One of the biggest buzz words in market research these days is VoC aka Voice of Customer research. Maybe it's something you've heard of, maybe it's not, or maybe you've looked into it but you're not exactly sure what it is? Don't worry - I've got you covered. Our Voice of Customer (VoC) market research firm has got your covered.
VoC research is used to listen to customers.
Sometimes you've got to take the "headphones" off to truly listen.
When I say listening I don't mean calling up a customer and asking them general questions about your product or service and then taking notes on what the customer said. Instead, turn on something more powerful and measurable: VoC.
VoC relies on a tactical and measurable means to receive feedback, rather than creating a bias-heavy and labor intensive situation where a company reaches out to customers directly. In this instance, bias is present meaning that customers are less likely to tell you the whole truth. In order to gather reliable data to base future strategies on you want the whole truth. To receive it, third-party VoC research is best.
VoC takes listening to a whole new level, and it begins with a desire to get measurable results organizations are able to react and adapt to. The results can be used to benchmark an organization to industry standards as well as the to the organization itself overtime to understand progress. There's also a ton of added bonuses in VoC research like the ability to inquire about leads, ask for testimonials, etc. For more the full details on the process and more, check out the ultimate guide to VoC.
Learn more about the 4 problems VoC can solve below.
Problem #1: Understanding marketing ROI
Understanding marketing ROI can be tough. It's not always clear what messages work best where, or what enhancements could be made to increase ROI. Using VoC research to ask customers directly about its communication methods uncovers which working. This gives insight into which methods are worth investing in and which are not.
For example, VoC research could ask all of your customers where they've seen or heard about your organization in the past 3 months. If the top sources are LinkedIn and email, maybe it's time to redirect those Facebook advertisements and possibly pull back on the time spent on Facebook to refocus it elsewhere.
To take this a step further, VoC can also identify what types of information customers would like to learn more about from your company, what messaging platforms customers use most, and how they prefer to communicate. Want to know what messaging is most effective and perceived best? VoC can solve that.
Problem #2: Creating customer profiles
Customer profiles are one of our favorite parts of data analysis, or dare I say market research in general (feeling daring today). It compiles key themes from the data to develop a "typical customer" (we even give the "customer" a name and backstory). These are powerful because the organization can now keep the customer, who they are and how they interact with the brand, in mind. Some of the best VoC market research firms add these into their reports.
Here's an example that could be used for a grocery store.
Tracy lives in Syracuse, NY with her husband John, and she recently celebrated her 48th birthday. This year, Tracy and John’s daughter started her freshman year at State University, making them empty-nesters.
Tracy works as a VP for a local healthcare network and travels often for work. Safe to say she has a busy work schedule and her ability to manage her work life balance is important to her. John works at a local insurance agency and also has a busy work schedule. Due to the busy schedules, meal prepping and planning is difficult for their family. Oftentimes, the two look for healthy prepared meals at Example Grocery Store. When shopping at Example Grocery Store, Tracy keeps her eyes on nutritious foods and produce that are easy to prepare. She prefers to create large meals using the leftovers for a future dinner/lunch for her and her husband.
When driving to Example Grocery Store and Tracy first sees the store's sign, she immediately thinks of “convenience” because it’s so close to home. Tracy appreciates the friendly staff, large selection of products and food, convenience of prepared foods, and deals. Each of these factors are key reasons why Tracy chooses to shop at Example Grocery Store and highly recommends it to family and friends. Tracy wants lower prices, increased variety of fresh prepared foods, and more options for health and beauty products at the store. These factors are reasons why she chooses to shop at Competitor X and Competitor Y from time to time.
Tracy would love if Example Grocery Store offered coupons in store as well as on a mobile app. As someone with a busy life, she often forgets coupons but always has her phone on her. This could be a way for Example Grocery Store to increase associations with it offering deals and being low cost.
Who is your customer? What are they doing right now? What mood are they in?
Problem #3: Messaging
After seeing the customer persona, you're thinking about developing creative messaging for "Tracy" aren't you? Creating more effective messaging is another benefit to VoC research. The results will help you identify the importance of specific factors when customers look for an organization like yours.
This helps teams identify what factors are top-of-mind for consumers. So instead of having a whole spiel about what your organization can offer, messages become clear and distinct factors that are most important to customers.
Problem #4: Adapting
Now that we know what factors are most important to customers when looking for an organization like yours, we can also test satisfaction with the same factors to understand areas that are high priority and lower priority. Moveover, VoC research will tell us which factors score high importance high satisfaction and low importance high satisfaction (areas of success), and high importance low satisfaction and low importance low satisfaction (areas of opportunity).
This allows organizations to use time strategically. Teams can capitalize on areas of success and focus on the areas of opportunity.
There are tons of other key performance indicators (KPIs) and types of questions that can be posed in a VoC study. Wondering if there are best questions to ask? Spoiler alert - there are. Learn the top 5 VoC questions.
Because sometimes strategies have to change after asking customers for their two cents
(pun intended)
Say Hello to Our Team!
Drive Research is a market research company in Upstate, NY. One of our specialties is Voice of Customer (VoC) market research firm, but our services don't stop there. Our services range from VoC to feasibility studies to intercept surveys and more.
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Call us at 315-303-2040 or email us at [email protected].