Viking Line puts continuous customer insight at the heart of CX
From fragmented feedback to a continuous customer learning engine
members in Customer Lab
Leanlab user since
About Viking Line
Viking Line is a Finnish ferry company with over 65 years of experience in Nordic maritime travel and hospitality. Every year, around 4.6 million passengers travel on its five vessels across the Baltic Sea. Viking Line operates a complex ecosystem spanning cruises, conferences, route and freight traffic — and is the largest maritime employer in Finland, with more than 40 different professions represented on board its vessels.
Challenge
Move from a data-rich but fragmented insight model to a continuous, fast customer collaboration process that gives every team direct access to customer input across the full journey.
Already data-rich — but still flying blind in development
Before setting up their own customer lab, the Viking Council, Viking Line was far from starved of customer data. The development teams had access to a post-trip survey generating around 10,000 responses per month, market research, various CX initiatives, and UX testing. By any measure, the organisation was listening.
Viking Line’s problem was not lack of data but how it was being used. Insights arrived in monthly reports, with a strong emphasis on metrics over customer context. Individual teams were doing good work with what they had: onboard teams reviewed open feedback, digital teams iterated on testing results. But this was happening in pockets, not as a connected process across the full customer journey.
Development was still largely driven by product, service, and internal expertise. Customers weren't being actively involved early in shaping the experience. Due to the vast amount of data and long experience in the industry, it was easy to feel that they already knew what customers wanted, even though that confidence was just based on assumptions.
"We had plenty of data. But it was fragmented, came with a delay, and was hard to use in development. We also lacked access to our customers for validation in everyday decisions."
Marika Immonen, Head of Customer Experience, Viking Line
Building the customer lab: customers as advisors, not respondents
In spring 2025, Viking Line built the Viking Council — a private, branded customer lab of around 1,000 loyal customers recruited directly from the Viking Line Club loyalty programme.
The framing of the invitation was a deliberate and important choice. Rather than asking customers to join a panel and answer surveys, Viking Line invited them to become advisors and help shape the future of Viking Line. Members could participate anonymously, on their own schedule, and were offered early access to new developments — as well as the chance to be part of something exclusive.
The response was immediate. Nearly all 1 000 spots filled within a week.
The application process was also carefully designed. Members completed a recruitment survey with background questions covering travel habits, interests, and preferences. This allowed Viking Line to build a rich profile of who was in the lab from day one. This means the CX team can target the right activity at the right people: families, specific ship passengers, age segments, or route-specific travellers.
"The single most important decision in the early phase was how we framed the invitation. We didn't ask people to join a panel and answer surveys — we invited them to become advisors and help us shape the future of Viking Line."
Marika Immonen, Head of Customer Experience, Viking Line
An always-on learning system for the whole organisation
The Viking Council is owned and moderated by Viking Line's CX team, but any team in the organisation can bring a question to customers and get results within 24 to 48 hours. In its first year, the team ran more than 40 studies — averaging around three per month — covering everything from ideation and concept exploration to live in-context testing.
The setup is intentionally lightweight. The lab is owned and moderated by the CX team, and one or two people can manage it. This means running a continuous research programme doesn't require a dedicated research function or a big budget. Another benefit is that Viking Line is able to get results quickly. The team typically starts seeing responses within hours of sending an invitation to lab members, and results are visible in real time through the platform's live report. Teams don't have to wait for a separate report to be created; they can just follow along as the answers come in.
Real-life examples from the Viking Council in action
Ideating new theme cruise concepts
Rather than relying on internal ideas or partner suggestions, Viking Line wanted to explore what kinds of themed cruises would actually appeal to passengers. They invited Viking Council members to share what themes, programmes, and experiences they'd like to see on board.
The format went beyond a simple survey. Members could like and comment on each other's ideas, and the team could join in to ask follow-up questions. This turned it into a genuine two-way conversation. The result wasn't just a list of ideas, but a much clearer picture of what would resonate with customers before anything was built.
App experience testing in the real context
Instead of testing the Viking Line app in a controlled environment, the team asked lab members to use it during a real trip and document their experience in a diary format before, during, and after travelling.
Guided by a few simple questions about navigation, trip planning, and any difficulties encountered, the study produced contextual insight that traditional UX testing rarely delivers. It didn't just surface what worked or didn't; it also explained the context around it. Viking Line could clearly identify where the app was already creating value, where the pain points were, and which features to prioritise in the next development cycle.
Co-improving the terminal experience with the Port of Helsinki
Not all of the customer journey belongs to Viking Line. The Katajanokka terminal in Helsinki, owned by the Port of Helsinki, is the starting point of the physical journey for many passengers. Even though this is a touchpoint that’s not owned by Viking Line, it shapes the overall customer experience.
Working with the Port of Helsinki, the team first asked Viking Council members to share their views on current signage and navigation in the terminal. Some members then joined a live walkthrough on site, exploring the experience alongside terminal staff and Port of Helsinki representatives.
The study didn't just help identify challenges; it also validated potential solutions in a real-world context, with real customers present. In addition, it strengthened the working relationship with a key partner, since both organisations were effectively working with a shared customer and a shared journey.
"Hearing how rewarding it was for our customers and our own people — that live event at the terminal was something really special."
Marika Immonen, Head of Customer Experience, Viking Line
The impact: speed, scale, and a shift in mindset
After a year of running the Viking Council, four things stand out for the team.
Customers are genuinely more central. Learning cycles have compressed from weeks to around 24 hours. That speed changes what teams feel is worth asking. Since asking is no longer a big deal, they are involving customers much more in decision-making.
Earlier customer involvement in development. Customers now join the process at the ideation stage, not just at the end to validate a nearly finished product. In just one year, the team ran tens of studies that brought direct customer input into active development work.
A cultural shift. The language in the organisation is changing. "We think we know" is giving way to "let's check with our customers." More and more teams start coming to the CX team and asking to run their own studies — and that demand is growing.
It runs with a small team. Running a lab of 1 000 customers and doing multiple studies a month is entirely manageable without a large research function.
"Our mindset is shifting. We're moving from 'we think we know' to 'let's first check with our customers' — and more and more teams come to us and ask to run their own studies. As head of customer experience, I couldn't be happier."
Marika Immonen, Head of Customer Experience, Viking Line
Key benefits at a glance
- Speed: Customer feedback within 24 hours.
- Always-on access: A continuous resource for the whole organisation, not a one-off project.
- Depth and context: Diary studies, live walkthroughs, and two-way discussions surface insights that surveys can't.
- High engagement: 77% of lab members are actively participating, driven primarily by a genuine desire to influence.
- Lightweight operation: A small team can run a thriving lab. There is no need for a dedicated research team or a separate budget.
"Customer input is no longer a special event. It's just part of how we work."
Marika Immonen, Head of Customer Experience, Viking Line
