Social Strategy1

Voice of the Customer (VOC) – More Than a Customer Service Buzzword

Voice of the customer (VOC) – more than a customer service buzzword

From “United breaks guitars” to Comcast’s team of Twitter monitors, blogs abound with stories of how the voice of the customer (VOC) impacts the service component for everyone from mom-and-pop shops to Fortune 500 firms. Yet the truth is that the voice of the customer affects so much more than how a brand handles complaints. Here’s how online listening and VOC improve other critical business functions:

Advertising

Online listening is an ideal complement to traditional ad campaigns. Are online influencers mocking the new spokesperson? Has the blogosphere fallen in love with the new sleek and visionary ad spots? Online chatter can help advertising professionals gain real-time insight into whether their efforts are incredible or incredibly bad.

Product development

If you have products in development, social media monitoring gives your team the guidance it needs to produce the widgets, gadgets, and what-not’s your customers want and need to buy. In addition, the voice of the customer can also help the team fine tune products through tools such as feedback forums or surveys.

Public relations

Social media monitoring is becoming a nearly indispensible tool for public relations professionals. Online listening services allow PR teams to take the pulse of customers, competition, media outlets, vendors, and a host of additional stakeholders. When your team has access to this type of info, it can develop the right messages. What’s more, social media engagement allows the PR staff to distribute targeted information that can correct misperceptions or build up the brand.

Crisis management

Online listening can be your first line of defense in crisis management because it allows you to detect rising levels of negative sentiment about your products or staff. When it comes to disseminating messages during a crisis, social engagement also allows you to transmit real-time messages targeted directly to concerned stakeholders.

Start using VOC to improve how your company does everything from product development to crisis management. Contact Social Stratey1 to learn more about their best-in-class social media monitoring tools and their second-to-none analysts.