What is Voice of the Customer? A Complete Guide

Every conversation, survey, or review is an opportunity to understand what your users care about most.

Your customers already know what they want. The real question is: Are you listening close enough?

Voice of the customer gives you a clearer view of user needs, frustrations, and expectations before they result in churn, complaints, or customer defection to competitors.

Whether you’re resolving support tickets, shaping new product features, or refining marketing campaigns, voice of the customer replaces guesswork with actionable insight.

It transforms customer feedback into a sharp direction, allowing you to deliver outstanding support.

In this guide, you’ll explore the advantages, proven strategies, practical techniques, common challenges, and real-life examples of voice of the customer.

What is voice of the customer (VoC)?

Voice of the customer (VoC) is the process of collecting and analyzing customer feedback about their experiences, needs, pain points, expectations, and preferences with your brand.

It’s about actively listening to and understanding their needs, desires, pain points, and preferences, whether they tell you directly or indirectly.

Customer inquiries, social media comments, and survey responses are key sources of voice of the customer data.

Together they reveal customer needs and experiences while supporting a continuous feedback loop.

How the voice of the customer drives real business impact

Listening to what your customers say reveals powerful insights that can improve their experience and guide smarter business decisions.

Ready to see how VoC can reshape your strategy? Here’s how it delivers real results:

• Identifies exact customer pain points: Instead of guessing, VoC helps you pinpoint precisely where customers are struggling. For example if several customers report that the setup steps for a new dashboard feature are confusing, agents can provide clearer responses in future tickets while the issue is being reviewed.
• Reveals product development opportunities: Customers often express unmet needs or suggest improvements you haven’t considered. A VoC program can reveal, for instance, a strong desire for budget-friendly version of your popular product for small businesses.
• Aligns your teams around customer-centric growth: Unite departments with consistent customer insights that inform product roadmaps, marketing messages, service improvements, and strategic decisions.
• Boosts customer loyalty and retention: When customers feel heard and see their feedback acted upon, like a bug they reported gets fixed, their satisfaction increases, making them less likely to leave for a competitor and more likely to recommend your brand.
• Reduces customer churn: VoC allows you to identify “at-risk” customers such as those who leave negative feedback and intervene proactively to address their concerns, preventing them from leaving your business.

What are the voice of the customer data collection techniques?

When you’re on the front lines, you hear it all, the praise, the problems, the unspoken frustrations.

Voice of the customer techniques help you capture that feedback in a structured way so nothing gets lost in the shuffle.

These methods give you a clear view of what customers truly need, expect, value and issues they face so you can turn that insight into better experiences and stronger relationships.

Let’s explore some of the most effective ways to listen and respond.

Customer interviews

Customer interviews are one-on-one conversations conducted by an interviewer often over the phone or video call.

They use mostly:

• Open-ended questions to encourage detailed and thoughtful responses
• Closed-ended questions to gather specific information or quantify opinions.

They can follow a set of questions or be more open, allowing customers to speak freely.

While interviews take more time to organize and review, they’re useful when you need honest, in-depth feedback.

You can conduct them in person or through voice of the customer software like Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a customer experience metric that measures how likely customers are to recommend your brand to others.

In voice of the customer programs, NPS is used as a standardized way to track customer sentiment over time and categorize feedback based on loyalty level.

Formula for calculating NPS

Online customer surveys and reviews

Online surveys are VoC tools that collect feedback from many customers using rating scales and open-ended questions.

They are distributed through channels like email, website pop-ups, or social media to reach a broad audience.

Public reviews appear on platforms such as Amazon, Yelp, or G2, where customers voluntarily share their opinions.

Both customer reviews and survey serve as important data sources within voice of the customer programs, providing direct and indirect insights into customer experiences and sentiments.

Live chat

Live chat is a real-time messaging channel where customers can ask questions or share concerns directly.

As a voice of client method, live chat captures immediate, in-the-moment conversations and feedback during customer interactions.

According to Invespcro,  73% of customers find live chat to be the most satisfying way to interact with a business.

For instance, through BoldDesk’s live chat software, support teams can interact with customers in real-time, save, review and analyze transcripts from these conversations to identify recurring issues and customer sentiment.

Support teams can save, review and analyze transcripts from these conversations to identify recurring issues and customer sentiment.

As a voice of customer method, live chat captures immediate, in-the-moment conversations and feedback during customer interactions.

Social media

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn are powerful online communication tools that enable businesses to gather unsolicited voice of client insights across diverse channels.

According to a study by Backlinko shows that 63% of world’s population use social media.

Customers often express their opinions through direct messages, comments, reviews, and public posts, sharing feedback on products, services, and brand experiences.

To tap into these insights, businesses can practice social listening, tracking and analyzing conversations through mentions, hashtags, post comments, and overall sentiment to better understand customer needs and perceptions.

Focus groups

It involves bringing together smaller groups of users (usually 6-12) to discuss interview questions, aiming to get collective customer opinions on a specific topic.

A moderator may follow a set of questions or allow open discussion, for example, asking participants to describe what great customer support looks like.

These sessions can take place in person or online, depending on the setup.

Dedicated email

Dedicated emails are messages sent to specific group or types of customers to ask for their feedback.

