The fastest way to destroy your VOC program is to lose your focus because of distractions. If a research project does not lead you in the direction of the agreed upon goals of the program, it is a luxury at best and a waste of precious resources at worst.

What You Can Do

I cannot count the number of times leaders asked, “Is anyone talking about this?” This is a very low quality question and shows that the leaders require a deeper level of engagement with the VOC program and its capabilities. They should be asking highly specific questions that will allow you to research accurately to provide actionable insights.

I call this a low quality question because it can be answered with a simple “Yes” or “No.” To answer it, you only need to find out if one customer–any customer–is talking about the topic. This is not a strategic question that helps the leader better understand if Millennials or Boomers are engaged with the topic. It does not allow the leader to take meaningful action to adjust advertising budget allocation or to invest new product research. It lacks the detail required to help researchers inform the leader’s decisions.

I have trained VOC teams to do two things when they hear this type of low quality question:

1. Ask more questions to understand what the leader is actually thinking, what his hypothesis is, what he is planning to do with the research finding if he receives it, which metric the findings are likely to impact and by how much;
2. If that does not work, then I tell my clients to only do the necessary research required to answer the question with a “Yes” or “No” followed up by a recommendation of the next stage of research. This answer will cause the leader to ask more questions that will help you know what you actually need to research.

My approach, especially the latter point, may seem obtuse. But, remember, you are responsible for reaching specific goals and you have limited resources to do so.

Often, leaders ask questions because they are interested in entertaining their curiosity but the question contains no real value for the business. In fact, this behavior may be demonstrating that they do not appreciate the investment that is being made in your research. Instead, to these leaders having a VOC program is a luxury or an entertainment. They would never treat their R&D innovation team or product management team with the same low level of interest or lack of strategic focus. They would not waste precious R&D funds on a mere curiosity. This is a habit that can be changed and you can help them become a more effective leader when you guide their behavior toward the asking of high quality questions.

Following Your Gut

You may also find yourself in a situation where you don’t have the information you need or you don’t have the confidence to declare a definitive answer to a research question. In these cases, I encourage you to follow your gut and trust in your intuition.

I am not suggesting you state an unsupported conclusion that ‘feels right’ but rather that you follow the path that feels right in your research.  As you develop your expertise in this area, your intuition will become stronger and you can learn to listen to that small voice in your head or that feeling in your gut that suggests an alternative path. The more you work with your intuition and learn the voice of your intuition, the more likely you are to follow the correct path.  That being said, always test your intuitive hypotheses with sufficient rational analysis and develop a theory on solid data.