Voice of the Customer (VoC) data is often dismissed as 'fluffy stuff'—seen merely as a nice-to-have rather than a necessity. Sarah Lubbe, CRO for Smoke Customer Intelligence, discusses effective strategies for getting your business to not only care about but also take action on customer experience (CX) data.
Ensuring Data Credibility: "Voice of the Customer data can sometimes be viewed as just noise, which can be immensely frustrating for those of us who know it's anything but," Sarah explains. "As a starting point, it’s crucial that the data you share is accurate and reliable. This means ensuring big enough sample sizes, sufficient frequency of collection to mitigate any anomalies, and consistent measurement to prove trends over time."
Aligning CX with Business Strategy: "Make sure that your programme aligns with your business strategy. If cost saving is a key initiative, are CX recommendations aligning? If brand building is an imperative, is your survey asking a brand-related question?" Sarah advises. "The more aligned the findings are to the business imperatives, the more buy-in you will get."
Targeted Data Sharing: "Sharing the right data, with the right people, at the right time is vital. Businesses are drowning in data, and this overload desensitises teams to the information that matters." Sarah stresses the importance of making sure that your reporting is relevant to the individual, team, or divisional head to ensure they take notice.
The Value of Trusted Partnerships: "Partnering with someone your business can trust is often crucial," says Sarah. "Inside a business, voices can get diluted by the curse of knowledge, or by being too close to the operational realities. Sometimes having a partner who can advocate on your behalf goes a long way in highlighting the obvious and recommending changes from a place of neutrality and expertise."
In summary, using reliable data that provides actionable insights aligned with strategic outcomes is key. Ensuring that this data is shared effectively and leveraging your partner's expertise to advocate on your behalf are essential steps in making your business take CX seriously. Read more about the factors to consider when selecting a CX Vendor in this article.