 Hearing and Heeding the Voice of
the Customer
Suggested Audience: General managers, marketing and sales
managers, marketing research professionals, customer service and consumer
affairs specialists
Over the past decade "Customer satisfaction" has been one of
the most popular catch phrases in the business lexicon. It has also been one
of the most abused and wrong-headed.
This presentation begins with the idea that the purpose of business is
not simply to make customers happy, but to turn a profit at the end of the
day. "Customer satisfaction" is at best a predictor of business
results, and often it is not a very good one. The second key idea is that
getting data is less than half the battle. Many companies gather lots of
customer data, but find that most of it goes to waste. The real challenge
lies in persuading the organization to use the "voice of the
customer" and thereby to improve business results.
Audience members will learn the steps in a superior customer research
program. Examples of action-oriented data exhibits are provided along with
tactics for stimulating improvement activities. Where appropriate, case
studies or examples from the audience's industry may be used. Hearing and
Heeding the Voice of the Customer is typically a one-hour presentation
with Q&A.
Topics covered may include:
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Who is the customer? |
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The customer satisfaction fallacy |
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A three-step strategic research
process |
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Customer expectations mapping |
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A better route to customer
segmentation |
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Action-oriented data displays |
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Value propositions |
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Moving from data into action |
Voice of the Customer workshops vary from one-half day to five days in
length and are generally aimed at developing or improving practitioner
skills. Modules include:
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Conducting Focus Groups |
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Developing and Administering Questionnaire
Surveys |
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Interviewing and Observational
Skills |
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Analyzing and Reporting Data |
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