Understanding your customers’ needs is the key to business success, yet many companies struggle to get their feedback. Without a structured voice of the customer (VoC) program, businesses risk relying on assumptions and creating experiences that fall short of customer expectations.
This guide will break down what a VoC program is and show you how to create one. We’ll also cover essential VoC tools and best practices to help you build a program that drives growth.
What is voice of the customer?
Voice of the customer refers to a structured approach to collecting and acting on customer feedback. A voice of the customer program helps businesses understand customer sentiment and make data-driven decisions to improve experiences.
Say a SaaS company wants to collect customer feedback to improve its onboarding flows or refine its brand positioning.
The company might collect feedback using a variety of tactics, such as surveys or customer interviews and use the voice of the customer to refine its area of focus.
Benefits of a voice of the customer program
There’s a big gap between what businesses believe and what customers experience.
Research from Redpoint Global shows a 25% gap between marketers who believe they deliver an excellent customer experience (51%) and the number of consumers who agree (26%).
A structured approach to customer feedback can offer valuable insights that help businesses relieve customer pain points and reduce churn risks.
Here are the key benefits of implementing voice of the customer initiatives:
Increased customer retention. Customer-obsessed organizations achieve 51% better customer retention. Understanding customer sentiment through customer surveys, online reviews and direct feedback helps companies increase customer loyalty and reduce churn.
Stronger product development. VoC data reveals gaps in customer needs, leading to smarter product decisions. For example, Slack refined its platform based on customer pain points uncovered in interviews. The insights helped increase adoption among enterprise users.Higher customer satisfaction scores. Tracking customer satisfaction scores (CSAT), Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and customer effort scores allows companies to measure and improve customer engagement. Research by CustomerGauge shows that a 10+ increase in NPS score correlates with a 3.2% increase in revenue.
More effective marketing. Marketing strategies and campaigns can only resonate with a target customer demographic if they’re aligned with customer preferences. A VoC program provides insights into what messaging and channels are most effective.
A well-executed VoC strategy turns customer feedback into measurable improvements, helping businesses stay customer-centric.
Voice of the customer examples
Implementing a voice of the customer program can transform businesses by aligning products and services with customer expectations. Let’s explore case studies of two companies that have used VoC strategies to enhance their operations.
PABS: improving client engagement through feedback
Pacific Accounting & Business Services (PABS) is a global finance and accounting outsourcing provider. The company wanted to improve client engagement by gathering in-depth feedback on its services.
What they did
PABS used SurveySparrow, a customer feedback platform, to create surveys and track client satisfaction at various touchpoints. The company collected feedback after key service interactions, allowing its team to assess service quality and identify areas for improvement.
The results
PABS improved client retention and strengthened long-term relationships. With real-time feedback, PABS built a customer strategy that addressed customer concerns, leading to a boost in client satisfaction and a more customer-centric service approach.
Lionbridge: streamlining feedback collection for continuous improvement
Lionbridge is a global provider of translation and localization services, helping businesses communicate across languages and cultures. The company was looking for a systematic way to gather and action feedback across accounts, year over year.
What they did
Lionbridge integrated SurveyMonkey with Microsoft Power BI to launch a Net Promoter Score (NPS) program. This integration enabled it to efficiently distribute surveys, collect feedback and visualize customer sentiment, giving the team a clearer understanding of the company’s strengths and areas for improvement.
The results
Lionbridge saw an 86% increase in NPS for one team and a 20% uptick in survey responses.
The increased transparency allowed Lionbridge to connect with customers with a low NPS score to understand and resolve their problems.
These examples highlight the impact of a well-executed VoC program. Businesses can optimize their offerings and build stronger customer relationships by actively listening to customers and acting on their insights.
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How to build a successful voice of the customer program
Building a VoC program requires a structured approach to collecting customer feedback. We’ve broken it down into six steps below.
1. Define your voice of the customer goals
Before launching a VoC program, businesses must identify what they want to achieve. Are they looking to reduce churn, improve customer retention, optimize product development or enhance customer support? Clear objectives help guide data collection and analysis.
For example, a B2B software company might aim to reduce customer churn by identifying pain points in its onboarding process.
Analyzing feedback from customer surveys and support interactions can help pinpoint friction points and improve the experience for new users.
Tip: Use the SMART methodology to set clear, trackable goals. For example, “increase NPS by 10 points in 6 months” or “reduce onboarding-related queries by 20%”. Clear, trackable goals make it easy to measure progress and adjust your strategy if needed.
