What is Voice of the Customer? A guide to improving CX

The Global State of CX 2024 report found that only 13% of respondents consider they have a mature Customer Experience strategy. This number aligns with a Forrester study that states CX quality is at an all-time low among US companies, a global trend mirrored by several European industries.

Considering that 97% of customers are liable to change buying behaviour after a poor customer service experience, there seems to be an imbalance between clients’ expectations and companies' actions to meet those expectations. How can that gap be closed? By paying attention to the Voice of the Customer.

What is Voice of the Customer?

Voice of the Customer (VoC) refers to the process of capturing customers' feedback, preferences, expectations, and experiences regarding a product, service, or brand. It’s all about understanding what customers truly value and need, often through methods like surveys, interviews, focus groups, social media analysis, or online reviews.

When businesses pay close attention to VoC, they can gain actionable insights that help refine products/services and build lasting loyalty.

Why is Voice of the Customer important?

Because it creates opportunity. Voice of the Customer provides valuable data that can help better evaluate products/services/processes and pinpoint areas for improvement, leading to increased loyalty and advocacy. Listening to VoC is key when fostering customer-centricity within an organisation.

Automation in customer service and feedback gathering

Companies delivering an outstanding customer experience have realised the many benefits of improving customer service with tech. Businesses that implement  AI tools for customer communication see a 30% decline in ticket volume and a 15% increase in customer satisfaction, as AI can automate simple queries like FAQs and order updates, making for a smoother user journey. Phone IVR deflection to Whatsapp is a great example. It lowers call centre volume, saves customers valuable time waiting on the phone, and frees human agents to focus on more complex tasks.

However, automation is not enough; implementing a VoC programme is key for organisations to gain a deeper understanding of customer experiences with their products and services. While automation allows businesses to gather customer feedback at the right time and place, a well-structured VoC programme ensures feedback translates into better customer experiences and higher CSAT and NPS scores, improving corporate image and reputation. With an active VoC programme, it all comes down to making the most of the channels an organisation is already using to get in touch with its audience, whether it’s messaging platforms like Whatsapp or Telegram or chatbots for customer service living in their website or app.

Integrating Voice of the Customer in your automation strategy

As businesses adopt messaging channels, integrating VoC into automation strategies becomes essential. Here are some benefits of this integration:

1. Real-time feedback collection

Messaging channels allow businesses to gather customer feedback in real time. Automated surveys, chatbots, and interactive messages can ask customers about their experiences immediately after an interaction, ensuring timely and relevant insights.

2. Personalised customer engagement

By analysing VoC data, companies can tailor their communication on messaging platforms to individual customer preferences. For example, a business might use WhatsApp to send personalised product recommendations or updates based on past feedback.

3. AI-driven sentiment analysis

AI tools integrated into messaging platforms can analyse customer sentiment from conversations. This helps businesses understand emotional drivers and adjust their communication strategies accordingly.

4. Proactive issue resolution

Messaging platforms enable businesses to act on VoC insights proactively. For instance, if feedback indicates a recurring issue, companies can use automated messages to inform affected customers about resolutions or updates.

5. Easy omnichannel experiences

VoC programmes ensure that feedback collected from messaging channels is integrated with other communication platforms (like email or social media). This creates a unified view of customer sentiment and ensures consistent experiences across all touchpoints when companies offer omnichannel customer support.

easyJet’s automation: capturing feedback at the right time

One compelling example of how automation can help organisations capture customer feedback at the right time comes from our recent case study with easyJet. With an automated chatbot via webchat already in place, they wanted to improve their feedback collection process. 

easyJet wanted to collect customer insights and ratings in a simple and frictionless way right after closing a case. Following VoC best practices, they identified a key channel, their automation chatbot, and segmented their audience by requesting feedback from their English-speaking users. The chatbot collected customer insights immediately after interactions in a smooth experience, requiring only two clicks from the user.

How we made it happen

1. Channel identification: recognised their webchat as a pivotal touchpoint for users.
   
   
2. Rapid deployment: designed and launched an automation feature quickly, minimising disruption while maximising efficiency.
   
   
3. Triggered feedback requests: prompted users to rate their service experience immediately after case closure with a simple one-click redirection to Trustpilot.

Key results‍

+1.5 star increase

in Trustpilot’s rating

+51% reviews

from 19,300 to 29,100 in just 3 months

For easyJet, integrating a VoC-enabled chatbot into their messaging strategy allowed them to collect real-time feedback from users more efficiently. This approach led to improved customer satisfaction scores and reinforced their digital strategy within a few weeks. By simplifying the feedback collection process, easyJet encouraged users to share their experiences immediately after interactions, resulting in more actionable insights and higher response rates.

Read the full case study and learn more on how easyJet increased its Trustpilot by 107% in under three months.

5 Emerging trends in Voice of the Customer programmes

These trends are reshaping the way businesses gather and act on customer insights:

1. AI-powered analytics: artificial intelligence is used to analyse unstructured data, such as social media posts, call transcripts, and online reviews, providing deeper insights into customer sentiment and behaviour.
   
   
2. Real-time feedback: companies increasingly focus on capturing and acting on customer feedback in real time, enabling quicker responses and improved customer satisfaction.
   
   
3. Omnichannel integration: VoC programmes are evolving to integrate feedback from multiple channels—surveys, social media, chatbots, and more—offering a comprehensive view of customer experiences.
   
   
4. Predictive insights: using predictive analytics to anticipate customer needs and proactively address potential issues before they arise.
   
   
5. Ethical data practices: with growing privacy concerns, businesses focus on ethical data collection and transparent communication with customers about how their feedback is used.

By integrating VoC insights into your automation strategy, you can better understand customer needs and improve interactions effectively. Listening to the Voice of the Customer helps businesses address issues proactively, enhance satisfaction, and build long-term loyalty.

If you want to have a better listen at what your customers have to say feel free to contact us so we can help you build the strategy that better adjusts to your needs!