We all know it’s incredibly easy to have good intentions. However turning these intentions into actions is a completely different matter. Consider some of the typical resolutions or expectations we set for ourselves.“I’m going to start going to the gym three times a week.”
“I’m giving up chocolate for lent.”
“Yeah I’ll definitely help you move all that heavy furniture up to your top floor flat.”
It’s incredibly easy to have good intentions. However turning these intentions into actions is a completely different matter. Many companies have a well thought out VoC strategy in place (the intention), but then fail miserably when it comes to the execution (the action).
So why are we so great at saying what we should do, but no good at following it through?
Asking for feedback from customers, but not doing anything with it
Yes, you should be obsessed with gathering feedback from your customers. However it’s completely pointless if you’re not then going to do anything with it. In fact, it’s better to not ask at all than to ask for feedback without closing the loop.
Asking for the feedback isn’t the action, it isn’t the end goal. Turning the feedback into action and driving positive changes for your customers is what matters.
The problem is that many companies are gathering data from their customers and just sitting on it. A business that's truly customer-centric will use feedback to shape the future journey of their customers.
Data from Forrester has shown that 45% of participants undergoing VoC programmes don’t close the loop with a customer. If you're part of this statistic, it's time to take action and focus on creating the best experience for your customers.
Lack of senior support
Sometimes the lack of action can be down to an absence of support throughout the company. Forrester found that over a third of VoC programmes have no executive support.
Senior execs can often find it difficult to invest in VoC programmes when they don’t see a clear link to between VoC and ROI. As a result, it’s likely that they’ll view VoC as a cost rather than something that can improve the bottom line and key business drivers.
So to encourage greater action you need to dig deeper into your analytics and stop looking at just the NPS score. There’s a whole load of metrics below your NPS score that can help you start linking VoC programmes to ROI and start gaining the support of senior execs.
Once you can prove that effective VoC programmes can support key business metrics, such as customer retention and increased spending, then it will be considerably easier to gain the support you need to move on from intent to action.
Embed Voice of the Customer principles, not projects
Another problem is that VoC is often viewed as a project or initiative, run over a number of months.
Whereas, really, VoC should be a set of principles that are adopted throughout an entire organisation. It should be a continuous process and part of the the brand identity and culture.
However, it has been found that two thirds of all VoC programmes don’t engage the frontline, meaning that VoC fails to become part of standard business practice. It remains as a report or statistic, rather than being embedded within the organisation.
The other issue with viewing VoC as a project is that you’re naturally going to start with the strategy and end with the engagement. Whereas customer engagement should be the first step that determines the rest of your strategy and action you take.
It’s easy to become a master of intent. You don’t want to be the person that talks a good game, but isn’t actually responsible for any growth or making a difference to your customers.
So what’s the difference between VoC intents and actions? The difference is that the action is the part that actually drives results.
To find out about an organisation who has truly captured the voice of their customers, check out our on-demand webinar with Orbit and Engage Customer. Dean Ballard (Head of Performance Excellence, Orbit) and Yiannis Maos (Head of Digital, Rant & Rave) discuss how Orbit has reduced the number of Advisors on improvement plans by 70% and seen sickness levels drop below 5% by using the voice of their tenants to transform their culture.
