Customers aren't shy about voicing their preferences, frustrations, and ideas. Despite that feedback being one of the most valuable resources at their disposal, a surprising number of companies still overlook it (or fail to use it to its fullest potential).
According to research from TreasureData, 76% of business leaders say they're confident they have a complete understanding of their customers to deliver high-quality, personalized experiences. Only 25% of consumers agree.
But the customer experience is largely the deciding factor in your ability to retain customers and grow your business. More than half of all consumers say they'd switch to a competitor after just one bad one.
The best way to truly align your CX with customer expectations? Listen to the ones actually living it.
This is where a Voice of the Customer strategy comes into play.
What is the Voice of the Customer (VOC)?
The Voice of the Customer (VoC) encompasses everything your customers are saying about your business: what they love, what frustrates them, what they wish you’d change. It's the systematic process of gathering, analyzing, and acting on customer insights to improve their experience and, ultimately, your bottom line.
Think of it like this: If you were running a restaurant, VoC would be more than just reading Yelp reviews. You'd want to know what people are ordering the most, how long they're waiting for their food, what they're expecting, and if they'd recommend your place to others. Then, you'd use that information to improve your menu, service times, and overall dining experience.
Voice of the Customer vs. customer satisfaction
While customer satisfaction is a critical component of Voice of the Customer, it goes far beyond that.
VoC is all about gathering deep, ongoing insights into what customers are thinking, feeling, and expecting from your business. It’s proactive and holistic. You're gathering insights on behavior, pain points, and expectations from multiple sources.
Customer satisfaction is more like a snapshot. It measures how happy customers are at a specific moment (usually after a purchase, interaction, or service experience). Think of metrics like CSAT or NPS (Net Promoter Score). These are reactive, and they’re more focused on evaluating specific touchpoints rather than uncovering broader insights.
While customer satisfaction is an important piece of the puzzle, it’s just that — a piece. VoC gives you the whole puzzle, showing you why customers feel the way they do and how you can create better experiences across the board.
The role of active listening in VoC
Collecting VoC data to tick a box doesn't tell you much about the "why" behind it. Active listening means really tuning in to what your customers are saying (and how they’re saying it).
- Direct conversations with open-ended questions
- Support ticket trends and analysis
- Online reviews and ratings
- Social media mentions
Instead of just looking at the numbers and scores for these things, paying attention to the sentiment and language customers use gives you more context as to the emotions, motivations, and unspoken needs behind their words.
Why VoC matters for your business
The Voice of the Customer is a strategic lever that directly impacts growth and profitability by guiding you toward customer-centric decisions. It allows you to anticipate and address their needs, pain points, and preferences, which ultimately leads to higher satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy.
Driving product development with customer insights
Your customers are the ones who use your products every day. That means they’re the first to spot what works, what doesn’t, and what’s missing. They can point out gaps or suggest features you may not have considered internally.
When customers repeatedly ask for the same thing or struggle with a similar issue, that’s your cue to act. Feeding this insight back into your product roadmap ensures you’re building things people actually want, which eliminates wasted dev time and increases adoption.
Enhancing the customer experience and increasing loyalty
Businesses can't rely solely on product differences to stand out. The real differentiator is the quality of the relationship someone shares with a brand.
This is why nearly three in every four told Salesforce they'd switch to another brand for no reason other than a "better deal," while 88% said good service makes them more likely to purchase again.
VoC helps you identify pain points in the customer journey before they become dealbreakers. Maybe onboarding feels clunky or support takes too long. Whatever it is, when you consistently gather and respond to feedback, you show customers you care.
In turn, you'll have better retention, more referrals, and relationships that are harder to break.
Improving sales and marketing effectiveness
If you understand how your customers talk about your product and what truly matters to them, it's easy to mirror that in your messaging. That means clearer value props, better positioning, and more compelling campaigns.
Use VoC insights to refine your copy, identify high-converting language, and pinpoint the actual problems your product solves from the customer’s point of view. Sales teams can also use this intelligence to handle objections more confidently and tailor pitches more effectively.
