Voice of Customer programs are like a trusty GPS to navigate the tricky and ever-shifting landscape of customer preferences. For businesses seeking to enhance their customer experience, a Voice of the Customer program can provide the exact direction and understanding they need to make informed decisions. 

In this article, we will:

• Explore the world of Voice of Customer (VoC) programs
• Delve into the top 5 Voice of Customer programs 
• List some criteria for evaluating Voice of Customer software
• Outline the best practices to successfully implement a VoC program

Understanding Voice of Customer Programs

While businesses have been collecting feedback for years, Voice of Customer programs take it to the next level. A Voice of Customer program goes beyond traditional customer feedback by using a systematic approach to gather, analyze, and act upon customer insights.

In the world of VoC, surveys are just the tip of the iceberg. A Voice of Customer program involves a strategic and proactive approach to capturing the true voice of customers through various channels –  including surveys, reviews, social media, and more. 

The program then uses this data to understand client needs, opinions, preferences, and pain points. Based on these insights, businesses make informed decisions to improve the overall customer experience, and drive meaningful change. 

Voice of the Customer insights can shape product development, elevate customer experiences, and foster long-term client loyalty. By actively using Voice of Customer software like the ones listed below, businesses can smoothly visualize and bridge the gap between customer expectations, and their actual experience.

The Top 5 Voice of Customer Programs

In this section, we will delve into the top 5 Voice of Customer software that have gained recognition for their effectiveness and robust features.

• SurveySparrow
• Qualtrics
• Medallia
• InMoment
• NICE Satmetrix

These programs have demonstrated their ability to capture, analyze, and leverage client feedback to drive business success.

1: SurveySparrow

SurveySparrow is a versatile Voice of Customer program that offers a range of survey solutions to collect and act on feedback across various touchpoints. We will explore its key features, such as mobile-friendly surveys, conversational user interface, and real-time analytics. 

Key features & functionalities:

• Conversational forms: Make surveys a breezy and exciting experience for customers. This directly translates into higher survey completion rates and quality responses.
• 25+ question types: Get a diverse range of question types at your disposal and capture a wide spectrum of customer feedback.
• Personalization & piping: Dynamically populate survey questions and answer choices based on respondent information. 
• Device-agnostic platform: Get a seamless experience across many devices – including mobiles, tabs and kiosks. 
• Real-time analytics: Monitor and analyze survey responses as they come in, and get instant visibility into customer sentiments.
• Rich reporting module: Get detailed reports and dashboards, graphs, pie-charts for a 360-degree view of your customer feedback.
• Customer journey mapping: Visualize the end-to-end experience from the customer’s perspective, identify touchpoints, understand customer interactions, optimize the experience at each stage. 
• Online reputation management: Monitor and respond to online reviews on two of the leading review platforms: Google and Facebook. 
• Closed-loop feedback management: Use survey responses to quickly assign, act on, and close customer feedback.

User ratings: 4.4 on G2. 

Pricing:

With 10 plans ranging from Basic to Platform, SurveySparrow has options for different needs and budgets.

• Under Surveys, the Basic plan starts at $19/month for personal use. The Essentials plan at $49/month is designed for small teams. 
• The Business plan at $99/month suits mid-sized businesses, while the Enterprise plan is for large organizations.
• Under NPS + CX Suite, the CX Basic plan is priced at $199/month, with customizable options available.
• The Platform plan is ideal for large businesses seeking customization and support.

SurveySparrow also provides a Forever Free plan with limited features and a free trial for testing the product. Sign up below to try it out. 

2: Qualtrics

Qualtrics is a leader in survey tools for corporations and enterprises in particular. It offers a suite of survey tools, each customized for different purposes – including market segmentation, brand assessment, a Voice of Customer program, employee experience management, and others. Here are some key features and functionalities of Qualtrics as a Voice of Customer program.

