Today, we’re talking about happiness…customer happiness. How can a great Voice of the Customer program influence things like customer satisfaction?
We reached out to Mandy Scott the Customer Experience Manager at Groove Life. Let’s hear from her about the top 5 ways she uses VoC to improve customer satisfaction!
Here’s Mandy to introduce the topic of this newsletter!:
Emily Rosato (Hark): You mentioned that VoC has been one of your favorite accomplishments since taking your role in March 2023, why is VoC something that’s important to you?
Mandy Scott (Groove Life): Interestingly, a couple of years into my job at Groove Life, I was beginning to feel a bit stagnant and was hungry to do more in our department. At the time I was working as a part time CX rep but had a random idea to search ‘customer experience titles’ or other roles within the department to see what could be out there. I found what resonated with me the most which was something called a Voice of Customer.
As I read the description all I kept thinking was, this is it! Truly knowing & understanding what the customer is saying is what really matters and so I presented this position to my boss at the time, excited about the possibility that I could be the person bridging the gap between Groove Life and our amazing customers. I was so proud just thinking about representing them to the company and sharing their voice in a way that would make a difference!
Unfortunately that particular position didn’t pan out at the time, which honestly, I understood because it was a bit premature for our company which was still young and growing. However, when I was promoted to CX Manager last March, one of the verticals that I was presented with as part of a long-term high level vision was creating and developing Voice of Customer within the CX department. Of course this lit a fire in me!
What amazed me was how I saw all the pieces fall into place at just the right time. One of my reps who had changed positions to work as our company chaplain returned to our department. I knew instantly Kevin was the one for the VoC role due to his strengths, self-motivation and hard work ethic. He was also skilled in data gathering and already had plenty of experience making him ready to dive right in.
Over the past 15 months, I’ve watched him turn the idea of Voice of Customer into a thriving and valuable role to the company. It’s truly been amazing and I’m so proud of him!
Emily: That’s amazing! Now let’s get into the tips you have for everyone. What are your top 5 ways that VoC data analysis has improved customer satisfaction at Groove Life?
Mandy:
Emily: Now, how do all of these tools and methods come together at your org to help you see success in understanding your customers better?
Mandy: Continually pulling all of this data together and making it available as real-time feedback, we are 1. able to more clearly define who our customers are and what they really want which makes us more efficient and profitable as a company and 2. Able to solve problems quickly with VoC data and sentiment in one place, allowing us to make necessary adjustments, reducing outreach from customers, minimizing ticket volume and hopefully increasing long-term increasing retention and customer loyalty.
Emily: A huge issue we’ve heard in the CX community is finding ways to advocate for yourself, and make others see the importance of CX…How do you make leadership or other teams care about VoC?
Mandy: RELATIONSHIP! It’s all about taking time to meet with other department leaders, asking them lots of questions about their role, and learning what’s important to them. Then we’re able to share with them ideas on how we can fully support them by offering survey opportunities to gather sentiment the next time they are confronted with a decision in their specific area. It’s taken us some time to get there, but we’re definitely enjoying the fruit of our labor as we now have survey requests coming in from other departments.
As far as leadership’s involvement in VoC, it’s vitally important that every situation or concern is always backed by data. When ongoing customer sentiment is collected & then shared with leadership, this gives them an opportunity to quickly assess and see from a high level what is truly happening
Emily: My last question is a fun one that I ask every leader…In your dream CX world, with no constraints, what is one thing you wish you had to make CX better?
Mandy: Unlimited resources to surprise and delight customers with extravagant gifts and blessings! There’s nothing like wowing a customer but to be able to come through for them with something totally unexpected and generous, like a $500 gift card for groceries or gas would be AMAZING!
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