Voice of the Customer tools are essential for businesses looking to understand customers’ thoughts and adjust their products and services accordingly. These tools act as communication platforms, effectively expressing customers’ feelings, choices, and brand expectations.
By using Voice of the Customer tools well, businesses can find areas to improve, add new product features, and boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.
In this blog, we will explore top Voice of the Customer tools and how you can choose the right solutions for your business.
What is the Voice of the Customer?
Voice of the Customer (VoC) involves gathering customer insights about their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with your products and services. It is a widely used term in market research. VoC represents how customers feel about your brand when they interact with it, whether buying something or using your services.
The Voice of the Customer platform primarily identifies customer needs and expectations from your brand. It is a robust communication channel for customers to express if they believe your product requires enhancements.
90% of businesses use customer feedback to stay competitive, emphasizing the importance of staying relevant. Today, companies and their leaders prioritize a customer-focused approach for growth and success. Their goal is to become industry leaders by providing excellent experiences and adapting to their customers’ evolving needs.
Embracing a customer-centric approach, investing in effective tools to understand customer feedback, and continually enhancing the overall customer experience are crucial actions for staying competitive in the business world.
If you want to learn more about it, explore the recently published blog of QuestionPro regarding Voice of the Customer.
Importance of Understanding the Voice of the Customer
Understanding the Voice of your customers is essential for success in today’s business world. It allows you to customize your approach, adjust your communication style, and create more engaging customer experiences, ultimately leading to improved satisfaction and better business results.
Here’s why it’s crucial:
- Reduced Risk of Failure: Understanding your customers’ preferences and needs significantly decreases the risk of failure. Customers are more likely to buy what they actually need, not just what you want them to buy.
- Targeted Efforts: Understanding the voice of the customer allows you to direct your efforts effectively. You can tailor your products, services, and marketing strategies to meet those needs precisely by knowing their needs.
- Language Alignment: Adjusting your language to connect with your target customers improves communication and engagement. This ensures that your messages connect with your audience, leading to better relationships and higher conversion rates.
- Improved Customer Communication: Understanding the voice of the customer enables your sales agents to communicate more effectively. They can address customer concerns, provide relevant solutions, and build stronger relationships.
- Optimized Content: By understanding your customers’ preferences, you can create more relevant and engaging content for your website and digital channels. This improves user experience and increases the likelihood of conversion.
- Improved Marketing Materials: You can use the insights from the customer feedback to refine and optimize your marketing materials. When your messages match what customers want, you can create ads and promotions that really connect with your target group.
What Are Voice of the Customer Tools?
Voice of the Customer tools are powerful resources for businesses seeking to enhance their customer experience by capturing and analyzing feedback. These tools offer versatility, enabling companies to engage with customers across various channels, including both online and offline platforms.
Whether customers prefer to provide feedback through digital channels like email, SMS, websites, mobile apps, or traditional offline touchpoints like kiosk booths and tablets, Voice of the Customer tools facilitate seamless communication and customer data collection.
VoC tools help businesses gain valuable customer insights no matter where they are, giving a complete understanding of their likes, needs, and challenges. This information is crucial for making ongoing improvements, ensuring outstanding customer experiences, and building lasting loyalty.
Top 15 Voice of the Customer Tools
Retaining a customer is much more valuable than getting a new one. Here are 15 Voice of the Customer tools to help you understand what your customers say.
01. Surveys
Surveys are the versatile Voice of the Customer tools used to capture valuable customer feedback, whether online or offline. You can utilize pre-designed templates or create customized questionnaires tailored to your specific needs.
- You can use different distribution channels such as email, web, or mobile apps to conduct surveys.
- Surveys allow you to collect both quantitative and qualitative data.
- Survey responses provide valuable insights into customer preferences, opinions, and satisfaction levels.
- Analyzing survey results helps identify trends, strengths, and areas for improvement in your products or services.
02. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
NPS measures how satisfied customers are and how likely they are to recommend your brand. It involves a simple survey with one main question and a chance for customers to provide additional feedback.
- NPS surveys are short and simple for customers to complete, leading to high response rates.
- The NPS scale categorizes respondents into promoters, passives, and detractors, allowing segmentation and targeted actions.
- Monitoring NPS over time helps evaluate changes in customer feelings and the effectiveness of improvement efforts.
