SIX FACTORS IMPACTING THE VOC PROCESS
While the total sample was smaller than in 2019, CCMC identified eight companies with strong VOC impact, evidenced by sustained YoY satisfaction gains and a high rate of issues fixed through VOC.
The commonalities across these companies are shared below, along with specific examples from three organizations— Michelin, Nestlé Purina, and Travelzoo— which operate high-performing VOC processes and agreed to be identified by name.
THE BASICS ARE THE SAME— BUT COMPLEXITY IS GREATER
The 2026 results reinforce the findings of the 2019 study. Critically, with the advent of new technologies, they also suggest a restructuring of the factors that support the design and implementation of the technical architecture of VOC applications.
These applications now automate large portions of VOC collection, analysis, reporting, and implementation monitoring. However, they do not deliver meaningful results and insights without careful management and monitoring by both savvy quality and product management leaders; these tools are NOT fire-and-forget.
Mindless deployment risks repeating what has already happened with blanket post-interaction surveying of every customer touchpoint: wasted resources, customer alienation, and inactionable output.
Figure 1 shows the six basic factors that map to the VOC data journey from collection to reporting, impact, and evaluation.
The six factors include one governance factor— single executive ownership— and five process factors that span the journey from data collection planning to reporting and impact measurement.
Here, in this first article, we will focus on the first three: governance, unified data collection, and AI-enabled analysis, with the others covered in Part 2.
THREE DESIGN CHOICES THAT BUILD VOC CAPABILITY
As noted earlier, eight respondent companies indicated strong YoY increases in satisfaction. Their reporting forms the basis for the following updated dimensions of a best-in-class VOC process.
1. One Executive in Charge of VOC Is Critical
There is still no single ideal functional home for the VOC executive. However, one executive must be clearly in charge and accountable.
Because VOC inherently surfaces“ bad news” and then points to the function best positioned to address the issue, accountability for performance, accompanied by explicit executive support, is essential.
SIX FACTORS IMPACTING THE VOC PROCESS
VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER
MINDLESS DEPLOYMENT RISKS REPEATING WHAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED WITH BLANKET POST-INTERACTION SURVEYING OF EVERY CUSTOMER TOUCHPOINT...
Diluted leadership in this area leads to handwringing and very little impact. Conversely, a strong leader can portray customer dissatisfiers as trapped revenue and profit that can be captured rather than surrendered.
The VOC executive should prepare management for bad news and reframe it as escaping profit that can be recaptured. See“ Researchers: Bad news is inevitable, so set expectations,” Quirk’ s Media.
The key to success seems to be less the executive’ s home function than the executive’ s reach across other functions to gain access to broader data sources and analytical input.
Further, this executive should be responsible for reporting on how well all critical functions— Product Management, IT, Quality, and Marketing— work together to identify and resolve the most important points of pain and the strategies that cause them.
2. A Unified Data Collection Plan Has Grown in Complexity
This complexity is driven in several ways, including the use of AI and the capture of instances and causes of escalation. At the same time, two enduring challenges still run across the customer journey: consistent coding of issues and reliable customer identification.
FIGURE 1
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