VOC Train Wreck #5: "We'll build a new version and they'll love it!"

The Company knows all. We don’t need Voice of the Customer. Since customers really don’t know what’s possible, let’s have the R&D team push the envelope with new and derivative concepts and products, and then have marketing and sales convince the customer of what they really need. [...]

VOC Train Wreck #4: Using trade shows as voice of the customer listening posts

Can effective Voice of the Customer (VOC ) be gathered at a trade show? By all means, the answer is yes. But VOC collection needs to be planned, and needs to follow the basic rules for the research method that you’ll employ at the trade show. [...]

VOC Train Wreck #3: Executives visit customers to become sensitized to market needs

Customer engagement by senior team members in a sales development support role is invariably helpful. It conveys a top level commitment to customers by meeting customers on their own ground. Often, long term relationships are fostered by these visits, and they help to accelerate the sales cycle. While customer visits are positive, just visiting does not constitute gathering Voice Of The Customer (VOC). [...]