03. Feedback Forms
Feedback forms provide customers with a comprehensive platform to share their opinions and experiences with your brand. These forms can address various subjects and are generally more detailed than NPS surveys.
- Online feedback forms often include fields for customers to provide specific comments or suggestions.
- These forms can be put on websites, sent in emails, or shared on other online platforms.
- Feedback forms allow for in-depth insights into customer preferences, pain points, and expectations.
04. Satisfaction Surveys
Satisfaction surveys are designed to find out if customers are happy with what you offer. These surveys usually have a combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions to collect both quantitative and qualitative feedback.
- Satisfaction surveys measure customers’ feelings about product quality, service, and prices.
- Looking at satisfaction survey results can show connections between how satisfied customers are and what they do, like buying again or recommending to others.
- Regularly conducting satisfaction surveys helps companies see how they’re doing over time and determine what to focus on to get better, using customer feedback.
05. Customer Effort Score (CES) Surveys
Participants provide feedback by rating their experience on a scale that ranges from “very difficult” to “very easy.”
- CES surveys are great for finding problems in the customer journey and making processes smoother for better convenience.
- They provide actionable insights into areas where making things easier for customers can make them more satisfied and loyal.
- CES scores work well with other metrics like NPS and satisfaction scores, giving a complete picture of the overall customer experience.
06. Social Networks
Social media platforms are crucial channels for collecting important customer feedback. They offer valuable insights into customer expectations, issues, and overall feelings. This makes them essential for ensuring high customer satisfaction and retaining customers.
- Monitoring social media channels helps businesses quickly handle customer issues and have meaningful talks.
- Social networks make it easy for businesses to directly connect with customers, creating a sense of community and brand loyalty.
- Checking social media comments can reveal new trends, helping businesses adjust their strategies as needed.
07. Live Chats
The live chat feature on websites helps businesses get instant feedback from visitors. These conversations give quick insights into problems with website navigation, the quality of support, and other aspects of the customer experience. This helps solve issues promptly and enhances overall satisfaction.
- Chatting live is an easy way for customers to voice their concerns or ask questions.
- Businesses can use chat transcripts to identify common issues and areas for improvement.
- Integrating AI-powered chatbots can make customer support more efficient and scalable while still providing personalized customer support.
08. Customer Interviews
Customer interviews can help you deeply understand their perspectives, preferences, and experiences. These valuable insights provide a detailed understanding of what customers want and why, guiding important decisions and product development efforts.
- Interviewing customers helps businesses get detailed feedback about specific products, services, or experiences.
- Asking open-ended questions encourages customers to share honest feedback and suggestions for improvement.
- Conducting interviews at different customer journey stages provides valuable insights into changing needs and expectations.
09. Focus Groups
Focus groups are gatherings where a specific set of customers share their thoughts on products, services, or brand experiences. Apart from what they say, you also pay attention to their facial expressions, body language, and emotions to better understand how they feel about things.
- Focus groups facilitate in-depth discussions and idea generation among participants.
- When people are in a group, they can discover common problems or likes that might not come up in one-on-one interviews.
- Careful moderation ensures everyone can share their thoughts and that insights are accurately captured and analyzed.
10. Web Interception Surveys
Web interception surveys capture information from website visitors about their intentions, satisfaction, and how easy it is for them to use the site. These customer satisfaction surveys collect feedback in real-time, providing valuable customer insights for businesses to improve their website and enhance the overall online customer experience.
- Surveys can be sent when users do certain things, like spending time on a page or trying to leave.
- Web interception surveys can be done without bothering users so that they can give feedback easily.
- Analyzing survey responses provides actionable insights for improving website design, content, and functionality.
11. Emails
Email surveys are convenient and flexible for gathering customer feedback, especially when focusing on smaller groups. With respondents able to share their opinions at their own pace, email surveys can provide valuable insights into customer satisfaction and preferences.
- Personalized email surveys can enhance response rates and engagement by addressing the recipient’s name and tailoring questions to their interests.
- Automated email systems simplify the survey distribution process and allow timely follow-ups with non-responders.
- Email survey data can be integrated with other customer data sources to view the customer experience comprehensively.
