New Temkin Group Research Study Shows Companies Increase Spending on Voice of the Customer Programs
Study of 200+ Large Companies Shows That Analytics Are Become More Important
WABAN, Mass., Oct. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Temkin Group released a new research report, State of Voice of the Customer Programs, 2014. The research examines more than 200 large companies that have formal voice of the customer (VoC) programs and compares results to similar studies from 2011, 2012 and 2013.
For the third straight year, Temkin Group found that an overwhelming number of companies report that VoC programs deliver positive business results. Only 5% of large companies that were surveyed reported poor results from their VoC programs.
The positive results are fueling an increase in focus on VoC. Across all areas examined in the study, more companies plan to increase than decrease their investments. The most spending momentum is with text analytics and software for collecting and distributing customer feedback (what Temkin Group calls Customer Insight and Action (CIA) Platforms). In both of these areas, more than 45% of firms plan to increase spending, while less that 5% are planning a decrease.
The research shows that despite the results and spending on VoC programs, companies are still struggling with a key aspect of these efforts: taking action based on what they find. Less than one-third of companies rate their efforts as good or very good when it comes to "making changes to the business based on insights" and "reviewing implications that cut across organizations."
"Customer feedback on its own is useless, but taking action based on what you learn is priceless," states Bruce Temkin, Managing Partner of Temkin Group. "Most companies are only scratching the surface on the potential value of these efforts. Future VoC efforts will look completely different than they do today."
The study also reveals a significant change coming in the VoC feedback channels that companies rely upon. Over the next three years, the dependence on multiple-choice survey questions will be usurped by other mechanisms including predictive analytics, customer interaction history, and open-ended verbatims from customers.
Temkin Group's research has shown that VoC programs evolve through five levels of maturity, moving from "Novices" through to "Transformers." Only 11% of firms have reached one of the two highest levels of maturity in this year's study.
Companies with more mature VoC programs have better overall business results, are much more active with analytics and mobile, and have more significantly more VoC efforts and dedicated staff members.
This research report can be accessed from the blog, Customer Experience Matters, at ExperienceMatters.wordpress.com or at the Temkin Group's website, www.TemkinGroup.com.
For more information about Temkin Group, visit www.TemkinGroup.com.
About Temkin Group: Temkin Group is widely recognized as a leading customer experience research and consulting firm. Many of the world's largest brands rely on its insights and advice to steer their transformational journeys. Temkin Group combines customer experience thought leadership with a deep understanding of the dynamics of organizations to help accelerate results. Rather than layering on cosmetic changes, Temkin Group helps companies embed practices within their culture by building four critical competencies: Purposeful Leadership, Employee Engagement, Compelling Brand Values, and Customer Connectedness. The firm's ongoing research identifies leading and emerging best practices across a wide range of activities for engaging the hearts and minds of customers, employees, and partners. Temkin Group also publishes Temkin Ratings (www.TemkinRatings.com), an annual evaluation of companies based on consumer feedback. For more information, contact Bruce Temkin at 617-916-2075 or send an email.
About Bruce Temkin: Bruce Temkin is widely recognized as a customer experience thought leader and is Customer Experience Transformist and Managing Partner of Temkin Group. He is also the co-founder and Chair of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA.org), a global non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of customer experience management. Bruce is also the author of a very popular blog, Customer Experience Matters®. Prior to forming Temkin Group, he was a Vice President at Forrester Research for 12 years where he ran the customer experience, eBusiness, financial services, and B2B sectors and was the most-read analyst for 13 consecutive quarters.
Customer experience matters is a registered trademark of Temkin Group.
SOURCE Temkin Group
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