No matter how talented you are as a customer experience or market research professional, you need a team to build and sustain a world-class Voice of the Customer (VoC) program.
In this lesson, we’re focusing on the internal help you’ll need. (In the next blog post, I focus on Lesson 16 in the age of AI and external partners.)
As I outlined in the book, the reality is, VoC doesn’t live in a vacuum—it touches multiple departments, each playing a crucial role in making customer insights actionable.
This is as true in 2025 as it was in 2017. Maybe even more so.
And with AI reshaping how we collect, analyze, and act on customer feedback, internal alignment has never been more critical.
Your Best Friend in VoC? IT—But Manage the Relationship Wisely
First stop: IT. True in 2017 and even more true today.
If you want a VoC program to work, your IT department must be on board.
Simply put, IT controls the customer data—who recently had an experience with your company, their contact details, and purchase history. Without this, you can’t send timely surveys or automate feedback collection.
But here’s the thing: if you don’t manage the IT relationship strategically, VoC can become an expensive, drawn-out project. I’ve seen IT teams return with massive price tags—sometimes larger than the entire VoC program itself—because they assume the project requires building something from scratch.
All you may need is a simple data extract (flat file in CSV format) or a direct integration with your VoC platform.
AI is streamlining this process by automating data extraction and survey triggers. Modern AI-driven VoC platforms can integrate directly with CRM or point-of-sale systems via APIs, making it easier to get the right feedback to the right people at the right time. The less manual work, the better.
Pro Tip Reminder:
→ Be extremely clear about what data you need and how often you need it. Keep IT’s role focused on delivering structured, actionable data—not overengineering a solution.
AI Can Help with Analysis, But Business Intelligence Still Matters
AI has transformed the analysis of customer feedback, with text analytics, sentiment analysis, and predictive modeling surfacing insights faster than ever.
But AI isn’t a substitute for human expertise.
If your company has a business intelligence (BI) or data analytics team, they can help connect the dots between VoC results and business outcomes. AI might tell you that customers are frustrated with billing, but a BI analyst can dig deeper, linking this frustration to churn rates or missed revenue opportunities.
This collaboration between AI-powered insights and human expertise makes VoC more actionable than ever before.
Legal and Procurement: The Gatekeepers You’ll Need
Depending on your industry, Legal may need to approve survey questions—especially in highly regulated sectors like pharma, finance, and healthcare.
AI-generated insights need the same scrutiny—if you’re using AI to summarize customer feedback, Legal may want to ensure responses don’t introduce compliance risks.
Meanwhile, Procurement steps in if you need to select a VoC software partner or issue an RFP. They’ll help negotiate contracts, compare pricing, and ensure you’re getting the best deal.
This has not changed.
The Bottom Line: AI Enhances VoC, But Internal Alignment is Everything
VoC is more than just software—it’s an organizational shift toward listening, responding, and acting on customer feedback.
AI is making this process more efficient, but without internal buy-in from IT, BI, Legal, and Procurement, even the most advanced VoC system will fall flat.
Your role as a CX or market research professional?
Be the glue that connects these teams. Build relationships, keep requests simple, and make sure AI and human expertise work together to drive action.
Because at the end of the day, a VoC program is only as strong as the people behind it.
What’s Your Experience?
Building a successful VoC program requires internal collaboration, and AI is making that collaboration even more effective.
Have you faced challenges working with IT, legal, or procurement to get VoC off the ground? How has AI impacted your ability to streamline processes or analyze feedback?
I’d love to hear your thoughts—drop a comment below!