12. Customer Reviews and Ratings
Customer reviews and ratings provide direct feedback from users about their experiences with products or services. These reviews can be found on e-commerce platforms, review sites, and social media, providing valuable insights into product satisfaction, usability, and overall customer sentiment.
- Reviews and ratings influence purchasing decisions and can significantly impact brand reputation and credibility.
- Businesses can monitor and respond to customer reviews to acknowledge positive feedback, address concerns, and demonstrate commitment to customer satisfaction.
- Analyzing review sentiment and trends helps identify recurring issues, areas for improvement, and opportunities to enhance the customer experience.
13. Text and Sentiment Analysis
Analyzing customer feedback is made easier with text and sentiment analysis tools. These tools examine input from sources like customer surveys, social media, and online reviews to extract valuable insights.
- Natural language processing algorithms identify key themes, sentiment polarity, and emotional tone within customer feedback.
- Sentiment analysis categorizes feedback into positive, negative, or neutral sentiments, quantitatively measuring customer satisfaction.
- Text analysis tools can uncover underlying reasons behind customer sentiment, enabling targeted actions to address issues and enhance the overall customer experience.
14. Customer Journey Mapping
Customer journey mapping visualizes the end-to-end customer experience across multiple touchpoints, from initial awareness to post-purchase support. When businesses map out how customers interact and pinpoint areas of difficulty, they get a complete view of the customer journey.
- Customer journey maps outline the sequence of touchpoints and customer actions at each journey stage.
- Mapping customer emotions, motivations, and pain points helps businesses empathize with their customers and design more personalized experiences.
- Customer journey mapping fosters cross-functional collaboration by aligning teams around a shared understanding of the customer experience and common goals for improvement.
15. In-App Feedback and Ratings
In-app feedback and rating systems let users give their opinions straight in a mobile or web app, making it easy and smooth to share feedback. This helps businesses quickly understand what users like and don’t like so they can improve features, fix problems quickly, and make users happier.
- You can cleverly put feedback requests inside the app to engage users more.
- What users rate and say about the app helps others decide if it’s good and easy to use.
- By using feedback data from the app, businesses can focus on improving features and fixing problems that users mention or feel strongly about.
Top 15 Voice of the Customer Software of 2024
Here are 15 Voice of Customer software options in 2024 to assist you in utilizing the Voice of the Customer tools and help you understand what your customers say.
01. QuestionPro
QuestionPro is a versatile Voice of the Customer software that helps businesses collect valuable insights from their customers. It provides a range of features to make collecting, analyzing, and reporting feedback more efficient.
Organizations can create custom surveys, collect feedback through various channels, analyze responses in real-time, and generate insightful reports to drive data-driven decision-making with Questionpro.
Best Features:
- Survey Creation: QuestionPro enables users to design and customize surveys with various question types and templates according to their specific needs.
- Multi-Channel Feedback: You can collect feedback through different channels like web, email, mobile, social media, and SMS.
- Multilingual Support: QuestionPro enables businesses to collect customer feedback in their preferred language.
- In-depth Customer Segmentation: QuestionPro allows in-depth customer segmentation based on demographics, customer behavior, and preferences.
- Real-time Analytics: QuestionPro allows real-time Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), and Customer Effort Score (CES) monitoring to measure customer sentiment.
- Text and Sentiment Analysis: The platform includes text and sentiment analysis capabilities to extract valuable insights from open-ended feedback. You can identify trends, sentiments, and recurring themes to understand customer perceptions better.
- Customer Journey Mapping: QuestionPro offers tools for customer journey mapping, allowing businesses to visualize and analyze the end-to-end customer experience.
- Advanced Reporting: QuestionPro provides strong reporting tools to effectively visualize and interpret survey data with customizable dashboards, charts, and graphs.
- Integration Options: You can seamlessly integrate with CRM, helpdesk, and marketing automation platforms.
Pricing: QuestionPro offers a range of pricing plans to accommodate businesses of all sizes, starting from $99 per user per month for basic features, with custom pricing available for enterprise-level solutions. Additionally, the platform offers a free trial for users to explore its features before making a commitment.
02. Forsta
Forsta is a versatile VoC software with flexible survey creation and deployment features. It allows businesses to collect customer feedback from various sources and offers advanced analytics to better understand customer data.
