In a probably slightly twisted sort of way I often think of the Rolling Stones song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” when I think about Voice of the Customer or VOC.  It is almost a universal truth that if you ask customers what they want, they will respond with some form of “a better version of what we are buying from you (or your competitor) today at a lower price.”  If you just ask directly, this is almost certainly what customers will say they want, and many probably believe it.  But the goal of good VOC is to get beyond this superficial response.