Voice of the Customer

[TLombard]

We are wanting to implement a Voice of the Customer program to measure customer engagement in our call center and are interested in hearing ideas from anyone who has done something similar both as to what worked for you and what didn't and why.

We have tossed around the idea of follow-up phone surveys, additional call monitoring and such but haven't been able to figure out exactly what the best approach to take is regarding a solid metric. It seems the best way might be monitoring but if left in the hands of individual(s), the measure is entirely too subjective without an EXTREMELY specific set of triggers to make the measure so that is something we are trying to avoid getting into. Follow-up surveys are always an option but what approach and what do we ask?

A little background:

Mainly research chemicals and labware
3 physical call centers
~100 CSRs
3000+ calls/day
Handling customer orders/tracking/inquiries from a wide range of customers (universities, research institutions, manufacturing)

[ecdietz]

I'll share what most of my clients are doing (I represent a hosted, Post-call survey provider, Mindshare Technologies).

My clients typically employ a VOC approach that utilizes both subjective and objective measures. The subjective being comprised of team lead/quality team monitoring of calls and the objective being comprised of automated post-call surveys.

For the subjective, clients will listen to/score anywhere from 2-12 calls per month per agent. The subjective scoring primarily focuses on compliance measures... measures that the customer might not necessarily know to look for.

The automated post-call surveys may be deployed in a wide array of ways. We recommend identifying a process that does not require agent involvement...but that will ultimately depend on the technology at your call centers.

The survey itself should be used to gauge the areas where the customer represents the only true source of objective data; the actual customer perception of the 3 P's; People, Process, and Product

1) People; The customer's perception of the service delivered by the agent (Primary focus of surveys)
2) Process; The processes customers are required to follow to do business with you
3) Product

Our clients' call center surveys are less than 3 minutes, ideally they are around 2 minutes (+/-). We frequently run survey analyses to ensure the survey is asking the right questions and measuring the attributes that have the highest correlation to a customer's likelihood to recommend (which can shift over time).

Both quantitative (ratings Q's) and qualitative (Open-ended verbatims) are measured.

Clients survey data is reported to each management tier in formats that are real-time, actionable, and tailored to their individual needs. They have mechanisms in place to alert their teams immediately if surveys cross certain company-defined satisfaction thresholds (crucial for service recovery). The survey data is an integral part of agent coaching and mentoring schedules/sessions.

My goal here was just to layout the general framework of programs my clients have used very successfully, and that have been extremely cost-effective. If it is of interest to you, I am also happy to speak with you in greater detail on our clients programs and/or arrange a conversation with my client(s).

[FamilyMan6]

I work in the Telcom industry, where we've recognized that it is absolutely critical to get closer to the customer. My belief, and that of many of my peers, is that you need to integrate survey options into the IVR, and integrate real-time feedback (and possibly alerts) to supervisors for customer follow-up and coaching.

I am familiar with the product ecdietz referenced in the prior comment. It seems to be a fantastic concept and should be immensely successful.

[BNVANI]

Hi,

Can someone share template to capture Voice of Customer.
actually I looking for one to implement in Banking Industry.

Regards,
Vani

[ecdietz]

Hello Vani,
I just want to be sure I understand what you mean by "template"... are you referring to a voice of the customer survey a customer responds to? or are you referring to the overall structure of a VOC program?

If you mean a survey, I'd be happy to forward you some general guidelines/templates we have used as best practices with our clients in your industry (for survey starting points). We also utilize slightly different guidelines for each type of interaction/call (general customer service, retention, loan origination, etc.) They generally get clients 75% to 85% of the way there... then we iterate with them on the subtle nuances that are brand/company specific and build them into the survey.

Are you interested only in the call center interaction, or are you also seeking VOC guidance for retail and online programs as well? We can supply those if needed.

Hopefully this did not come across as too "salesy". At this point I am just offering up our services as a resource to you (no strings or $ attached). We firmly believe all companies need programs like this to improve service and operations, reduce churn, and to get a leg up the competition. Of course we want companies to choose us, but we'd rather they have a solution (even if another provider), rather than nothing at all.

Just let me know if I can help.

[jrembach]

Real-time surveying has become a must in capturing the customer experience when it occurs...for many reasons. For one, real-time alerts can greatly minimize the damaging effects of negative word of mouth, future repeat calls or escalated calls, or consequences from senior execs and regulatory bodies.

The greatest success comes when the results become accountability. As humans, if we are not held accountable then little (if any) change will occur.

This is where the real-time IVR surveys do have a (correctable) drawback. Do customers always follow directions…of course not. They aren't going to do it with a survey either. No surprise here.

So to create a fair accountability you need to correct these customer errors with a survey calibration process before they are used for coaching, training, and scorecards. Failure to do so gives people room to discredit the results.

To have long-term success and retain leadership respect don't think of surveys as merely collecting and presenting data.