With Deeto, the VoC data you collect can even be turned into social proof, which you can dynamically display on your website to increase web conversions.
Identifying opportunities for sales and product innovation
Sometimes, your customers will reveal use cases or needs you didn’t realize your product could solve. These are golden opportunities — not just for new features, but possibly new offerings, markets, and competitive positioning.
In your VoC data, look for those outlier comments or recurring “It would be great if…” moments. Those point to areas where you can create add-ons, premium tiers, cross-sells, or spin-off solutions that align with your customers’ evolving needs.
Reducing churn through proactive engagement
By the time a customer cancels, it’s usually too late. But if you’re listening closely, the warning signs are there.
- Frustration
- Complaints
- Waning engagement levels
VoC helps you address those red flags early. Maybe it’s a check-in call, a targeted email, or a product tutorial. Whatever it is, proactive engagement helps them get value out of their relationship with your product.
Building a robust VoC program
To lay the groundwork for a successful strategy, there are four important steps you need to take when setting up your VoC program:
1. Set clear objectives and goals for your VoC program.
You need to know what you’re listening for. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a bunch of data and no clear direction. Goals give your VoC program purpose.
Start by asking: What are we trying to improve? Are you trying to reduce churn? Improve a product feature? Nail your brand messaging?
Once you have clarity, define measurable goals (like improving CSAT by 10% or increasing trial-to-paid conversion). These goals guide everything else, from what questions you ask to which channels you focus on.
2. Identify your key customer segments and personas.
Not all feedback carries the same weight, and different customers have different needs. To understand who you’re hearing from and make sure you’re acting on insights that actually matter to your business strategy, your second step is to segment your audience.
- New users vs. loyal customers
- High-LTV clients vs. casual users
- Enterprise vs. SMB users
- At-risk vs. happy customers
- One use case or product tier vs. another
Build personas that reflect these groups and their goals. Then tailor your questions and analysis accordingly. That way, you avoid treating all feedback as one-size-fits-all and start making decisions that are laser-focused on specific customer groups.
3. Pick the right data collection methods.
You need both the right channels and the right timing to get meaningful, actionable feedback. If you’re only using surveys, you’re missing the bigger picture.
The best approach is to mix methods:
- In-app surveys
- Post-support feedback
- Social listening
- NPS
- Review scraping
- One-on-one interviews
You’ll want a blend of quantitative data (scores, trends) and qualitative insights (comments, conversations). Together, they give you both the “what” and the “why.”
4. Establish a centralized system for data collection and analysis.
Data spread across tools and teams is noise. You need one source of truth that turns scattered input into clear insights.
Use a centralized platform for capturing customer knowledge and feedback (like Deeto), or a CRM-integrated solution that pulls in feedback from all your channels. Tag and categorize data, then analyze it on a regular basis to find trends, flag issues early, and continuously refine based on what customers are telling you.
5 ways to gather meaningful Voice of the Customer insights
Like I mentioned, tapping into the Voice of the Customer requires a healthy mix of quantitative and qualitative data from a variety of sources.
Broadly speaking, there are five categories of customer feedback to use:
1. Surveys and questionnaires
These are your workhorses. They’re scalable, structured, and perfect for capturing specific feedback at key moments (like post-purchase or post-support interactions).
Ideally, keep them short and focused. Ask both quantitative questions (“On a scale of 1–10…”) and open-ended ones (“What could we have done better?”).
Tools like Typeform, Google Forms, or SurveyMonkey make it easy.
Pro tip: Personalize surveys based on customer segment or journey stage to keep things relevant.
2. Interviews and focus groups
This is where you go deeper.
Interviews let you explore emotions, behaviors, and underlying motivations you won’t uncover in a form. To avoid bias, start by choosing a diverse sample of customers and create a relaxed environment where they can be candid. Ask open-ended questions and actively listen.
Focus groups are great for getting multiple perspectives at once and watching how ideas bounce around. They're gold for product development, UX research, and branding insights.
