Listen to this…
Anyone in a business with customers knows they have to listen to what their customers want or need. This is, as with many things, easier said than done. The MarketingProfs Daily Fix has some hints about the art of listening. A few of the good traits include being prepared to take notes, repeating what you hear and asking for clarification, being present, and being interested. All of these work when you are sitting next to or across the table from someone.
Listening to customers in other ways takes different forms, but is effectively the same–being interested in what the other person has to say. A blog, for example, is supposed to be a two-way conversation. But in many cases, it is really a one way communications tool. That can be by the choice of the blogger–to disallow comments–or simply that the blogger hasn’t said anything worth commeting on. The article ends with this:
However, most of us continue to use it as a talking tool (one-way communications), evidenced by our blog posts, podcasts and vlogs. We need to do better. But two-way and 360-degree communication only happens if our readers and listeners choose to participate. That is our challenge, not theirs.
So, how do we create a communications environment, where listening takes place? I think that is the key question surrounding the use of Social Media and that dreaded acronym, ROI.
This is a question I struggle with every day I write a post. What can I do to let you know I’m here to listen?