Voice of the Customer Tool: VOCALYST®
Vocalyst Illustration |
Detailed Overview |
Applications
Voice of the Customer research is essential to successful new product and
service development. Applied Marketing Science has conducted hundreds of
Voice of the Customer studies using VOCALYST, a state-of-the-art market
research system that allows customers to articulate, structure, and
prioritize their wants and needs in support of product and service
development. Based on pioneering methodological research conducted at the
MIT Sloan School of Management, VOCALYST utilizes empirically proven “best
practices” in gathering and structuring Voice of the Customer data. VOCALYST
integrates both qualitative and quantitative research methods to help
companies achieve a clear competitive advantage in designing new products
and services. To learn more about VOCALYST, please watch our 3-minute video.
For specific questions, email us at inquiry@ams-inc.com
or call Gerry Katz, Executive Vice President, at (781) 250-6303.
Vocalyst Illustration: Gathering the Voice of the Customer
 
VOCALYST: Voice of the Customer Process
1. Capturing the Voice of the Customer
We conduct one-on-one in-depth interviews with customers using creative probing
techniques to deeply explore customer experiences, attitudes, beliefs, and
feelings. These interviews often incorporate ethnographic and contextual
inquiry methodologies, as well as research conducted from a central location,
to uncover the most complete set of customer wants and needs possible. The
interviews are then transcribed verbatim for further analysis.
2. Extracting the Voice of the Customer
Transcripts of interviews are analyzed to identify all of the themes and opinions
that represent customer wants and needs expressed in the customer's own
language. Through a detailed winnowing process, a comprehensive set of unique
customer needs is created, which then serves as the basis for the Voice of
the Customer hierarchy.
3. Developing the Voice of the Customer Hierarchy
Development of the hierarchy relies solely on input from customers, who sort
the needs based on their own perceptions of how the ideas and concepts are
related. Customers also rate the importance of each need and evaluate how
well their individual needs are currently being met.
4. Understanding the Voice of the Customer
Statistical analysis is then used to identify the hierarchy of customer needs
that best represents the Voice of the Customer, and to show which needs are
key drivers of customer satisfaction and preference. Further analysis of
the VOC data helps to identify and prioritize opportunities, leading to superior
new product and service designs.
5. Deploying the Voice of the Customer
AMS works with clients to deploy the Voice of the Customer throughout their
organizations. Together, we develop programs and metrics that incorporate
key VOC findings into their product or service development processes.
VOCALYST: Voice of the Customer Applications
VOCALYST has proven to be one of the most highly versatile
and broadly applicable market research techniques ever created. We have
conducted over 300 Voice of the Customer studies, covering a wide range of products,
services, functional areas, and industries.
New Product Development
We have conducted Voice of the Customer applications for all types of clients from mature
companies looking for breakthroughs to those on the cutting edge of technology.
These studies typically form the basis of new product introductions, feature
enhancements, and other modifications.
Case Study: Puritan-Bennett Corporation
New Service Design
The VOCALYST methodology is highly effective in service design or service improvement
applications. It has been used successfully in a broad range of industries,
including airlines, entertainment, utilities, telecommunications, financial
services, and health care.
Case Study: Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)
Process Improvement
This category includes Voice of the Customer applications for internal processes that clients
have sought to re-engineer for greater efficiency and improved customer satisfaction.
Examples include order processing, billing, fulfillment, claims handling,
new account processing, and customer service center applications.
Promotional Program Design
We have conducted Voice of the Customer studies to help clients understand customer preferences
in order to design more effective marketing and sales programs. These have
led to highly successful promotional campaigns such as dealer incentive programs
and customer rebate offers.
Case Study: The Good Cents Home Program
Customer Satisfaction
VOCALYST measures not only overall customer satisfaction, but satisfaction
with individual product or service attributes. VOCALYST-derived attributes
have proven to be more complete and detailed than ones derived through other
methods, leading to better fitting models and more effective initiatives
to improve customer loyalty.
Case Study: Case Study: Southern Company
Employee Satisfaction
Many Voice of the Customer studies have been performed for human resources managers, facilities
managers, and other professionals responsible for employee recruitment and
retention. By better understanding employee wants and needs, companies can
increase employee satisfaction levels and decrease recruitment and training
costs.
Internal Voices
AMS has conducted Voice of the Customer studies for corporate functions that provide services
to the rest of the organization. Departments that have benefited from VOCALYST
applications include Information Services, Finance and Accounting, Human
Resources, and Market Research.
To learn more, please contact us at inquiry@ams-inc.com or call Gerry Katz, Executive Vice President, at (781) 250-6303.
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