When I first started working with Voice of the Customer (VoC) programs, I was captivated by the promise of uncovering deep customer insights. Like many, I believed sending a well-designed survey was half the battle. The other half? Simply waiting for the data to roll in and tell us what to do.

Over time, I learned a hard truth: the quality of VoC insights depends entirely on the quality of the questions we ask. Crafting powerful, purposeful questions is an art that too many organizations overlook.

The Danger of “Data for Data’s Sake”

I helped design a customer satisfaction survey for a major client early in my career. We asked all the standard questions: How satisfied are you? Would you recommend us? How likely are you to repurchase?

The results looked great—on paper. High scores across the board. Yet customer churn was rising. Something wasn’t adding up.

After interviewing a handful of customers, we discovered what the survey never surfaced: product complexity was driving frustration, and many felt they weren’t getting the promised value. Since we hadn’t asked about usability, onboarding experience, or outcomes, our survey data told only a fraction of the story.

That experience taught me that poorly crafted surveys generate what I call “feel-good data”—metrics that look positive but lack actionable depth. Worse, they can mislead decision-makers.

Crafting Questions with Purpose

Now, whenever I approach a VoC survey, I ask myself three key questions first:

1. What decision will this question inform? If you can’t draw a clear line from a survey question to a business decision, it may not belong on the survey. Every question should have a purpose.
2. What do we need to learn, not just measure? Satisfaction scores and NPS are useful, but they’re lagging indicators. The most powerful questions uncover root causes and unmet needs. “What nearly stopped you from purchasing?” or “What was missing from your experience?” can surface insights you’d never find with a simple rating scale.
3. Are we speaking our customers’ language? Too often, companies insert jargon or internal framing into surveys. I always advocate using the voice of the customer in the survey. Phrase questions in the way customers naturally talk about your products and their experiences. You must be careful here, too. You have to strike the right balance so as not to accidentally bias the question by leading the respondent to answer a certain way.

Balancing Breadth and Depth

Another common pitfall is trying to ask everything in one survey. I’ve been guilty of this myself. It’s tempting to keep adding “just one more question”—until you have a bloated, 20-minute marathon that customers abandon halfway through.

Today, I prioritize ruthlessly. What do we need to understand most right now? I also lean on other listening channels—support calls, online reviews, advisory boards—to fill in the gaps between formal surveys.

The Power of Open-Ended Questions

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned: never underestimate the power of open-ended questions. Some of the most transformative insights I’ve uncovered began with a simple prompt like, “What would you tell a friend about your experience?”

Of course, analyzing open-text responses requires more effort. However, the richness of qualitative data often holds the key to true innovation and competitive advantage.

That said, there are a few caveats. If your survey includes more than 5 to 8 questions, not all can be open-ended — otherwise, you risk causing respondent fatigue. A well-designed VoC survey balances question types to keep customers engaged.

Be thoughtful: your open-ended questions shouldn’t simply be a follow-up “Why?” after a closed rating question. They should invite reflection and storytelling to uncover deeper insights.

In Closing

VoC surveys are one of the most powerful tools for understanding and serving our customers, but only if we wield them wisely. The next time you sit down to design a survey, I encourage you to pause and reflect:

Are we asking the right questions? Are we listening to what really matters?

If the answer is yes, you won’t just collect data—you’ll unlock insights that drive meaningful change. That, in the end, is the true art of VoC.