Voice of the Customer is not a Project...

The Six Sigma Institute (www.sixsigma-institute.org) defined Voice of Customer (VoC) as "the customer's voice, expectations, preferences, comments, of a product or service in a discussion. It is the statement made by the customer on a particular product or service." VoC has always been central to my duties throughout my career. Recently, I took a job opportunity with Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) in a data strategy role. I've been here 3 months now and enjoying getting to know the company I've known from the outside for over a decade as a customer. During those years, I've been vocal when their products exceed the business goals of the companies I represented, and when they do not.  Truth be told, I've benefited from a string of truly responsive account teams who were committed to driving a solution and partnering with me to carry them out. They are as part of the solution as the data we subscribe to. This brought about many interactions with D&B on advisory boards, content, and development teams to have honest discussions about product performance and enhancements. So, when I joined D&B, I had the desire to continue this path and get involved in projects prioritizing VoC. After all, it is one of D&B's driving pillars.

Two months in this new role, I found myself focusing on developing data solutions for strategic processes geared to help users advance their sophistication of use of our data offerings. Though the projects were still customer-focused, I felt that I didn't have time to develop projects devoted to VoC in an operational sense. I wanted to enhance processes.

That same day, I had a video conference meeting with a senior leader at D&B and narrated my recent struggle. I asked him, "How can I prioritize VoC projects?" I saw his attentive expression shift, just like in slow motion. He paused with a grin. This was his way of telling me I missed the point. His next few words to me were highly impactful and will remain with me for a long time. He said confidently, "Joe, VoC is not a project you prioritize. You build it in everything that you do." Yep. He's right. I missed the point. After that conversation, I've focused more intently in meetings paying special attention to where teammates have built-in VoC in what they do. It raised my awareness of how highly customer-centric our team inherently was. It was impressive. These are notable traits I observed:

·      Advocacy – We become the extension of our customer's objectives in internal interactions as agents of their goals. I see this a lot at Advisory Services, the team I belong to, during discussions ranging from data enhancements to process changes. The voice of the customer is widely present.

·      Mirroring – Contrary to the popular saying, the customer isn't always right. Or sometimes, they need help in articulating their needs and goals. Ensure that you understand the client's request. Repeat their statement before moving forward into action. Ask an open-ended question as feedback. When necessary, challenge the rationale or goal for clarity. Leaping together from the same page is an important step in any process with VoC in mind.

·      Customer shoes – Wear the proverbial customer shoes when develop/designing strategic solutions. It uncovers design cues that might not have been explored before. My favorite is that, by wearing the customer shoes, it provides a way to test the effectivity of "the way things have always been done."

·      Beyond known limits - Those who truly become agents of customers through their day to day work find a way to get beyond the limits. They do not embrace product limitations as their own. "There's got to be a better way." – becomes the mantra when presented with a roadblock.

This has been a humbling experience for me. I understand that common sense is not always common practice. Making it so isn't a challenge but a requirement in ensuring VoC is top of mind and integrated in daily practice.

The customer role is something that we all have great familiarity. Repeatedly. Whether it be purchasing a quick lunch from a drive-through; buying a brand-new car; or subscribing to the latest XaaS (anything as a service) product, customer satisfaction is the goal. Throughout the consumption process, we will have new and standing requirements that need compliance and/or recalibration. VoC doesn't just allow customers and vendors to continue relationships. It is the key to forge something stronger, a partnership. Having VoC built in your day to day paves the way to this evolution. It becomes the reason for engagement. To begin a successful relationship between customer and vendor, it will always be the same step: the acknowledgment of the voice of the customer.