Voice of the Customer (VOC) Overview

Understanding customers' wants and needs (also known as the "Voice of the Customer,” or VOC) is a critical ongoing process that defines and drives organizational strategy. Organizations that differentiate themselves from the norm do so by consistently anticipating and satisfying the voice of their customers.

Understanding customer needs is important for all organizations, even those that don’t regularly collect and use VOC data. Organizations employing process improvement programs such as Six Sigma need to grasp the Critical to Quality requirements (CTQs) that drive improvements. VOC data are also needed in order to design new products and services that will be successful in the marketplace. Any organization that expects to survive and thrive cannot do so without some sort of mechanism to understand its customers' needs.

Many organizations do a poor job of using VOC data to help them excel. Sometimes customers' needs are not obvious, or they’re not easily identified through simple surveys. Because customers' needs are often complex, understanding them requires a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques. Customers express their needs to an organization through many sources, and a successful VOC program will seek to integrate the data from these multiple sources. Any kind of data collection is both time consuming and expensive, and poor planning can result in a waste of money and organizational resources. Whether your organization is interested in using VOC data for a single project or employing it strategically at the enterprise level or business-unit level, you must have a carefully thought out, well-planned data collection and analysis effort.

VOC consultants at Oriel Incorporated can help your organization improve its competitive edge by effectively utilizing VOC data. We can set up your enterprise- or project-level VOC program and train your staff in systematic methods for collecting and analyzing VOC data, tailoring those methods to your specific circumstances. Alternatively, we can create and run a VOC program for you that allows you to benefit from the results of VOC data without having to invest internal resources to obtain it.

Oriel Incorporated’s VOC services include:

  • Helping you plan a VOC strategy to enhance your competitive advantage.

  • Segmenting your customers so that you can offer targeted, customized products and services that meet specific needs.

  • Designing, piloting, implementing, and running a one-time or ongoing VOC data collection initiative using appropriate tools and methods that have been tailored to your organization.

  • Analyzing VOC data and helping you identify the critical requirements necessary to guide improvement or design projects.

  • Training members of your organization to become more effective at collecting, analyzing, and using VOC data.

Learn more about the Oriel Incorporated Voice of the Customer methodology.