VOC: Discovering the precious artifacts of customer experience

By Rachael Harper, Research Manager –

It wasn’t luck, well-honed excavation skills, or some new technology that allowed archaeologists to discover a treasure trove of ancient Maya relics, last year.

It was word-of-mouth that led experts to the find, which had been hidden deep inside a cave below the famous Chichen Itza ruins in Mexico for more than 1,000 years.

Many excavations had occurred at the well-known site in recent decades. Archaeologists ultimately credited the new discovery to conversations with local inhabitants whose knowledge and history of this ancient site gave explorers a better understanding of what they might find and, more importantly, where to look.

Utilities connect with their own “locals” to gain insight into the customer experience through focus groups, textual analysis and surveys, among other methods of collecting customer feedback.

Utilizing Voice of the Customer (VoC) feedback is imperative to discovering insights and relieving pain points in the customer journey. It is only when we direct our attention to those who use our product day in and day out, that we can assess what works and what needs improvement.

This requires collaboration between many internal departments to guide initiatives and leveraging customer feedback to reinforce that your solutions are meeting customer’s needs. Thankfully we live in an age where technology can do much of the heavy lifting for us, freeing up our time to really connect with the locals (customers), dig in to discover insights and acquire the knowledge needed to create a guide for improving the customer journey and elevating the customer experience.

Utilities tend to have a diverse customer base, requiring tremendous effort to meet a wide variety of needs. However, it is only when we listen to the locals (customers), that we can gain insight into their experience, sentiment and behavior. When we truly listen and understand customer needs, we can begin using their knowledge to assess areas of improvement and home in on pain points and inefficiencies that have possibly been overlooked.

By understanding the locals’ history, listening to their voices and uncovering significant artifacts, we can continue our quest to a delightful customer experience.

If you are interested in learning about Chartwell Premier membership, please contact Tim Herrick, Chartwell’s Director of Sales and Member Services.