At the first day of the &THEN global marketing event in Boston, I participated in a workshop about Engagement & Experience. To truly engage and connect with customers you need to embrace and capture their voice in every step of the marketing process.

Of course, I already heard of VoC (Voice of Customer), but I’ve never heard of actually “doing a VoC”. Well, this expression really exists. What is more, I discussed today the four steps of the Voice of Customer methodology for customer experience transformation.

Step 1: Gain essential customer insights and leverage them into actionable CX strategies

You need to conduct Voice of Customer research by using in-depth interviews with customers to understand what great customer experience means to them. Often great customer experience:

• Applies to all elements of the media mix and all departments in your organization
• Must be maintained throughout the whole relationship and lifecycle
• Goes hand in hand with “smart” personalization
  
  

Step 2: Opt-in engagement and reciprocity 

Opt-in is not just giving the permission to receive e-mails. It is about actively opting-in to a relationship and self-profiling your preferences and aversions as a customer.

Customer reciprocity + Business reciprocity + Human data = Marketing transformation

• Customer reciprocity: recognition by customers that to receive truly relevant & personalized offers they need to provide personal preference information
• Business reciprocity: recognition by marketers that they must provide improved personalization, based on more than transactional data
• Human data: opt-in self-profiled information, provided by the customer
  
  

Step 3: High impact omnichannel engagement 

You need to create a Voice of Customer-driven omnichannel mix, which is an integrated, omnichannel marketing program that deploys media per customer’s individual preferences.

Step 4: Digital and social media presence

Creating a Voice of Customer-driven social media presence allows you as a marketer to develop strategies for relevant, real-time engagement and conversations.

My key takeaway is that you should go from transaction to engagement based on a deep understanding of customers and via smart personalization. I fully support the vision that it is not about Customer Relationship Management anymore, but about Customer Managed Relationships. But next to the fact that multiple Customers equal multiple VoCs, I also believe a company or a brand should listen to its own VoC. Always pivot on your own passion!

If you have questions about this topic or do you want to exchange ideas? Don’t hesitate to send me an e-mail (karolien.vanhelden@thom.eu). I would love to discuss our experiences!