3. Social media listening
Social platforms are an unfiltered feedback channel; people say what they really think about your brand and product, in real time.
Use tools like Brandwatch, Hootsuite, or Sprout Social to monitor brand mentions, hashtags, and sentiment. Pay attention to trends, complaints, praise, and what they're saying about competitors.
4. Customer reviews and ratings
Reviews are unsolicited, brutally honest, and loaded with insights about what people value most. They also highlight emotional drivers that formal feedback might miss. Track your reviews on platforms like Google, G2, Yelp, or whichever platforms are relevant to your industry.
Look for patterns in language, tone, and specific features being mentioned. High ratings tell you what to double down on. Low ones? They’re a free roadmap for improvement.
5. Feedback and support channels
People usually reach out when they’re stuck, confused, or frustrated. So, your support inbox shows you in real time where your points of friction are.
Analyze tickets, chat logs, call transcripts, and feedback forms. Tag and categorize issues by type, frequency, and sentiment. Better yet, loop your support team into the VoC process, since they’re on the front lines and know what’s bothering customers through first-hand experience.
KPIs and metrics for measuring VoC success
Tracking the right KPIs helps you connect feedback to action and measure whether your efforts are actually making a tangible impact.
Here are seven key metrics you’ll want to keep an eye on:
- Net Promoter Score (NPS): Measures how likely customers are to recommend your product or service to others on a scale from 1 to 10, on average. It’s a great proxy for loyalty and long-term satisfaction.
- Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): A direct measurement of how happy customers are after a specific interaction (usually on a scale from 1 to 5). It gives you quick, actionable feedback on specific touchpoints (e.g., post-support).
- Customer Effort Score (CES): Measures how easy it was for a customer to complete a task or resolve an issue. Lower effort correlates with higher satisfaction and loyalty.
- Feedback volume and response rates: High volume and engagement usually indicate your VoC program is well-tuned and that customers want to share their thoughts.
- Sentiment analysis scores: Sentiment trends help you track emotional shifts — whether users feel more confident, frustrated, engaged over time.
- Churn and retention rates: The percentage of customers who stop doing business with you vs. those who stay. If your retention improves as you implement VoC-driven changes, you’re on the right track.
- Product/service improvement rates: Internal tracking of issues resolved, features added, or experience upgrades directly linked to customer feedback (a.k.a. your VoC wins in action).
Developing your Voice of the Customer strategy
Your VoC strategy is where the rubber meets the road. To create a structured, repeatable process that ties customer feedback directly to business outcomes, there are five key steps to follow:
1. Align VoC with your business goals.
Start by identifying your core strategic objectives. Are you trying to break into a new market? Reduce churn? Improve onboarding?
Once you’ve nailed those down, Deeto simplifies feedback collection by allowing your customers to share it directly. When you invite them to the platform, they instantly become part of your knowledge base.
2. Prioritize customer feedback based on impact.
Not all feedback carries equal weight. Feedback from a high-LTV or long-time customer might reveal deeper loyalty drivers or critical gaps, especially if they're aligned with your ICP. Segment insights so you’re not optimizing for edge cases or low-impact voices.
Also pay close attention to patterns. If 20% of your customers flag the same issue, that’s probably a high-impact opportunity.
3. Turn feedback into actionable insights and recommendations.
Analyze the data to uncover trends, root causes, and opportunities. Group comments by themes (e.g. pricing, usability, support) and tie them back to your goals. Then create clear, specific recommendations your team can act on — for example, “redesign the signup flow to reduce confusion” instead of “people are getting stuck.”
4. Implement changes based on those insights.
Work with Product, Marketing, Support, and Ops teams to turn insights into roadmap items, experiments, or process improvements. Set timelines, assign ownership, and track progress for each.
Small changes (like updating onboarding emails) can be quick wins, while larger changes (like building a new feature) need more planning, but both matter.
