Beyond NPS: How Voice of Customer Data Can Transform Your Agency’s Growth

For years, agencies have relied on Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) surveys to gauge client sentiment. But while these metrics offer a quick pulse check, they fall short in providing actionable insights that drive real business growth.

If your agency wants to stand out in a crowded market, simply knowing whether clients are “satisfied” isn’t enough. You need to understand why they feel that way, where you excel, and how you compare to competitors. This is where Voice of Customer (VOC) analysis comes in.

The Limitations of NPS and CSAT

NPS asks a single question:

“How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?”

While useful for tracking general sentiment, it doesn’t reveal what’s working, what’s broken, or how to improve. Similarly, CSAT surveys often produce generic ratings (e.g., “Rate your satisfaction from 1 to 5”), leaving agencies with little insight into what actually drives client satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

Here’s why traditional NPS and CSAT fall short:

• Lack of Context – A high NPS score doesn’t tell you what makes your agency great; a low score doesn’t explain what’s going wrong.

• No Competitive Benchmarking – NPS only reflects your clients’ feelings about you, not how you compare to your competitors.

• Surface-Level Insights – A client may rate you highly but still choose a competitor next time because you failed to meet a key expectation.

How Voice of Customer (VOC) Gives Agencies a Competitive Edge

Unlike NPS and CSAT, Voice of Customer (VOC) analysis goes deeper by capturing detailed client feedback, sentiment trends, and competitive positioning.

With VOC-based insights, your agency can:

1. Identify Your True Differentiators

Many agencies struggle with standing out in a crowded marketplace. VOC analysis helps pinpoint what makes you unique—whether it’s your project approach, industry expertise, communication style, or technology capabilities.

Example: Instead of just seeing that you have an NPS of 50, you learn that clients love your structured onboarding process and consider it a key reason they choose you over competitors.

2. Benchmark Your Performance Against Competitors

NPS and CSAT only tell you how clients feel about you. VOC benchmarking tells you how you compare to others.

Example: If your clients rate your project delivery a 7/10, but the industry average is 9/10, you know you have work to do. Conversely, if you’re leading in a specific area, you can highlight that in your marketing.

3. Uncover and Fix Blind Spots

Most client dissatisfaction stems from small but solvable issues that agencies don’t even realize exist.

Example: Your clients might be happy with the final product but frustrated with the lack of proactive communication during the project. Without VOC insights, this issue could go unnoticed until clients decide not to renew.

4. Leverage Superlatives to Strengthen Your Positioning

If you’re not the “best” overall agency, you’re still likely great at something. VOC data helps you uncover superlatives like:
- Best mid-sized agency for automotive brands
- Top 10% of agencies for Shopify implementations
- Most communicative agency for enterprise clients in Massachusetts

These unique strengths become marketing gold, helping you attract the right-fit clients.

Final Thoughts: Evolve Beyond NPS

If your agency is still relying solely on NPS or CSAT, you’re missing a major opportunity. VOC-driven insights provide the context, competitive intelligence, and marketing differentiation that agencies need to grow.

Ready to go beyond NPS and unlock real differentiation?

Discover how VOCalis can help you turn client feedback into a competitive advantage.