Best Features:
- Customizable survey templates
- Multilingual support
- Text and sentiment analysis
- Real-time dashboards and reporting
Price: Available upon request.
03. Qualaroo
Qualaroo focuses on collecting feedback and engaging with customers in real-time. It provides specific surveys and polls designed to gather insights during crucial customer journeys, assisting businesses in making well-informed decisions.
Best Features:
- Behavior-based survey triggers
- In-depth customer segmentation
- Interactive feedback widgets
- Integration with popular CRM and marketing tools
Price: Plans start at $20 per month.
04. Qualtrics XM
Qualtrics is a top-notch Voice of the Customer platform that offers complete solutions for managing customer experiences. It includes advanced survey creation features, predictive analytics, and planning actions to help businesses grow.
Best Features:
- Omnichannel feedback collection
- Predictive analytics for trend forecasting
- Automated action planning
- AI-powered sentiment analysis
Price: Available upon request.
05. SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey is well-known for its easy-to-use tools for creating surveys and its extensive collection of questions. This software enables businesses to easily design, distribute, and analyze surveys.
Best Features:
- Pre-built survey templates
- Real-time survey results
- Collaboration features for team members
- Integration with third-party apps and services
Price: Plans start at $25 per month.
06. NiceReply
NiceReply is dedicated to measuring customer satisfaction and managing feedback. It allows businesses to gather customer feedback through different channels and analyze sentiments to enhance the quality of their services.
Best Features:
- Net Promoter Score (NPS) tracking
- Automated feedback collection
- Customer sentiment analysis
- Integration with helpdesk software
Price: Plans start at $60 per month.
07. Medallia
Medallia is a high-quality Voice of the Customer platform designed for businesses. It helps manage customer experiences effectively by gathering feedback from various channels, analyzing the data, and offering valuable insights to enhance business performance.
Best Features:
- Multi-Channel feedback collection
- Advanced analytics and reporting
- Integration with CRM and other business systems
- Real-time customer journey mapping
Price: Available upon request.
08. SurveySparrow
SurveySparrow is known for its conversational surveys and engaging feedback collection methods. It offers interactive survey templates, real-time reporting, and automation features to streamline feedback management processes.
Best Features:
- Conversational survey design
- Multi-device compatibility
- Automated survey scheduling
- Integration with third-party apps
Price: Plans start at $19 per month.
09. SentiSum
SentiSum is a Voice of Customer software that uses artificial intelligence to analyze customer sentiments and automate feedback. It assists businesses in comprehending customer emotions and preferences, enabling the delivery of personalized experiences.
Best Features:
- Natural language processing (NLP)
- Sentiment tagging and categorization
- Automated feedback prioritization
- Integration with helpdesk and CRM systems
Price: Available upon request.
10. AskNicely
AskNicely focuses on collecting customer feedback in real-time and monitoring performance. It provides the Voice of the Customer tools for tracking Net Promoter Score (NPS), distributing surveys automatically, and generating useful insights to support ongoing enhancements.
Best Features:
- Real-time NPS tracking
- Personalized feedback alerts
- Performance benchmarking
- Integration with CRM platforms
Price: Available upon request.
11. Zonka Feedback
Zonka Feedback lets you create and distribute surveys through multiple channels, including online, in-app, email, and SMS, to collect valuable insights into customer sentiment and satisfaction levels.
Best Features:
- Omnichannel survey collection
- NPS and CES measurement
- Real-time alerts
- Advanced analytics
- Integration with CRM and helpdesk platforms
Price: Plans start at $49 per month.
12. OpinionLab by Verint
OpinionLab provides a complete Voice of Customer solution. It helps to understand customer feelings, recognize patterns, and determine which areas need attention for enhancement.
Best Features:
- Real-time listening
- Multi-channel feedback collection
- Sentiment analysis
- Advanced reporting and analytics
Price: Available upon request.
13. GetFeedback
GetFeedback is a flexible platform for gathering customer feedback and conducting NPS surveys. It enables businesses to easily create and oversee various feedback campaigns, initiate surveys based on events in CRM systems, and produce reports with valuable data for practical insights.
Best Features:
- Customizable survey creation
- CRM integration
- Real-time reporting
- Data-rich analytics
Price: Available upon request.
