VoCal Process Model

Converge’s Voice of the Customer model is based on The Shewart/Deming PDSA Cycle at the center of such technologies as Continuous Improvement, Lean and Six Sigma. This is not surprising. The PDSA Cycle is a model grounded in the scientific method, developed specifically for organizations where the goal of is not just to acquire knowledge but to apply it for performance improvement.

Converge Voice of the Customer is an analytic research methodology designed to use the customer’s voice to drive process, product and program change.

Plan

Planning a VoC means first formulating the research objectives. These must clearly delineate enumerative versus analytic objectives as must all sound scientific research. VoC cannot effectively address enumerative questions. Likewise, enumerative methods cannot answer analytic research questions. The research methodology must be aligned with the questions at hand.

Once the research objectives are defined and properly classified, a specific research plan is defined. This may involve using Converge VoC Survey, Converge VoC Integrated Text Analysis and Converge VoC Cloud  technologies.

Listen

If you are going to hear the voice of the customer you have to listen. Converge VoC gathers customer data and feedback in its raw form – no manipulations, summarizations or degradation of data. This requires sampling methods appropriate to the analytical tasks at hand, proper question design and treatment of response scales.

Converge VoC Survey may use any and all data collection techniques: paper, email, web-based and telephone response methods. Converge VoC Integrated  Text Analysis gathers electronic text information from internal corporate databases arising from call center, field personnel feedback and other sources. Converge VoC Cloud gathers data from blogs, social media sites, electronic media sources.

Understand

Forget about asking what the customer wants. You already know. The customer wants it all, wants it now and wants it free. The trick is not in asking what the customer wants but rather in understanding the customer and his or her needs.

You need to understand how customers feel about your company, the brand, products, services, and programs. Identify what is truly important and how best to design and deliver products, service and programs that maximize perceived value. Then use this knowledge to identify existing and emerging issues and drive redesign efforts (including elimination of features that have no perceived value and the addition of features that do) . This where the value of Converge VoC really pays off - separating the wheat from the chaff  - identifying what has value to the customer and what does not.

Act

The value of research is in what you do with it. Converge Voice of the Customer, as an analytic research methodology,it  is designed to support change – using identified customers requirements to drive improvement in product, service processes and programs. Doing so is the action that will make a difference to your customers and ultimately, your bottom line.