Customers Know What They Want – 5 Mini Case Studies Offer Proof

Nobody knows what customers need and want better than the customers themselves. Why, then, do the vast majority of online businesses choose to infer customer wants and needs, instead of simply asking the customers directly?

For the past 10 years, Voice of Customer (VoC) analytics has been helping businesses to do just that. VoC is a branch of analytics that allows the visitor, in their own words, to propose, guide and help measure online initiatives. Visitor feedback has lead to improved site operation, increased conversion, decreased abandonment, higher customer loyalty and successful site redesigns.

Following are several “mini case studies” that highlight the advantages a robust VoC program brings to a company. While company names have been purposely omitted, each case clearly demonstrates that listening to the voice of your customers is always the right move.

Company: One of the world’s leading automakers

Challenge: The company conducted a website redesign based on industry best practices; the result was a site that relied heavily on Flash-based applications and emphasized the “bells and whistles”. Almost immediately, user satisfaction began to wane.

Solution: VoC data revealed that the site needed to be more user-friendly with a simpler design. In particular, visitors wanted more and better-quality vehicle photos and easier access to vehicle information. Additional data showed that people were turned off by the extensive Flash on the site, which contributed to slow page load times.

Results: Based on this feedback, the company re-launched their site. Within a month, they experienced a 40% increase in site traffic and a 16% increase in site satisfaction.

Company: A leading provider of business and financial management solutions

Challenge: The company was experiencing high shopping cart abandonment rates. Their clickstream analytics determined that it was related to password retrieval, but was unable to determine why it was happening.

Solution: VoC data revealed that when users went through the password retrieval process, they landed on a page that didn’t allow them to easily navigate back to the site. Customer feedback also showed that visitors were not aware of the tabs on the product pages.

Results: Since making changes based on the feedback, the company improved conversion by 15% and boosted site satisfaction scores by over 10%. Tab clicks went up 30% after making them more visible.

Company: A worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products

Challenge: Clickstream data revealed a high abandonment rate, but the company could not pinpoint why.

Solution: VoC data identified key visitor segments and the problems that plagued each one: Learners found the ease of navigation less than optimal, Shoppers found the product information too vague, and those who came for technical support required more self-help materials.

Results: Upon redesigning the site with initiatives targeted at each segment, the company saw a reduced abandonment rate, an increase in site traffic and improved site satisfaction.

Company: A Canadian post-secondary institution

Challenge: The company sought to redesign the website with a strategic focus on prospective students, but had no way to isolate the thoughts and experiences of these visitors.

Solution: VoC analytics allowed the company to see what was working and what was not at audience level, and target improvements accordingly.

Result: The site redesign showed a 15% increase in site satisfaction for prospective students and a 279% increase in a key conversion metric during the same period.

Company: A global manufacturer and marketer of office materials

Challenge: The company suspected that their search functionality was deficient and prevented visitors from finding desired products.

Solution: VoC analysis determined that the most common keywords used by customers did not optimally correspond to back-end terms used by the search engine to generate results. The data also revealed that the pre-set categories corresponded to those most commonly found, rather than those most commonly searched.

Results: After honing the search categories for maximum clarity and intuitiveness, the company saw a 7% increase in task completion and a 6% increase in likelihood to return.

The internet is a dynamic, ever changing environment. As users become more web-savvy, current online standards quickly become obsolete. A strong VoC solution can not only diagnose current website shortcomings, but open a dialogue between businesses and customers that can reduce abandonment, increase customer loyalty and ensure continued online success in the years to come.