2. Choose the right tools for data collection
Capturing VoC data requires selecting the right mix of VoC tools. These tools should enable businesses to collect feedback across multiple touchpoints, including surveys, customer support interactions and social media.
A consulting firm might use Pipedrive’s LeadBooster, which includes Web Forms, Live Chat and Chatbot integrations, to gather VoC data. (We’ll share more on using Leadbooster for VoC later in the article).
With responses automatically synced to Pipedrive’s CRM, the company could centralize client feedback and ensure insights are easily accessible for follow-up and decision-making.
3. Develop target customer questions
Asking the right voice of the customer questions ensures businesses gather valuable insights instead of generic feedback. Questions should align with VoC goals.
For example, a marketing agency looking to improve its campaign performance might use VoC feedback to better understand how well its content resonates. The team might ask questions like:
What was your favorite and least favorite part of our recent campaign on [topic]?
If you could change one aspect of our marketing campaigns, what would it be?
How well does our campaign messaging reflect your brand’s objectives?
These insights help refine campaign strategies to ensure content better aligns with audience expectations in the future.
4. Conduct fieldwork
Once businesses develop questions, they need to collect customer feedback. Feedback can include customer interviews, focus groups, online reviews and real-time surveys.
For example, a SaaS company wanting to improve its product might hold one-on-one customer interviews with long-term users. It could also send CSAT surveys after every support interaction. Using both tactics ensures a mix of qualitative and quantitative data.
Note: Different feedback methods serve different purposes. Customer interviews give deep insights. CSAT surveys and online reviews provide quick, scalable data.
Using both qualitative and quantitative methods gives a complete view of customer needs.
5. Centralize feedback data
With feedback coming from multiple sources, it’s essential to consolidate customer data in one place. Using a CRM like Pipedrive, businesses can track customer responses alongside customer interactions, purchase history and support tickets.
A financial services firm might centralize feedback within dashboards that integrate VoC data from surveys, support chats and call transcripts. This allows stakeholders to track trends and prioritize improvements.
6. Implement changes based on VoC insights
The most important step is turning insights into measurable actions. A strong VoC strategy has clear steps for acting on customer feedback and closing the feedback loop.
For instance, a B2B IT service provider might notice recurring complaints about response times in its contact center.
After identifying this issue through NPS surveys, it could introduce automated workflows to trigger support tickets and reduce response times.
Note: Prioritize changes based on impact and feasibility. Not all feedback requires immediate action, but addressing recurring issues first – like slow response times or usability challenges – can drive the biggest improvements in customer satisfaction and retention.
Essential tools for a voice of the customer program
Now that we’ve covered how to build a VoC program, let’s talk about some key voice of the customer software that will help underpin your program.
Below is a list of voice of the customer tools to help businesses collect insights through surveys, customer interactions and real-time sentiment analysis.
1. Pipedrive’s LeadBooster: capture feedback through conversations and forms
Pipedrive’s LeadBooster is a lead capture and engagement tool that helps businesses collect VoC data through Web Forms, Live Chat and Chatbots.
These features allow companies to gather feedback in real time. All data seamlessly integrates into Pipedrive CRM, making it easy to track trends and respond to customer needs.
Example use case: A B2B SaaS company uses LeadBooster’s Live Chat to engage with website visitors, gathering feedback on pain points before they book a demo. Meanwhile, the company’s Web Forms collect survey responses from customers after they’re onboarded, helping refine the user experience.
2. SurveySparrow: automate customer surveys at key touchpoints
SurveySparrow is a flexible survey platform that integrates with Pipedrive. It helps businesses send surveys automatically based on customer interactions. With conversational-style surveys and automation tools, businesses can collect structured VoC data right after a sales call, a support ticket resolution or a product demo.
Example use case: A consulting agency uses SurveySparrow to send post-project surveys to clients after each engagement. These insights help improve service offerings and enhance client retention.
3. Qualtrics XM: use AI to analyze customer sentiment
Qualtrics XM is a top VoC platform. It uses natural language processing (NLP) and sentiment analysis to interpret customer feedback.
It’s ideal for businesses looking to track key customer metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) and Customer Effort Score (CES).
Example use case: A financial services firm collects client feedback via Qualtrics XM and uses AI-powered sentiment analysis to detect emerging concerns about loan processing times. By identifying trends early, the company improves service delivery and reduces churn.
