Karen Lam - "The Voice of the Customer: The Missing Link to Success"
Karen Lam, Director of Customer Support at Top Hat, reveals how a robust Voice of the Customer program transforms “cost centers” into strategic growth engines. She breaks down two blockers: career progression uncertainty and under-leveraged customer insights. Karen shows how AI and LLMs synthesize signals across surveys and reviews. She shares cadence, cross-functional rituals, and storytelling that secure C-suite alignment.
WOW-24-7
Contact Centers
What’s Inside [1:26] Introduction to Karen Lam [30:06] Full Podcast Episode [2:19] Episode Highlights [2:50] Fixing Career Paths To Unlock CX Growth [2:54] Letting LLMs Surface Hidden Customer Truth [4:41] Escaping The Perception Trap In Customer Feedback [3:22] Fixing Data Quality for Actionable VOC [5:42] Making VOC Cultural With Cross-Functional Cadence [4:37] From Cost Center To Strategic Value Center [2:06] Investing in People to Power VOC Success [0:59] Short – Making VOC Cultural With Cross-Functional Cadence [0:58] Short - From Cost Center To Strategic Value Center
Full Episode “Every single company should have a Voice of the Customer program because it's the one way you're going to get a good pulse on not only your customers and your product, but also the pulse of the people who are behind the scenes and working for you and bringing that brand message and reputation forward.” - KAREN LAM
(2:19) Episode Highlights
(2:50 Video) Fixing Career Paths To Unlock CX Growth “With the prevalence and the usage of AI, what may be blocking progressive growth and strategic growth within a company is really how we are offering and offsetting that career progression as an employee grows within a company.” - KAREN LAM
(2:54 Video) Letting LLMs Surface Hidden Customer Truths “So, with the age of AI, how we're connecting the dots is really leveraging that power of technology to make it a whole lot easier to synthesize that data and to provide the appropriate picture of what your ideal customer profile is, what it looks like, and what customers are really saying.” - KAREN LAM
(4:41 Video) Escaping The Perception Trap In Customer Feedback “We also have to keep in mind that when we think of the Voice of the Customer, it's not only about the feedback that might be negative. It's also areas where we might be on the right path and doing things that are in the right way.” - KAREN LAM
(3:22 Video) Fixing Data Quality for Actionable VOC “Anyone who has a Voice of the Customer program or is thinking of starting one should really focus on which data inputs you want to focus directly on. There are so many inputs that are available, but not all of that might be reasonable.” - KAREN LAM
(5:42 Video) Making VOC Cultural With Cross-Functional Cadence “It's not only a single-person responsibility. It's definitely a large cross-functional effort, and when we look at data and all the data inputs, it's really about looking at what is going to make the most impact and focusing on that first. The rest will follow.” - KAREN LAM
(4:37 Video) From Cost Center To Strategic Value Center “Ultimately, when we're talking about strategy, when we're talking about ensuring the value of support being recognized, the Voice of the Customer program is an amazing way to do that. It might not be the only way, but it's certainly something that is incredibly valuable.” - KAREN LAM
(2:06 Video) Investing in People to Power VOC Success “Look at your people. The reason I say that is because individuals who are motivated and focused and want the best for our customers are going to be your customer advocates, and those are the individuals who are going to be a perfect stakeholder for a Voice of the Customer program.” - KAREN LAM
YOUTUBE SHORT: Making VOC Cultural With Cross-Functional Cadence “It's not only a single-person responsibility. It's definitely a large cross-functional effort, and when we look at data and all the data inputs, it's really about looking at what is going to make the most impact and focusing on that first. The rest will follow.” - KAREN LAM
YOUTUBE SHORT: From Cost Center To Strategic Value Center “Ultimately, when we're talking about strategy, when we're talking about ensuring the value of support being recognized, the Voice of the Customer program is an amazing way to do that. It might not be the only way, but it's certainly something that is incredibly valuable.” - KAREN LAM
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