Analyzing Voice of Customer

VOC for CI

Many companies use the Voice of the Customer (VOC) to gather insights into their customers’ experiences with the sales process and post-sales performance. This tool provides first-person insights from the customer at various stages of their purchase and use journey. Typically, VOC examines the customers’ satisfaction levels with their purchased product or service. However, there is also a Competitive Intelligence(CI) opportunity within the VOC process. Leveraging VOC to gain CI data can support a sustainable informational advantage in the marketplace.

VOC for CI is not the same as Win/Loss. Win/Loss is typically a one-time activity completed within a few weeks of the final decision, while VOC is an ongoing process. Effective VOC for CI should match the overall VOC process and process, inserting targeted questions that have CI implications.

Uses existing Processes and Resources

Using the VOC process to collect competitive data and inform tactical and strategic actions can be a low-cost, low-effort, high-return CI component. Adding a few targeted questions to the VOC process can bring the customer’s perspective of your competitors and their overall perspective on the market, competition, and unmet needs. Most companies' VOC process is structured to interact with customers regularly. This frequent and structured process can be a platform for the CI unit to select questions on competitive issues and track performance against the competitors.

CI Topics to Consider

During a customer’s engagement with your company, it is very likely that your competitors will have conversations with the customer. Early CI questions may examine how often competitors contact the customer, their messaging, and how it is received. Mid-cycle CI questions can focus on competitors’ efforts to influence customers’ perceptions and identify new features in competitors’ messaging. In the late cycle, before renewal, CI questions can focus on competitors that will be considered their positioning, pricing, and what is unique to their offer.

Target CI questions to customer types

Not all CI questions used in the VOC process will be appropriate for each customer or industry. Tailoring the CI questions used in the VOC process to the customer type and the known competitors will increase the value of the CI collected. Question tailoring should consider the customer status, industry, relationship stage, and likely competitors.

Companies that have active Voice of the Customer programs can quickly leverage those programs to support CI activities. CI topics to incorporate into VOC activities should cover the following:

Add in CI to your VOC

Not every VOC effort can, or should, include a CI component. The most effective approach is to limit CI in VOC to a sample of the total customer universe. Fletcher recommends:

Conclusion:

Adding selected CI-focused questions to your VOC efforts can add buyer and user insights into your competitors’ actions in the marketplace.  This insight can serve as an alert of a competitor's position change and strategy. To talk with Fletcher about incorporating CI into your VOC efforts, please contact us at info@fletchercsi.com