These emails create a clear, focused way to collect customer feedback by reaching out at key moments with specific questions.

These emails can include embedded surveys, links to feedback forms, or simple open-ended questions inviting customers to share their thoughts.

Because they arrive directly in the customer’s inbox, dedicated emails can feel more personal and intentional, which often leads to higher engagement and more thoughtful responses.

You can use a simple customer service email template to start a powerful conversation. Think about it; when was the last time you sent an email to truly understand your customer’s opinion?

Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Score

Customer satisfaction score is a metric that measures how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction, service, or product.

It’s typically collected through a short survey immediately after a customer touchpoint, asking users to rate their satisfaction on a simple scale (usually on a 1 to 5 or 1 to 10 scale, where higher scores mean happier customers).

CSAT Score helps you understand how your customers really feel after interacting with your brand, whether it’s using your product or talking to support.

Formula for calculating CSAT score

Positive responses usually include the highest satisfaction ratings (e.g., 4 and 5 on a 5-point scale).

For example, using BoldDesk’s CSAT survey feature, you can automate feedback collection, monitor satisfaction over time, and uncover patterns that inform product, support, and CX decisions.

Recorded call data

Recorded calls are audio files of real-time conversations between your team and customers, stored and transcribed using contact management or CRM tools.

They document the exact language, tone, and phrasing used during interactions.

In a VoC approach, they serve as a raw source of customer input collected during live exchanges on calls or meetings.

Feedback forms

Feedback forms are structured questionnaires presented to customers after specific interactions or experiences.

These forms can include a mix of question types, including rating scales, multiple choice questions, and open-ended responses, offering both quantitative and qualitative insights.

This method helps organizations gather targeted feedback on specific areas like product quality, customer service, website usability, or overall satisfaction.

They capture the voice of the customer in a standardized format, reflecting opinions, preferences, or concerns shared at key points in their journey.

How to build an effective voice of the customer program

Creating a voice of the customer program starts with understanding how to capture feedback in a way that’s consistent, reliable, and actionable.

Here’s how to build a foundation that brings customer voices into clear focus.

Engage employees to support your voice of the customer program

You’re already listening to your customers, but what if you’re missing a crucial piece of the puzzle? What if the real solutions to their problems are hiding right under your nose, within your own team?

To build a strong voice of the customer, the voice of the employees (VoE) matters. Here’s is how to involve them.

• Empower your team: Train employees who talk to customers to gather better feedback from their interactions and use the right voice of the customer tools to capture and analyze their voices.

• Listen to your employees (VoE). Involve all customer-facing teams like product, marketing, sales, and support early since they speak to the customers directly. Moreover, they on the front lines and often know what your customers prefer or need and why they face certain issues.

Identify channels with the best customer response

Customers engage with your brand through various channels such as live chat, social media, messaging apps, email, and more. However, not all channels are equally effective for collecting feedback.

Identify where customers are most open and responsive. For example, if SMS generates richer responses than email, prioritize text-based surveys.

Map the full customer journey to find key feedback moments

Track every customer interaction from first contact to post-sales follow-up. Don’t just focus on purchases or support calls; include smaller steps like browsing help articles or onboarding emails.

Pay attention to emotional moments, such as after support or product issues, where feedback is often strongest.

Involve teams like support, marketing, and product to ensure the map reflects the real customer experience.

Act on customer voices in real time

Feedback loses power if it just sits in an inbox. The magic happens when customers see that their voice led to real change. Here are ways you can act on feedback based on voice of the customer.

• Respond personally: Show customer appreciation and acknowledgment those who shared feedback through VoC surveys or focus group.
• Resolve quickly: Fix reported issues at their source and keep customers informed throughout the resolution process.

Monitor and improve continuously

To truly understand how your customers feel, Measure the impact of your improvements using metrics like customer satisfaction score, NPS, and resolution times to recognize progress.

Don’t just stop at the surface, dig deeper into the feedback to uncover the real issues behind customer concerns.

Always follow up with customers to show you’ve listened, send a thank-you note to acknowledge their input and let them know what steps you’ve taken to address their concerns.

Voice of the customer real-life examples from top brands

Ever wondered how the most trusted brands stay ahead of the game? It’s all about listening closely to customers.

Voice of the customer programs are driving real changes in how companies operate, shaping everything from product development to customer service improvements.

Let’s take a look at how 3 leading companies are using customer insights to make real impact. Could your brand do the same?

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Elevate user experiences by tuning into the voice of the customer

How is your business gathering feedback, personalizing the user experience, and involving customers in product development? When you listen to customers’ responses, you uncover what’s working, what’s missing, and what’s possible.

Voice of customer keeps you in sync with what truly matters to them, needs, expectations, pain points and more. It’s not just about collecting customer data; it’s about creating meaningful interactions and using their voices to drive growth.

Turn customer feedback into action with BoldDesk®, a powerful customer service platform designed to help you listen, learn, and grow.

With built-in CSAT survey tools, BoldDesk makes it easy to collect and analyze feedback across every customer touchpoint. Gain the insights you need to enhance your support, refine your offerings, and deliver experiences your customers truly value.

Ready to amplify your voice of the customer strategy? Reach out to our support team to see how BoldDesk can help drive continuous improvement through real, actionable feedback.

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