NPS<\/a> can only tell a business so much. The customer who rated you a 10 yesterday may now have a pressing complaint just lodged over chat. Unfortunately, many businesses are unable to identify these issues until it\u2019s too late. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nData is lost in different silos <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Sifting through mountains of data to pull out valuable nuggets of insights can be daunting. What makes it even more difficult is when this data resides in silos and is not available to decision-makers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Data silos are one of the biggest problems that organizations face. 47% of marketers<\/a> say their data is \u2018Siloed and difficult to access\u2019 . This makes it challenging to get an accurate and integrated view of the customer journey<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCheck out this guide on how you can overcome data silos<\/a> and deliver value throughout the customer lifecycle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lack of focus <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Many teams simply don\u2019t have the time to focus on Voice of the Customer long-term. Employees may have other priorities that require more pressing attention and simply cannot focus on monitoring customer sentiment<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, we must remember that the needs of customers evolve constantly and require constant attention. Ultimately, a successful VoC program kicks off a continuous cycle of listening, tracking, and improving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow to bridge the gap and improve customer experience <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To get the most out of their VoC program and overcome the common obstacles we have outlined, managers need to ensure their team has the structure in place to understand and take action on customer feedback. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enable internal advocates <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
To overcome institutional barriers, many businesses build teams dedicated to evangelizing the Voice of the Customer across the organization. These teams can help employees from the top-down reorient their actions around what\u2019s best for the customer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ashley Cash, Senior Customer Experience Manager at Globe Life, recommends finding a strong internal candidate to lead the team. Ideally, the employee should have a deep level of familiarity with the business. However, implementing a VoC program cannot simply be an added responsibility to a current job title. To truly make an impact, the employee must transition to a role that\u2019s dedicated to improving customer experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check out the complete webinar to know more Ashley Cash’s insights<\/a> on finding internal advocates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Centralize customer feedback <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s difficult for any team to keep track of any one customer across a variety of different touchpoints and channels. Ultimately, the best solution is to centralize customer feedback. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
THRIVE Affordable Vet Care<\/a> was having trouble getting insights from their reviews and surveys, which the company collected on two different platforms. Benjamin Trotter, THRIVE\u2019s VP of Marketing, realized that the best way to help his team understand patient sentiment was to centralize patient feedback. Employees were then able to monitor issues across THRIVE\u2019s 100+ locations in one place and hone in on specific locations that were underperforming. After making the change, THRIVE saw improvements in overall star rating and NPS across locations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Catch the complete interview with Benjamin Trotter<\/a>, VP of Marketing at THRIVE Affordable Vet Care in our on-demand webinar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keep an eye on sentiment across the customer journey <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
As we discussed earlier, NPS is a limited metric. But businesses can look elsewhere to get a holistic view of the customer journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To truly get a comprehensive view of customer experience, businesses need to have the tools to track customers across different channels. If a previously happy customer has one negative interaction over chat, employees should know about this immediately. This gives businesses the opportunity to reach out right away and make sure the issue is resolved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How David\u2019s Bridal uses VoC to improve customer experience <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
David\u2019s Bridal<\/a>, as you may know, is a 300+ wedding dress destination with locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the U.K. What you may not know is that the company has managed to build a successful VoC program that turns feedback into magical experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morgan Nemath, the company\u2019s Customer Service Operations Manager, keeps a close eye on customer reviews<\/a> across 300+ locations using the Birdeye platform. If Morgan finds specific locations that are receiving negative reviews, she\u2019ll get in contact with a location manager immediately to resolve the issue. Often, she\u2019ll connect poorly-performing location managers with high-performing peers who can help them better understand the problems at hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Centralize customer feedback\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
- Data is lost in different silos\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
![\"David's](\"https:\/\/birdeye.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Blog_Customer-analytics-your-bridge-between-VoC-and-customer-experience_ContentImage_4-2-1024x308.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Download](\"https:\/\/birdeye.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/How-to-get-more-Google-reviews-1024x264.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n