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Voice of the Customer Consulting

A group of people wanting their voice to be heard

VOC Intended Outcome

Our Voice of the Customer Consulting program has been refined over thirty years.  We enable you to align strategic direction, product and service excellence, employee engagement, sustainable customer delight and superior enterprise performance.  During the years we have found the language is inherently ambiguous. The challenge in capturing the voice of the customer (VOC) is to eliminate confusion about who the customers really are and understand what they want so we can predictably create satisfaction and excitement.

Our desired outcome is to understand what specific kinds of end-users want for a given product. We may also uncover the priorities of brokers and fixers. Success is always dependent on favoring end-users.

This VOC Methodology is appropriate for use with strategic planning, product development, product design, process improvement, ISO 9000 certification, and reducing dysfunction caused by internal competition among organizational silos.

Voice of the Customer Consulting Deliverables Can Include

  • Identification of key product(s) for focus. This is distinct from approaches that start by identifying a market or customer group without specifying the product(s) they are customers for.
  • Identification and differentiation of the end users, brokers and fixers related to the target product(s) selected for exploration. Most VOC methods make no distinction among the 3 primary roles a customer can play with the product. Failure to do so inevitably leads to satisfy the wrong customers.
  • Discovery and prioritization of customer expectations related to performance, perception and outcome characteristics of the desired product and process. This involves understanding the heart, mind and voice of the customer.
  • C3 Focus Group interviews and customer observation are the main vehicles used in the process for discovery of customer priorities.Focus groups are a superior method to find out the true voice of the customer. A C3 Focus Group uses a very structured approach to uncovering what customers want. One advantage of this structure is that anyone can learn it. A second benefit is that the method prevents the focus group from becoming a complaint session. Focus group participants will always be asked several carefully worded questions to uncover their priorities regarding a specific product (as opposed to a process, problem or theme). This process greatly simplifies the identification of who should be invited to attend, reduces ambiguity in understanding the priorities different kinds of customers want met and simplifies improvement, innovation and measures of success.We have a very robust methodology that includes steps to select and invite participants, how to organize session logistics and room, assignment of roles to carry out every part of a VOC session, how to record, debrief and analyze findings for improvement or product development. The first focus group we do for you with your team assisting. The second, if you’d like, you facilitate. One of the most important parts of the process is debriefing, which we will guide. This is how you take the actual voice of the customer and turn it into design requirements.
  • Definition of the “customer experience” as it relates to Dimensions 1-4 of the 8 Dimensions of Excellence.
  • Translation of subjective customer expectations to objective, measurable criteria, subject to design and improvement.

Description of VOC Approach

The majority of our clients want more than simply the deliverables stated above. They also want to learn the C3 Methodology so they can become self-sufficient as quickly as possible. As a result, we involve client personnel in every stage of the VOC process. This includes training before we start, assignment of unambiguous roles, and capitalizing on native strengths participants bring to the effort. Our approach here is very much along the lines of “teach them how to fish”. The tools and materials employed are specifically designed to support that outcome.

For more information on why you would want to work with us check out this page.

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