How Voice Of Customer Analytics Can Shape Retail Strategies
Voice of the customer (VoC) is the in-depth process of capturing customer's needs or wants, expectations, preferences, and aversions. And this goes beyond customer interactions, social media, and customer feedback.
The quality of the customer experience is a major differentiating factor in standing out amongst competitors – which is just one of the reasons VoC is so important.
It used to be that simply tracking average transaction amounts and conversion rates were the determining factors of how successful retail sales were. But today, that is not the case. As a white paper by Frost & Sullivan states, "Customer satisfaction can no longer be measured solely on the basis of a transaction: retailers recognize the importance of data points at every step of the customer journey and in every channel to stay on top of behaviors and ensure an effortless, omnichannel experience.”
Let’s take a look at how VoC analytics can provide invaluable insights and elevate the customer journey.
Customer Satisfaction
According to the same white paper, 50% of retailers and wholesalers around the globe measure the success of their digital transformation investments with customer satisfaction rates.
However, only 20 to 25% of companies are effective at listening to customers.
Having a system in place to analyze all of the customer feedback that is constantly flowing in, especially in today’s digital landscape, is key. With information tracked seemingly everywhere, from internet cookies to customer surveys to sentiment analysis, companies must assess all the data they obtain in order to implement effective changes to meet customer’s expectations.
With more and more customers making the shift to shop online, companies are also losing the in-person sales experience and feedback loop that would allow store employees to glean and share customer wants or needs back to their corporate offices. Furthermore, shopping on social media platforms saw a growth of 35% in the past year. And Generation Z and younger will continue to spend two to three times more money shopping on social media platforms than other generations. While this is great for sales generation, it is yet another lost opportunity to get face-to-face customer feedback during the sales process.
VoC analytics can provide insight to ensure customers are heard and how companies can actively improve service, sales, and revenue.
Connecting With Consumers
Two key factors in making a real connection with consumers are building trust and making an emotional connection. Trust is the first step in building customer loyalty. In fact, 44% of global consumers will spend at least $500 or more each year with the brands they trust most.
Every single interaction a consumer has with a brand is an opportunity to either build trust or break it. With that at top of mind, brands can ensure that every touchpoint they have with their consumers is designed to leave a lasting positive impression.
Responsible use and protection of any consumer data collected is also a contributing factor to building trust. 73% of consumers worry that the data brands collect will not benefit them, and instead will only be used to help the brand, according to the 2022 Adobe Trust report. And 81% of consumers say that having choices about how companies use their data is important to them.
Over time, these positive experiences can lead to making an emotional connection with consumers.
All the data we gather is only as good as how it is assessed and what actions are put in place, which is why a systematic method to examine the data and better understand the end user is critical.
