2009 “Voice of the Customer” conference Nov. 3-4

September 30, 2009 · Leave a Comment

After-sales customer support is the frontline for companies, and some of the strongest, most active communities in the social media world are found in these customer support relationships. The use of twitter to lodge customer complaints in the blogosphere is becoming well known, yet how many companies have updated their customer contact centers to incorporate these new channels? Heck, “call centers” are still commonplace. What should a company do?

First, look at how your customers want to communicate with you. Don’t assume you know.

Second, don’t force fit all customers into one model. Just as there are different customer segments for your products, so to there are different segments for your service interactions. Some people want to chat. Some want to twitter. Some want to talk on the phone with a real person without having to navigate an onerous logic tree.

Third, remember that when you offload work onto the customer when they interact with you, you may be saving money, but you’re costing your customers time and perhaps driving a wedge between you and them. I fume as companies waste my time with needless, moronic messages.

Fourth, don’t create islands of interaction. The different interaction channels need to be integrated in the background data base and all of these contacts need to be tracked. When we capture the Voice of the Customer, we must also capture the Voice of the Process. Without that data, improvement efforts are seriously shortchanged and blindspots result in our customer records.

Fifth, recognize no one research method is “best” for learning about customers’ issues, needs, and wishes. Each method has strengths; each has weaknesses. Companies need to consider a portfolio of listening – as well as response – mechanisms, for example, user groups, online forums, advisory boards, expert networks, survey panels. This growing number of “voice of the customer” channels now provide a rich dialog between companies and their customers.

Fred is a co-producer of the First Wednesday Group’s third annual Voice of the Customer conference, which will take place Nov. 3-4 at The International’s
conference center outside of Boston. The focal topic this year is the impact of social media on the customer support industry.

This is a boutique event–highly interactive, small in scale, with an impressive lineup of expert speakers and an audience of managers with a good deal of hands-on experience with social media in a customer support environment. Registration is $385/day.