This is lesson thirty-three. This is towards one of our missions. Education. You’ll learn everything about marketing - from the basics to the most advanced strategies - for free, thanks to VellumWorks.
Most organisations think they understand their audience.
Very few actually listen to them.
Voice of the Customer (VoC) is the discipline of collecting, analysing, and acting on what supporters, beneficiaries, and communities say about their needs, expectations, and experiences.
It turns assumptions into evidence and guesswork into insight.
For charities, VoC isn’t just a marketing tool.
It’s an ethical one.
What Is Voice of the Customer (VoC)?
Voice of the Customer refers to the direct and indirect feedback people share about your organisation.
This includes:
what they say
what they ask
what they complain about
what they praise
what confuses them
what nearly stopped them from acting
In simple terms: VoC is how you understand your organisation from the outside-in, not the inside-out.
Why VoC Matters for Charities
Charities exist to serve people. Yet decisions are often made internally, without real audience input.
VoC helps charities:
design services people actually need
improve supporter experience
reduce friction and frustration
increase trust and transparency
improve donor retention
avoid tone-deaf messaging
demonstrate accountability
Listening builds legitimacy.
Ignoring feedback erodes it.
Common Sources of VoC
You don’t need expensive tools to start.
Most charities already have VoC data — they just aren’t using it.
Direct feedback
surveys
open-ended questions
NPS follow-ups
interviews
focus groups
feedback forms
Indirect feedback
emails and replies
social media comments
support enquiries
website behaviour
donation drop-off points
event attendance patterns
Every question asked is a signal.
The Most Powerful VoC Question
If you only ask one question, make it this:
“What nearly stopped you from supporting us?”
This reveals:
friction
doubt
confusion
fear
trust gaps
Fixing these issues often increases conversions more than adding new campaigns.
Turning VoC into Action (The Missing Step)
Collecting feedback isn’t enough.
VoC only matters when it changes behaviour.
A simple VoC loop looks like this:
Ask
Listen
Identify patterns
Make one improvement
Tell people what changed
That final step is crucial: “You said X. We changed Y.”
This builds trust faster than almost anything else.
VoC vs Assumptions
Without VoC, charities often assume:
why people donate
why they don’t
what motivates supporters
what language resonates
VoC replaces assumptions with evidence. And evidence leads to better decisions.
10-Minute Exercise: Start Your VoC Loop
Today, do one of the following:
Add one open-ended question to your donation confirmation
Email supporters asking one question
Ask volunteers for one piece of honest feedback
Review the last 20 supporter emails or comments
Write down:
recurring words
repeated concerns
emotional language
That’s your Voice of the Customer speaking.
Why is this important to know?
Because marketing without listening is just broadcasting.
Voice of the Customer ensures your messaging, services, and strategy reflect real human needs, not internal assumptions.
When people feel heard, they trust more, stay longer, and engage more deeply. For charities, listening isn’t optional. It’s foundational.
At VellumWorks, we believe knowledge should be free. That’s why this series will guide you, step by step, through everything from the basics to the most advanced strategies in marketing: no jargon, no gatekeeping, just education that empowers.
