Voice of the Customer

All,

First let me say thanks once again for your support and interest in the blog.  Since December the traffic and interest has gone through the roof, and your comments continue to inspire better and better discussions(which is the reason for the blog).

I have been thinking about including surveys on XCS topics in order to create even more interesting topics and a testing ground for some of the theories discussed. 

I’m not sure if this a good idea, but I thought I would let you decide. 

The surveys will be found on the “Surveys” tab on the masthead of the blog. 

My Commitment:

• Surveys will be short and to the point. (the title will include # of questions and the estimated time to complete)
• Surveys will always be driven by the topics and the issues being/to be discussed on the blog.
• Surveys and their content will never be sold to, or commissioned by a third party.
• Survey ideas from readers will be considered and accepted according to their merit.
• Survey results will be discussed on the blog.

Please keep in mind, that l will not explain or discuss the purpose of the surveys while the surveys are planned or in progress, so as not to skew the results.

The first survey can be found here.

Thanks again for your support.

Look forward to your involvement in the survey and to the discussion of results.

Thanks

Rudy Vidal

Committed to XCS !

 

 

 

Reverence for the Feedback!

Today I was part of conversation where it came to my attention that a feedback mechanism at a certain company was being ignored.  When digging a little deeper into the matter, the reason for the lack of attention was “there are too many complaints being submitted and many of them are user problems”.  This is the kind of thing that gives me a sense of job security. 

The reality is that 93% of companies gather customer feedback.  However, only about 33% actually use the information to make changes to product or process in order to improve the customer experience.  The reason for this negligence is more often than not, unfavorably perceived ROI and perceived degree of difficulty.  It’s too hard; it’s probably not worth it. 

Although these perceptions may be true in any one case, feedback is no less important and should not be ignored.  Customer feedback is the embodiment of the customer, who otherwise may not be directly represented. 

In my mind, the voice of the customer is the ultimate driver of all experience initiatives.  Until we hear the voice of the customer we will never know if we are moving in the right direction.  No one in the company should be trusted to foretell, or indirectly assess the customer’s point of view. 

Here are some thoughts on Customer Feedback.

1. Too much is better than not enough – (be careful not to overwhelm customers with surveys).
2. Never allow the culture to ignore it.  It’s better to suspend it if you are not willing to act on it.  Ignoring customer feedback causes the culture to devalue the customer and will make any improvement harder still.
3. Get feedback as close to the time of interaction as possible.
4. Provide the feedback directly to the person interfacing with the customer or providing the service - employees accept criticism and praise better from customers than they do from their supervisors.
5. Analyse and act – it helps the culture, the customer and your business.
6. The ultimate form of customer feedback is to bring dissatisfied customers to your office.  Pay them as consultants for a day so they can provide their point of view to your team.  Make sure you have some Q&A time.  You won’t be sorry!

Here is a link to a recent podcast in which I had the pleasure to participate with BTQ magazine.

A customer is the personification of all possibilities in your business.  Hug one.