At this point, we’ve covered much revisiting Listen or Die!
We have just about every aspect of VoC surveys—what types to use, where to deploy them, and how to make them effective.
But none of it matters if you can’t get accurate, timely customer sample lists!
Customer lists (often called sample lists) are the biggest bottleneck in most VoC programs.
Without them, you simply can’t collect feedback at scale. And if they’re inaccurate or outdated, you’re flying blind.
Where Sample Lists Go Wrong
Getting relationship survey sample lists is relatively straightforward—just pull a list of active customers from the past six to twelve months and go.
But transactional surveys are where things get tricky.
To survey customers right after an interaction, you need a real-time, automated flow of transactional data from internal systems like:
- CRM systems (for tracking sales and support interactions)
- Point-of-sale systems (for in-store purchases)
- Customer service platforms (for tracking phone or chat support)
The biggest problem? Most companies don’t have an automated way to extract and feed this data into a VoC platform.
Instead, they rely on manual CSV exports from IT—which slows everything down and creates major inefficiencies.
How AI Could Fix Sample List Bottlenecks
Right now, AI isn’t solving this problem in a meaningful way—but that could change soon. Here’s how AI might improve customer sample management:
1. Automated Data Extraction & Integration- AI-powered integrations could pull customer lists directly from CRMs, POS systems, and customer service logs in real time, eliminating the need for IT-driven manual exports.
- Instead of waiting days for a CSV file, survey invites could go out instantly after a transaction.
- AI could identify and remove duplicate records, ensuring customers don’t receive multiple survey invites.
- It could also flag missing or invalid emails and phone numbers, reducing survey bounce rates.
3. Smart Sampling & Predictive Targeting
- Instead of blindly surveying every customer, AI could analyze who is most likely to respond and prioritize them.
- This would increase response rates while avoiding over-surveying customers who never engage.
4. Real-Time Survey Triggers Based on Behavior
- AI could monitor customer behavior in real time—like a series of failed login attempts or an abandoned cart—and trigger a survey at the right moment.
- This would allow VoC programs to collect feedback on frustrating experiences that often go unmeasured.
The Reality: AI Isn’t Fully There Yet
Let’s be clear—most companies are not using AI for sample list management today. Manual exports, batch uploads, and IT-driven API connections are still the norm.
But in the next few years, we’ll likely see VoC platforms with AI-powered automation that eliminate many of these headaches.
The key question is: Will companies be willing to invest in this level of automation?
For Now—IT Is Still Your Best Friend
Until AI reaches the point where it can fully automate sample list management, the best strategy is to:
- Work closely with IT to get regular, clean customer lists.
- Push for API-driven automation to reduce manual work.
- Use interim solutions like CSV uploads to keep things moving.
Checklist for Reducing the Customer List Bottleneck
- Build strong relationships with IT—they control the data flow.
- Ensure customer lists include first/last name, email, transaction date, and interaction type.
- For relationship surveys, get a one-time pull of all active customers.
- For transactional surveys, push for an automated data feed from your CRM or POS system.
- Use APIs where possible to eliminate the need for manual CSV uploads.
The Bottom Line
Right now, managing VoC sample lists is still a manual, IT-heavy process. But AI has the potential to streamline and automate data collection in the near future—reducing friction, improving accuracy, and increasing response rates. Until then, your best bet is to work closely with IT and push for automation where possible.
Your Turn
Let’s discuss—how does your company currently handle customer lists for VoC? Are you seeing any AI-driven improvements yet?
