A new customer service program called VOC, or Voice of the Customer, has begun at Watlow, a St. Louis-based maker of heaters, temperature sensors and controllers.

The 80-year-old company plans to contact customers throughout the year, asking for ways they can be better served. The information will be translated into products and services.

“Listening to customer needs has to be embedded into the very fiber of how Watlow conducts business, day in and day out,” said Dan Sparks, strategic marketing director. “Watlow is investing significant resources to create this environment.