4. SurveyMonkey: benchmark customer satisfaction with industry standards
SurveyMonkey is a tool for designing and distributing surveys, particularly for market research and customer satisfaction tracking.
Its easy-to-use interface and strong analytics help businesses compare their results against industry benchmarks.
Example use case: A manufacturing company surveys its distributors and retailers using SurveyMonkey, gathering insights on product availability, delivery timelines and customer service performance. These insights help optimize the supply chain.
5. Sentisum: uncover hidden pain points in customer support
Sentisum is an AI-powered VoC tool designed for customer support teams.
It looks at emails, chats and call transcripts. It finds patterns and uncovers pain points that might not be visible through traditional surveys. This analysis helps businesses optimize their contact center workflows and enhance customer service operations.
Example use case: A managed IT services provider uses Sentisum to analyze customer support tickets and identify recurring issues in software deployment processes. This data helps the company address pain points and streamline IT support.
9 best questions to ask for your voice of the customer research
Asking the right customer questions is critical to the feedback intake process. Below are some key voice of the customer questions to help you get started.
Question | Why it matters |
1. What problem were you trying to solve when you chose our product? | Identifies the core customer needs and whether your solution addresses them. |
2. What was the biggest frustration with your previous solution? | Helps uncover customer pain points, giving insight into where your product stands out or where you need to make further improvements. |
3. What hesitations did you have before purchasing or signing up? | Reveals barriers in the customer journey that you could address through better messaging, onboarding or sales support. |
4. What made you choose us over competitors? | Provides insights into customer expectations and the unique value your business delivers. |
5. How would you describe our product to someone unfamiliar with it? | Helps refine your brand positioning and messaging by understanding how customers perceive and explain your product. |
6. What words come to mind when you think about our product/brand? | Aids in customer sentiment analysis, showing whether your brand perception aligns with your intended image. |
7. What features do you use most frequently, and why? | Highlights which features provide the most value, guiding product development priorities. |
8. What’s missing from our product that would make your job easier? | Uncovers gaps in functionality, helping identify opportunities for new product features. |
9. If you could change one thing about our product, what would it be? | Gives direct customer input on improvements that could enhance satisfaction and retention. |
By integrating these VoC questions into customer surveys and interviews, businesses can gain actionable insights to optimize customer relationships and drive long-term loyalty.
Voice of the customer best practices
Follow these best practices to ensure customer feedback leads to desired outcomes.
Collect feedback at key touchpoints
Gathering customer feedback at strategic moments in the customer journey is crucial for obtaining relevant insights. Reach out to customers when they’ve recently engaged with your business(e.g., right after they buy something or after they’ve spoken with your support team).
For example, a web store might send post-purchase surveys to assess the buying experience, while a SaaS company could ask for feedback after onboarding to understand initial user satisfaction.
Collecting feedback at these moments helps identify specific areas for improvement and enhances the overall customer experience.
Ensure data quality
Good feedback starts with good data collection. To get reliable information, use straightforward questions that don’t lead customers toward specific answers and keep your collection approach consistent.
For instance, a financial services firm might standardize customer satisfaction (CSAT) surveys across all branches to ensure uniform data collection.
High-quality data enables precise analysis, leading to more effective strategies for addressing customer needs.
Close the feedback loop
When customers take time to share their thoughts, show them it matters by taking action. Acknowledge what they’ve told you and let them know what you did based on their input.
For example, if a customer tells a phone company about signal problems, the company should fix the issue and inform affected customers about the solution. This approach will help improve customer satisfaction and NPS scores.
Improve cross-functional collaboration
A strong voice of customer program needs input from teams, including product, sales, marketing and customer success. That’s because customer feedback tends to highlight issues that affect different departments, not one.
For example, if feedback shows customers have trouble understanding product features, the marketing team can improve messaging. The product team can work on usability and customer success can update onboarding materials.
Businesses can ensure VoC insights translate into real improvements by working across teams, creating a more customer-centric organization.
Note: A CRM like Pipedrive helps streamline collaboration by keeping customer feedback in one place. Sales, marketing and customer success teams can track conversations and align on customer needs without siloed data.
Final thoughts
Building a strong voice of the customer program is key to understanding customer needs and driving business growth. Companies that listen and act on feedback can boost customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty.
Start capturing and acting on customer insights today. Sign up for Pipedrive’s 14-day free trial to see how automation, data tracking and integrations can help you build an effective VoC strategy.