5. Close the feedback loop.
In VoC, active listening also means you respond. You acknowledge the feedback, you act on it, then you let customers know you've implemented a solution. One way to do this is to send an email saying “You asked, we listened," highlighting what’s new and thanking them for their input.
With Deeto, knowing who is responsible for which feedback is easy because everything is tagged by name and segment. It also integrates with your CRM, so you can reach out directly to the customers who gave feedback without having to manually search for their contact information.
Voice of the Customer best practices to maximize impact and efficiency
Timing, application, and analysis make the difference between “meh” insights and truly actionable ones. To implement the steps I've mentioned above, there are a few important best practices to keep in mind:
- Ask the right questions at the right time. Don’t just ask what customers think, ask why. And don’t wait until the end of their journey. Trigger quick, relevant feedback at key touchpoints (like during onboarding, after purchase, or post-support).
- Watch what customers do, not just what they say. Abandoned carts, feature usage patterns, churn points—these are all forms of feedback. Layering behavioral data with traditional feedback gives you a way more complete picture.
- Keep a VoC backlog. If you collect customer knowledge with Deeto, you can log it, prioritize it, and revisit it regularly to create a clear path for future improvements.
- Build a “feedback taxonomy.” Create categories or tags for feedback types (e.g., pricing, UX, onboarding, support). This way, it's easier to spot patterns, share insights internally, and track improvement over time.
- Use VoC insights to drive sales. Use Deeto to incorporate positive feedback throughout the sales cycle and build credibility with your potential customers. And build a customer advocacy program starting with your biggest promoters.
Common VoC challenges and solutions
Even with those best practices, you'll probably run into four main issues when you're implementing and scaling your VoC program:
- Low response rates
- Large volumes of unstructured data
- Feedback response times
- Personalization and targeting
Let's take a closer look at some possible solutions to these issues:
Dealing with low response rates
One of the biggest challenges for VoC programs is getting enough responses to make the data statistically significant.
Increase your response rates:
- Keep things short and focused (2–3 questions max for quick touchpoints).
- Use in-context surveys (like in-app prompts or post-purchase pop-ups).
- Offer a small incentive.
- Let people know their feedback actually leads to change.
A platform like Deeto makes things easier because customers leave their knowledge and insights directly within the app, and it's as easy as making an Instagram post.
Analyzing large volumes of unstructured data
Open-ended feedback, reviews, and support tickets pile up fast—and it’s hard to make sense of them manually.
The solution here is to use AI-powered text analytics or sentiment analysis tools, which can help you categorize, tag, and analyze the feedback at scale. Build a tagging system or feedback taxonomy to organize themes, then routinely extract the top 3–5 insights per channel to stay focused.
Acting on feedback quickly enough
When internal processes move slow, the insights customers give you lose momentum.
To fix this, assign VoC "owners" in each department who can triage and route feedback for particular categories. For instance, at-risk customers can be routed to Customer Success while major bug reports can go to your Product team.
Personalization and hyper-targeting using VoC data
Maybe you collect great insights but struggle to apply them to personalized marketing, onboarding, or product experiences.
If you tie VoC data to your CRM or customer profiles, you can use the feedback to build smart segments (e.g., “frustrated new users,” “loyal customers who want X feature”). From there, customize content, offers, or product flows based on that segmentation.
You can use Deeto's AI-powered segmentation tools to curate and suggest the most valuable content for each specific use case or customer interaction.
Deeto connects the Voice of the Customer to ongoing advocacy and retention efforts.
It's more than just a platform you can use to collect, centralize, and track VoC insights. It's an end-to-end customer marketing platform, meaning you can take different kinds of feedback from different kinds of customers and apply them to different areas of your business.
Customers choose how they want to contribute, so there's no "right" or "wrong" way to provide feedback. This makes it easier for you to get more insights from a wider variety of customers.
And our AI-powered tools make it easy to segment and track different types of feedback, create usable content (e.g., case studies), and connect customers with prospects in your pipeline based on their knowledge and first-hand experiences.
Request a demo to see how it works.
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