Only 2% Of Firms Have Mastered Voice Of The Customer, According To New Temkin Group Research

Study Of 192 Large Firms Provides An Extensive Benchmark Of Maturity Levels For An Important Customer Experience Management Capability

Waban, MA (I-Newswire) September 6, 2011 - A new research report published by Temkin Group, The State of Voice of the Customer Programs, 2011, analyzes data from 192 companies with $500 million or more in annual revenues. Companies use voice of the customer (VoC) programs to collect and disseminate insights about their customers. Nearly two-thirds of the companies examined in the research, all of which have formalized VoC programs, believe that their VoC program has been successful. Only a small group, 7% of respondents, believes that these efforts have not succeeded.

“Voice of the customer programs are critical components of many customer experience efforts. These programs help companies operate with a customer-centric view of their business” states Bruce Temkin, author of the report and Managing Partner of Temkin Group.

The analysis uses Temkin Group’s VoC maturity model to assess the effectiveness of companies across six components of a VoC program: Detect, Disseminate, Discuss, Diagnose, Design, and Deploy. On average, the companies received an “okay” or “poor” rating in each of the six areas. Companies scored the most poorly in two capabilities: 1) detecting insights about customers and 2) designing solutions based on the insight. About one-quarter of companies, however, were rated as “good” or better in each of the areas.

The VoC program assessment identifies five levels of maturity for VoC programs: Novices, Collectors, Analyzers, Collaborators, and Transformers. Only 2% of the companies ended up with the highest maturity rating, Transformers, while 46% were in one of the two lowest levels of maturity.

According to Temkin: “VoC programs are evolving rapidly. It’s no longer good enough to simply send out a survey to customers. Companies need to tap into a wide number of insights and continuously take action on what they find.”

The report contains Temkin Group’s VoC program assessment tool as well as additional data to help companies benchmark their VoC programs against the 192 companies included in the research.

This report can be accessed from the Temkin Group website or from the blog, Customer Experience Matters