Listening to the customer is the cornerstone of effective Customer Experience (CX) management and sets the foundation for all other actions. Without understanding the needs, expectations, and challenges of customers, no organization can craft meaningful solutions, build lasting relationships and deliver truly meaningful customer experiences.
In a B2B environment, it's easy to assume that customer experience (CX) is all about the numbers - the satisfaction scores, net promoter scores (NPS), and feedback collected at the end of each transaction. But at Lightstorm, we like to do things a little differently. We believe the voice of the customer is more than just a survey result because we understand that data alone doesn't always tell the full story. In essence, we have laid a safety net.
Beyond Traditional Feedback: Listening at Every Touchpoint
Traditionally, feedback collection is transactional - triggered after specific interactions like a service call or an annual survey. While this is valuable, we found that limiting ourselves to these moments doesn’t paint the full picture of our customers overall experience, especially when it comes to enterprise telecom.
Our approach revolves around capturing feedback at multiple levels, integrating transactional feedback, relationship NPS, and milestone-based feedback. This includes:
- Customer Effect Score: When a support ticket is resolved, we capture feedback immediately on how the resolution impacted the customer.
- Order Closure Feedback: Once an order is completed, we gauge customer satisfaction to ensure we’re meeting their expectations.
- Service Delivery Feedback: We ask for input post-service delivery to assess the quality and value of our offerings.
- Relationship NPS: Every six months, we gather relationship-based feedback to understand how our ongoing engagement is perceived over time.
These checkpoints allow us to not only track immediate satisfaction but also measure how our relationship evolves, helping us address concerns before they turn into serious issues.
Each touchpoint in the customer journey matters, so we make it a priority to listen during key moments—be it after project completions, important service delivery checkpoints, or regular business reviews.
But we don't stop there.
Moving Beyond Politeness -The Art of Unspoken Feedback
While traditional feedback tools like surveys are valuable, they can miss the mark, especially in a B2B context. Unlike B2C, where customers might feel more comfortable sharing their discomfort or dissatisfaction openly (and instantly!), B2B customers often opt for politeness or vagueness in their responses. This leaves businesses unaware of key issues or opportunities for improvement. Understanding that there’s more to the story, Lightstorm has moved beyond relying solely on submitted feedback.
That’s where our "We-Care Connect" initiative comes in.
Introducing We-Care Connect by Lightstorm
We created "We-Care Connect" as a way to bridge the gap between formal feedback and the reality of customer relationships. This innovative program actively engages our Leadership Team in direct, casual conversations with key customer stakeholders.
Over a cup of coffee (figuratively and sometimes literally!), we explore the pain points, expectations, and aspirations that might not surface in formal surveys. These conversations allow us to hear the customer in a more fluid environment, where they can express what really matters to them without feeling constrained by the structured questions of a typical survey. By doing so, we don’t just hear what they think of us—we understand their goals, challenges, and vision for the future. This allows us to evolve in ways that serve them better and enhance our partnership.
Structuring the Unstructured
The key insights gathered from these informal conversations are not lost in the moment. Instead, they’re structured and logged into our VOC (Voice of the Customer) portal, where we can compare this feedback with what the customer has formally submitted in surveys. This comparative analysis helps us identify gaps between what’s said in formal feedback and what’s shared in a more relaxed environment, ultimately helping us better serve our customers.
A Holistic View: Internal Account Health Checks
Customer feedback is just one part of the equation. We recognize that our internal teams—across sales, service management, and support—are interacting at different levels within our customer organizations, from CIOs to NOC heads to procurement teams. To harness these varied perspectives, we introduced internal account health check surveys. These surveys are designed to capture insights from our account managers and customer service managers, who not only assess CSAT and promoter scores but also evaluate key indicators like but not restricted to the following:
- Frequency and quality of customer interactions
- Growth potential within the account
- Effectiveness of information sharing with customers
This health check process is conducted quarterly, ensuring the data stays updated and actionable. By comparing this internal feedback with customer-submitted feedback, we build a 360-degree view of each account, allowing us to identify opportunities and risks early.
Committed to Customer Success
Our approach to the Voice of the Customer (VOC) is built on a foundation of listening differently. Think of it as laying down a safety net - ensuring that no sentiment, nuance, or pain point slips through the cracks. By capturing feedback at every critical milestone and going beyond traditional survey data, we foster honest, open dialogue with our customers. This allows us to form deeper, more authentic connections.
We are committed to being more than just a vendor; we aim to be our customers’ preferred partner, understanding their needs today and adapting to meet their future expectations. And we’ll leave no stone unturned in that pursuit, whether it’s through thoughtful intention or flawless execution. And in doing so, we are not just meeting their needs—we’re contributing to their success in ways that enrich our long-term partnership.
Building Partnerships Through Listening: A Holistic Approach to Customer Success
At Lightstorm, we believe listening goes beyond words. Our approach is to understand not only what customers share directly but also the underlying sentiments that traditional feedback methods might overlook. By integrating multi-channel feedback—through customer interactions and insights from our internal teams—we create a comprehensive picture of each customer’s journey.
Through regular check-ins, milestone-based assessments, and informal "We-Care Connect" conversations, we build a proactive, nuanced understanding of customer needs. This lets us identify areas for improvement early, aligning our services with their evolving goals. The result? Partnerships rooted in trust, transparency, and a commitment to excellence that goes far beyond a transaction.
Our mission is simple: to be more than a service provider. We are a partner who listens, adapts, and ensures that every customer’s experience is marked by genuine care and support—empowering their success in every way.