Someone asked me recently about the percentage of revenue that customer-focused companies spend on their voice of the customer (VOC) initiatives. Although they wanted some guidance on what to spend on a VOC solution, I thought it was a fair question but one for which I don’t have the answer. That didn’t bother me much because I do have an answer, just not the one he was looking for.

Don’t get me wrong. Listening to customers—and acting on what you hear—is paramount to business growth and success. But that’s not what executives want to hear. They want to know how much it’s going to cost and what the return on investment will be. To that I say, the cost will vary, depending on your approach, and the ROI will mostly be viewed in dollars but can be measured in many other ways as well.

I think the problem, though, is that they’re thinking about it the wrong way. First, they’re thinking about the wrong costs. How about considering the cost of:

• Acquiring a new customer
• Retaining existing customers

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