Voice of the customer – spring, summer, fall, winter, and spring…

Being the first day of spring, the anxiously anticipated vernal equinox, especially for those of us residing north of 40, got me thinking. We've come to expect certain things at certain times of the year.  These cycles have become second nature to everyone and we certainly would doubt the news that the next three months were going to be colder than the three just pasted.

We have achieved this confidence not by accident but by observing and studying the temperature continuously over time.  In the same location a particular temperature is considered hot at one time and cold at another. And who doesn’t check the weather channel when planning an outdoor activity?  

The same basic principles apply when it comes to using the voice of the customer as decision support. It is absolutely necessary to continuously measure the voice of the customer to better understand which perceptions and attitudes are changing all the time, which cycle, and which remain constant.  By taking a continuous approach to listening we have a chance of moving measurement to understanding, surprise results to insights, and cycles to things we can plan for.