Integrating Voice of Customer and Business Simulations to Make Better Business Decisions
As an author of several blogs a week on the topics of business acumen, business leadership, and strategic business selling, I have an almost unlimited number of topics to choose from when choosing a new subject. Last week I had the opportunity to deliver a simulation-centric business acumen learning journey for a group of high potential leaders from a global technology organization. During the session, participants had the opportunity to lead their own simulated multi-billion dollar technology organization for four simulated years.
As part of the learning process, we provide the group with models and frameworks of strategic thinking and planning, and ask them to apply the concepts in the simulation workshops. The primary application of the strategic frameworks is choosing and then executing a strategy through operational decisions and of course employee engagement. One of the biggest “aha” moments of learning for participants is the critical systemic relationship between understanding customer needs and delivering a value proposition to provide the right solutions to the right customers.
During the learning process, we introduce participants to the concept of VOCumen®. VOCumen is defined as the process of integrating Voice of Customer and business simulations to make better business decisions in support of the right value proposition.
The way that we present the Voice of Customer data is through the use of simulated perceptual maps that provide deep insight into what customers value and how we are doing versus the competition. A typical simulation work shop will provide VOCumen data for every market, every customer segment, and every product. Participants review the data and then make the appropriate business decisions to execute their strategy to their chosen segments.
An example of VOCumen graphic from a simulation workshop is below:
This VOCumen example illustrates the desires of the Solution Oriented Customer, which includes price, features, and reliability of the product. Features and Reliability are almost as important to this type of customer as price. The company is doing an excellent job providing a good price, excellent features, and strong reliability to the customer relative to the competition. In the areas that are not as important to the customer, the company is also doing an excellent job by not investing in elements that have less importance to the customer.
In this example – which illustrates the customer desires of the Cost Conscious Customer – the company is doing an excellent job with the two most important needs of this customer segment: price and credit terms. Unfortunately, they are not doing a good job relative to the competition on consistency of product, the effectiveness of the sales organization, and product reliability.
Using VOCumen to Set and Execute Strategy
There are many key learnings from the simulation workshop, and perhaps the most important learning is how to use the voice of customer data to set strategy and ultimately use the business simulations to make better business decisions. Here are three important ways to use VOCumen:
1. Focus on the top drivers
Good VOCumen data provides a lot of data. The most successful organizations are able to focus on the most important customer needs and have a discipline in execution to deliver the most important value to their customers.
2. Realize that you can’t be all things to all customers
One of the most important aspects of utilizing VOCumen data is making sure that you realize you simply can’t be all things to all customers. It is physically and financially impossible to offer strong features to solution customers at the same time you offer the lowest price to cost conscious customers.
3. Differentiate
Competitors also have Voice of Customer data and also are trying to deliver a unique value proposition. It is critical to be able to use the VOCumen data to differentiate your version of the value proposition so that customers know that your approach is the best approach.
Today we are living in a world of big data and analytics. Organizations need to capture and leverage information both in real time and cumulatively to gather business intelligence and insight that will help them drive business outcomes. By using business simulations, participants are able to learn how to review, analyze and break down new types of data like the ones provided in VOCumen, all in a risk free environment, to help them make better business decisions that will improve your company’s performance.
