Sales has to play a role in effective VOC programs

When it comes to Voice of Customer (VOC) and new product innovation, how involved is your sales team in the process?  Are they part of the collection, part of the strategy, data points on the VOC road or integral to the process? Conceptually, the customer relationship should be “owned” by the sales person. This means it is crucial to involve sales people in the new product development process as well as they are a critical liaison between the customer and the marketing team.

Sales people should not just participate as a source for VOC Q&A.  They should participate in the customer interviews themselves.Having a product manager conduct a VOC meeting with a customer with a member of the sales team present as an observer, gives sales people clear insights into the customer needs and potential gaps in the support they are getting. While many unmet needs may be addressed as new product development, unmet concerns about service and support can really differentiate the value a sales person can bring to the relationship. However, sales people, remember, the key of course is during a VOC call, don’t start trying to sell the solution during the call-let the marketing people get the info they need and use a follow up call to start to address the key customer interaction questions that were uncovered.