What is Expectations VoC? Expectations VoC is qualitative research focused on customers’ ultimate reason for wanting the type of solution they get from you. Next, it’s the reason they want it specifically from your brand.

  1. You can discover expectations by listening or reading. Pay attention to customers’ emotions rising: what makes them pleased, concerned, or frustrated?
     
  2. Start with almost-free VoC, such as Customer Service transcripts. In fact, whatever type of CX work you’re doing, you may be collecting almost-free VoC. Capture it for many uses that I’ll point out in this 101 Ways series.
     
  3. Focus first on your top-growth customers (similar to high-potential employees). These are not necessarily top revenue, but they are who you are relying on for Sales momentum in the coming year. Check with whoever does sales forecasting in your firm. You MUST meet top-growth customers’ expectations, as pivotal to this year’s growth.
     
  4. Explore without bias (without grouping or labels of any kind): put all customer comments in the same pool and see what bubbles up naturally.
     
  5. Expectations VoC discovers 2-4 natural themes. For example, one segment consistently prioritizes risk across their journey, whereas another prioritizes empowerment. You’ll find some common threads across age groups, etc. and this is good news: it simplifies “expectations management”. That’s what automatic CX excellence is, remember? Issue-free experience per their expectations.
     
  6. Discover expectations of every role in your customer’s household or business who has a say in buying from you. You must please them all to get their ongoing purchases.
     
  7. Make note of what they care about at each stage of their end-to-end journey with you. You’ll find that almost-free VoC answers the majority of these questions. For each care-about, what is the consequence to them (functional, social, emotional, and financial) and to you (operational and financial) when your performance is inadequate? What are the consequences when it is consistently right for them?

Clear understanding of expectations is the starting point for automatic CX excellence. Expectations VoC is the start for CX design and for customer-centric management. It’s your best path to lowest costs to serve, highest recommendations, and strongest relationships and revenue growth rate.

 

See also: Customer Experience Playbook

Voice of Customer Maturity: Ultimate Guide

This is a glimpse into what you gain from ClearAction Experience Leadership Mastery.