Questions to Ask Before Starting a VOC Project

by Karen Roberts

Posted on 24 Jun 2020

So you've decided to create a new product and or service and you're going out to talk to your customers.  Here are some questions to ask yourself and your team as you start to lay out the parameters for your VOC project.
Why
  • Why is the project being done?  What are its purposes and objectives?
When
  • When must the work product be delivered?  Remember VOC takes 3 to 9 months and if you don't have the resource commitment to do it right don't do it at all.
What Resources
  • What resources are needed by and available to the project?  Can you get by with what's available or do you need to scale down the project and narrow its scope?
What Information
  • What information is to be delivered?  Will you be developing data, recommendations, or conclusions?
Who
  • Who are the sources of the information you need to gather?  Will they be internal or external customers?
  • Remember you cannot use your own people to represent external customers.  VOC stands for Voice of the Customer not Voice of the Company.  Also you know which market segment you will be using. VOC is not a process that selects a market segment. You have to know this before you begin the VOC study.
  • Who will collect the information from the sources?  Will this be an internal study using only your Team members or will external vendors be involved and how much?
What Techniques
  • What techniques will you use at each stage of VOC?  As you will see during the next few days there are broad choices available at each of the five stages of the process.  During the preparation stage you will want to consider the alternatives and layout your plans.
Where
  • Where (from what locations) will you collect the data?  Will this be a trading area only, US only, or world- wide study?
Other Key Factors
  • Don't do a VOC project for the sake of doing a VOC.  If it is only being done because It's the newest hot method that is being done just for show, don't do it It will likely fail because it will not be used properly.
  • Be ready to recommend a no-go if VOC is inappropriate or resources are not available.
  • Remember that VOC is a powerful tool, but it's expensive and time consuming.

Author

Karen Roberts

MBA, MA University of New Mexico