1) If your job is to provide valuable service to a customer (and most of us do), it behoves you to be on top of what they need from you. It’s your job to over deliver and make the experience a pleasurable one. Great service should be a given in business, but we know that not everyone is listening.
2) When it comes to performing our services it’s good if you get it. Nothing is more irritating to customers than having to explain it more than once. Time is money and an inability to listen can cost you big time.
3) What’s up Doc? Bugs had it right – keeping your ear to the wind, alerts you to opportunities that could make your month. Being alert brings in leads, listen for the cues.
4) Not listening can lose you a job. A client recently informed me that a supplier they recently hired badly dropped the ball and delivered something that they felt was out of left field. Their collective comment was, ” Weren’t they listening?” You know where they’re going to end up don’t we. When you’re listening it’s all about them, when you’re not it’s all about you. Ouch!
5) If your brand is known by how effective you are and how you resonate with people, then your brand is a “Listening Brand.” This is a huge compliment and a branding must. When you listen, everything happens in a positive way and that’s great for everyone.
I think if your brand is known by how effective you are and how you resonate with people, then your brand is a “Listening Brand.†This is a huge compliment and a branding must.
A brand in the mind of the consumers is like a human being. They have this set of characters and ideas on what this brand should be. A good brand creates relationship with they’re consumers. Relationship encourage good communication and part of it is listening and understanding the needs. If I own a business, one thing that I’ll give importance is the feedback, because with that I can improve my product. Learn to listen, that’s the only way you’ll understand.
Exactly Erica, to consumers brands have personalities. It makes it easier to resonate with them.
Good one, Kangen.
Thanks for the nice insight into the importance of listening. I find that more often than not, people do not take as much opportunities to listen to their consumers/users and the world in general.
Listening is tougher to learn than it sounds but certainly worth the effort.
That’s true, it can be tough to learn. But it’s vital. And when we learn to listen our whole life and business can boost.
A brand need not be over-sensitive to the consumer’s expectations, only taking a note of the voice is sufficient.
Right? It seems like such an easy concept yet is constantly overlooked. Do you think smaller brands are more sensitive to being a listening brand since they haven’t “made it” yet?
I think there is a fine line between providing great customer service and being a listening brand.
Apple is a great example of a brand that has a great reputation for customer service, but I would say isn’t really a listening brand. As a long time Apple user I’ve found that on a basic customer service level Apple perform’s really well. If my laptop is acting up or I need an explaination of a piece of software Apple is there for me 100%. When it comes to firmware and apple incorporating functionalities into their hardware and software as recommended by their consumers, this is where Apple falls short, IMO.
Apple was way behind the curve on simultaneous apps for the iPhone, which left the door wide open for Android (and Google), Several of their OS 10.5 firmware updates rendered user CD drives useless and unfixable and an official update to the firmware for the latest release of 10.5 never corrected the issue despite outcries from consumers.
Point being: Just because you’ve got great customer service doesn’t mean your listening. If you think you’ve got a listening brand think again. Google your company, read the forums, find out what people are really saying about you!
I agree on Apple FF. I’ve been a Mac guy since ’84 and Mac has always driven the bus “their way.” They force you into their mold. I remember when they eliminated the disk drive on their desktops. We all looked at each and wondered what we’re supposed to do with our disks? For the short term we had to buy external floppy drives until the rest of the PC world caught up to Apple and we moved on to CD’s.
They are also ignoring their customer’s desire for flash on the iPad and iPhone. So, I guess they do get low marks as a listening brand.
Maybe the readers here can suggest who they think is a great listening brand?
I haven’t been able to find bugle boy brand socks anywhere! I used to buy them at Wal-mart and the whites would was out so beautifuly clean for a long time! No other brand has come close. I’m presently using underarmour brand but it is still far from the quality I found in Bugle Boy.
Ya lost me here BWN
Nice Tips! Thank you for the post. You made some good points there. Branding should be the culmination of lots of marketing communication targeted to taking a customer on a journey. Interuption marketing tries to do this in a few advertisements. So many people I come across think that Brand is a logo or a catch cry but fail to realise its about the emotional message we carry to our customers.
Thank you Tracy – you’re obviously listening
You make some very interesting points, and what strikes me is that these are very obvious tips but constantly need to be repeated and refreshed to those in business.
I especially agree with #3, “keeping your ear to the wind alerts you to opportunities that could make your month. Being alert brings in leads, listen for the cues.” Just the smallest mentions or suggestions from your customers can bring in golden ideas or opportunity is that would otherwise have been lost. It’s important to listen to intelligence, but more importantly not only gather this information but engage with it. I feel a great place to gather a lot of this intelligence and REALLY succeed as a listening brand is on social networks sites- they’re like free focus groups. Mountains and mountains of opinions and feedback are only a click away.
Marlen Komar
It amazes me Marlen how few business people engage in conversations online to gain knowledge an build connections which of course leads to opportunities.
Small business owners should also regularly post to online forums, such as message boards and discussion lists widely read by people likely to be attracted to the brand.To build a powerful brand customer interaction is necessary.So through online survey kind of feed back we can make some necessary changes to create or to develope a powerful brand.
Great suggestion with the surveys idea speakasia, thank you.
Small businesses and big businesses alike should always be listening to their customers. This is the best way to constantly be improving your business, especially if it is customer based. I think the companies that offer lots of surveys after you’ve used them and regularly look at those answers are in a great position. Only a fool wouldn’t listen to what people are saying in order to improve their business.
Listening is it! Your reminder is powerful. People who feel heard feel appreciated. People who listen have a gazillion more chances of WOWing.
Small businesses and big businesses alike should always be listening to their customers. This is the best way to constantly be improving your business, especially if it is customer based. I think the companies that offer lots of surveys after you’ve used them and regularly look at those answers are in a great position.
Thanks for the comments every on e – great feedback! Sorry for this late reply as I’ve been soaking up the sun for a week.
Thanks for that…