Key features & functionalities:

• Advanced survey logic: Create dynamic and personalized surveys, ensuring respondents receive relevant questions based on their previous answers. 
• Sentiment analysis: Understand customer sentiment at scale. Use natural language processing algorithms to detect sentiment and categorize responses as positive, negative, or neutral. 
• Sophisticated reporting tools: Visualize and interpret customer data with customizable dashboards, charts, and graphs.
• Survey distribution options: Reach their target audience through multiple channels whether it’s email, SMS, embedded surveys on websites, or social media integrations. 
• Integrations: Connect customer feedback data with CRM systems, marketing automation platforms, or customer support tools, enhancing the overall customer experience.
• Collaboration and workflow management: Enable teams to work together, assign tasks, and manage survey workflows. 

User ratings: 4.4 on G2. 

Pricing:

Qualtrics offers a range of pricing plans that vary depending on the specific product and features required. For example, Qualtrics CustomerXM has pricing plans starting from $1500.00/year. To get a quote, get in touch with their team. 

3: Medallia

Medallia is a leading Voice of Customer software that offers a wide range of feedback collection methods, such as surveys, social media monitoring, and text analytics. In other words, Medallia’s Voice of Customer program is designed to help organizations improve experiences, make large business decisions, and raise revenue. 

Key features & functionalities:

• Omni-channel feedback collection: Collect customer feedback through various channels, including surveys, social media monitoring, and text analytics. 
• AI-driven analytics: Leverage advanced algorithms to analyze unstructured data, such as text comments, to identify themes, sentiment, and emerging trends. 
• Personalized dashboards: Visualize and monitor customer feedback in real-time. Track key metrics and KPIs with customizable views, charts, and graphs.
• Closed-loop feedback management: Capturing and route feedback to the relevant teams, and track the progress of issue resolution. 
• Sentiment analysis: AI-driven sentiment analysis helps you understand the emotions and attitudes of their customers towards their brand, products, or services.
• Integration: Medallia’s VoC program can integrate with other platforms to streamline workflows and improve efficiency.

User ratings: 4.4 on G2

Pricing:

Contact their team to get a quote. 

4: InMoment

InMoment is a customer feedback management platform that combines Voice of Customer capabilities with advanced analytics, and AI-driven insights. As a VoC software, InMoment is a powerful tool that empowers businesses to capture, analyze, and act upon client feedback effectively. 

Key features & functionalities:

• Predictive analytics: Leverage advanced algorithms to forecast customer behavior and identify emerging trends.
• Sentiment analysis: Use natural language processing to employ sentiment analysis, categorize responses and gain insights into customer emotions and attitudes expressed in their feedback. 
• Closed-loop feedback management: Capture feedback, route it to the relevant teams, and ensure timely resolution. 
• Advanced reporting and analytics: Interpret data effectively with customizable dashboards, real-time reporting, and interactive visualizations.
• Text analytics: Use InMoment’s in-built natural language processing and machine learning techniques to analyze text feedback, such as customer reviews, and extract key themes.
• Customer journey mapping: Visualize the end-to-end experience from the customer’s perspective, identify touchpoints, understand customer interactions,  optimize the experience at each stage. 

User ratings: 4.7 on G2. 

Pricing:

Contact InMoment directly or visit their website to inquire about pricing.

5: NICE Satmetrix

NICE Satmetrix is a Voice of Customer program that focuses on delivering exceptional user experiences through its feedback management and customer journey mapping solutions. 

Key features & functionalities:

• Net Promoter Score (NPS) measurement: NICE Satmetrix specializes in NPS measurement, allowing businesses to assess customer loyalty and advocacy. 
• Real-time alerts: Receive real-time alerts based on predefined triggers or thresholds. Promptly address critical customer issues or opportunities, enabling timely intervention.
• Personalized customer journey mapping: Visualizing touchpoints, interactions, and pain points for customers. Design personalized experiences that align with customer needs and preferences.
• Advanced reporting and analytics: Uncover trends, patterns, and opportunities for improvement with customizable dashboards, real-time reporting, and in-depth analytics. 
• Text analytics: Analyze unstructured feedback data, such as customer comments and reviews. 
• Benchmarking and competitive analysis: NICE Satmetrix provides benchmarking capabilities that allow businesses to compare their performance against industry standards and competitors. 

