Surveys v. Direct-to-human Feedback

•  Pop-up surveys are a way to for "aggrieved customers" to reach you and allows your customers/users to easily provide feedback on your products.
•  SurveyMonkey noted that a recent study found that when you ask for feedback (even if you don't listen to it) it can help boost membership/customer loyalty.
• A direct conversation between humans allows issues to be addressed that wouldn't pop up on a survey.
•  Surveys allow companies to collect information from numerous people and is cost effective. However, since you have to limit your amount of questions, there's only so much information you can gather from each participant in the survey.
•  Focus groups allow you to have in-depth conversations and feedback, but are more costly and time-consuming

Timeliness of Feedback

•  Customers/users expect and demand businesses to respond to feedback quickly.
•  Responding to reviews is a major consideration for customers when deciding what businesses to visit.
• Delivering VOC in a timely manner allows you to be alerted to "high-impact issues" and become aware of trends/patterns in customer usage and behavior.
• Using the appropriate tech can also affect the timeliness of feedback so it is important to have updated technology that creates automated insights.

Asking the Right Questions

• VOC programs/outcomes depend on the questions you ask.
• Since you aren't able to ask 100 questions because of time, it's extremely important that you ask the right 15-20 questions.
•  Some factors to consider when choosing questions include your line of business, if you are a B2B or a B2C company, type of product/service you provide, and who your customer is.
•  Determining your strategic intent and business objective are also important questions to consider when creating VOC programs.

Need for Real-Time Monitoring

• Using humans to analyze data can take a long time, whereas implementing AI software can create automated solutions that are less time-consuming.
•  Digital innovation has allowed companies to listen "in real time" to consumers' complaints and reviews through different channels such as emails, surveys, social media, and reviews.
• These real-time reports keep companies aware of trends in the "brand's ecosystem."
• Real-time reports allow brands to gauge usage per customer, NPS for a specific time, online v. in-store purchases, and campaign success.

Power of Referrals/Reviews

•  45% of consumers say they are more likely to visit or shop at a business that responds to negative reviews.
• Reviews/references "amplify the voice" of your customers and can be used for marketing purposes.
• Giving your customers multiple opportunities/channels to have a say in the decision-making of your brand can boost referrals for your company.
•  81% of consumers conduct research online before buying and 91% of U.S. consumers check reviews occasionally before purchasing.
•  Online reviews will help grow your SEO locally, such as when a customer searches for "Home Remodeler St. Charles MO."