14. Typeform
Typeform offers an easy-to-use feedback widget and survey forms platform. It enables businesses to effortlessly gather feedback from customers. Its main features include creating customized surveys, embedding them on websites, using pop-ups or feedback buttons, and accessing reports, analytics, and API integrations.
Best Features:
- Customizable survey creation
- Embeddable surveys
- Accessible reports and analytics
- API-based integrations
- Affordable pricing options
Price: Plans start at $25 per month.
15. Mopinion
Mopinion is a customer feedback platform that specializes in collecting real-time opinions from various digital channels and in-store and call center settings. It is designed for both large enterprises and small businesses to enhance the overall value of customer relationships over time.
Best Features:
- Feedback across all channels
- Real-time reporting and analytics
- Text and sentiment analysis
- Wide variety of integrations
Price: Plans start at $259 per month.
Check out our latest blog at QuestionPro to learn about Customer Loyalty Software. It could change how you keep your customers coming back!
Examples of Voice of Customer
Here are two examples that show how companies use Voice of Customer tools to improve their services and increase customer satisfaction:
Example 1: Airline Company Enhancing Service Quality
An airline recognizes how important it is to make customers happy to stay competitive. So, they’ve set up a voice-of-the-customer program to collect feedback across various service touchpoints.
They ask passengers about their experience with things like entertainment, comfort, and food, and the crew uses the Voice of the Customer tools to quickly figure out what needs fixing and make changes right away.
By prioritizing customer satisfaction and promptly addressing concerns, the airline enhances its overall service quality, fostering loyalty and retention.
Example 2: SaaS Company Improving User Experience
A SaaS company knows that providing great user experiences is crucial for success in a competitive market. They use the Voice of the Customer tool to hear from users and learn about their preferences and behaviors.
By using in-app surveys and studying usage data, the company identifies key areas where it can make things better to improve the user experience.
They focus on user feedback and make small improvements to ensure their products meet customer expectations. This proactive approach drives user satisfaction and makes the company stronger in the market.
Choosing the Right Voice of the Customer Solutions
Voice of the Customer tools are essential for organizations looking to improve the customer experience. These tools help companies collect and analyze feedback effectively, providing valuable insights into customer preferences and behaviors. Businesses can proactively address concerns, improve customer satisfaction, and build customer loyalty using data-driven insights.
When selecting a Voice of the Customer (VoC) tool, consider these key factors:
- Objectives and Use Cases: Define your goals and the insights you need, such as customer satisfaction or product feedback.
- Feedback Channels: Choose a tool that supports all relevant channels, like surveys, social media monitoring, and text analytics.
- Scalability and Integration: Ensure the tool can scale with your business and integrate seamlessly with existing systems like CRM platforms.
- Analytics and Reporting: Look for advanced analytics features for sentiment analysis, trend identification, and visualization.
- Ease of Use: Opt for an intuitive interface and straightforward setup process for efficient use by your team.
- Text Analytics Approach: Prefer tools that employ aspect-based sentiment analysis for nuanced insights from VoC data.
- Security and Compliance: Verify that the tool meets enterprise-level security standards and regulatory compliance requirements.
By considering these factors, you can select a VoC tool that aligns with your needs, streamlines feedback management, and enables actionable insights to enhance the customer experience.
Conclusion
Voice of the Customer tools have unique features designed for different business needs. It’s crucial to choose a tool that matches your specific requirements. Whether you run a small or large business, using VoC tools can bring valuable benefits by enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. It ultimately positively impacts your overall business performance.
QuestionPro is one of the best Voice of the Customer tools. VoC surveys are essential for refining customer initiatives and enhancing overall customer experience and satisfaction. QuestionPro offers a range of sample VoC survey templates and questionnaires designed to leverage customer feedback effectively.
Use these templates to understand customer concerns, opinions, and preferences to improve products and services. QuestionPro CX offers top VOC survey templates for CES, NPS, CSAT, and Loyalty Score. These expert-designed questions let customers provide feedback, identify areas for improvement, and inspire new product ideas.
Explore the range of tools we offer to effectively implement your Voice of Customer program within your company. With QuestionPro, you can access comprehensive solutions designed to capture and analyze customer feedback.
Request a demo today and discover the full functionality of our survey software to enhance your understanding of the Voice of the customer and drive improvements in your business operations.