User ratings: 4.3 on G2. 

Pricing:

Starts at $900 per month for 2,500 active contacts. Get in touch with their team for more details. 

7 Criteria for Evaluating Voice of Customer Programs

When evaluating Voice of Customer programs for your organization, consider the following checklist:

Scalability:

Assess whether the VoC program can accommodate the needs of your organization as it grows. Ensure it can handle increasing feedback volume, and support expanding customer touchpoints.

Integration Capabilities:

Evaluate the program’s ability to seamlessly integrate with your existing systems, such as CRM platforms or customer support tools. This enables a unified view of customer data and makes it easy to add to your existing customer service tools.

Customization Options:

Look for Voice of Customer tools that offer flexibility in survey design. It should allow you to tailor surveys to your specific requirements, incorporate branding elements, and capture relevant data for your organization.

Analytics and Reporting:

Consider the program’s analytics and reporting capabilities, including real-time reporting, data visualization, and the ability to derive actionable insights from customer feedback. This enables data-driven decision-making.

Multi-channel Feedback Collection:

Ensure that the Voice of Customer software supports feedback collection across multiple channels, including email, SMS, web surveys, and social media, This allows you to capture user insights from various touchpoints and adapt to diverse customer preferences.

Sentiment Analysis and Text Analytics:

Look for Voice of Customer tools that offer sentiment analysis and text analytics capabilities to gain deeper insights from unstructured feedback. These features can help identify customer sentiment, key themes, and emerging trends.

Support and Training:

Assess the level of support and training provided by the VoC program provider. Look for comprehensive onboarding, ongoing support, and resources. They will help your organization get the most value out of the program and navigate any challenges that may arise.

Implementing Voice of Customer Programs: The 8 Best Practices

Implementing a Voice of Customer program requires careful planning and execution. Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Set Clear Objectives: Define the objectives of your VoC program. Determine what you aim to achieve through client feedback – such as improving customer satisfaction, identifying areas for product/service enhancement, or enhancing overall CX.
2. Choose the Right VoC Software: Evaluate and select a VoC program that aligns with your objectives, meets your requirements, and offers the desired features and functionalities. Consider the checklist we described above. 
3. Design Effective Surveys: Create clear and concise questions, employ proper question formats, and ensure surveys are user-friendly and accessible across various devices.
4. Collect Customer Feedback: Implement a strategy to collect customer feedback effectively. Utilize multiple channels such as email, SMS, web surveys, or social media to reach your target audience. 
5. Analyze and Interpret Data: Utilize the reporting and analytics features of your VoC program to identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement. Look for key themes, sentiment analysis, and customer segmentation to gain a deep understanding of customer needs.
6. Act on Insights: Take prompt action based on the insights derived from customer feedback. Implement changes, improvements, or enhancements in areas that require attention. Use the feedback loop to communicate with customers, address their concerns, and showcase how their feedback has led to improvements.
7. Monitor Progress and Continuously Improve: Continuously monitor the impact of your actions and track progress towards your objectives. Regularly assess the performance of your VoC program, make adjustments as needed, and seek opportunities to enhance the program over time.
8. Foster a Customer-Centric Culture: Embed a customer-centric mindset across the organization. Ensure that all departments and employees understand the value of customer feedback and actively participate in the Voice of Customer program. 

Wrapping Up

By implementing effective Voice of Customer programs, businesses have the incredible opportunity to tap into valuable customer insights that can truly drive their success. It’s like having a secret key to unlock the door to business growth and customer loyalty. 

Remember, the voice of the customer is not just an advantage, but a pathway to sustainable growth and success in today’s customer-centric landscape. It’s about putting the customer at the center of everything you do, listening to their needs, and making data-driven decisions to enhance their experience. 

Ready to embrace the voice of the customer? Sign up to find out how SurveySparrow can help you succeed.

Parvathi Vijayamohan

Growth Marketer at SurveySparrow

Fledgling growth marketer. Cloud watcher. Aunty to a naughty beagle.