What Does It Mean to Listen?

Listening involves paying attention and responding to the needs and desires of customers. Listening is when Facebook pulled Beacon, because of public outcry over privacy rights. Better listening would have been if they never introduced it, because they knew the response would be negative.

As a business, you need to practice the art of active listening. It is not good enough to react to customers. You need to be able to anticipate their needs. Listening to customers is about positioning your company to be the answer to customer needs, ideally before they even ask.

Listening is also about getting involved with your customers. This includes actually spending time with them, researching things that are important to them, reading magazines and books that are written for them, and becoming an expert in the things that matter to them.

Who Should You Be Listening To?

You’re business should have an ideal customer. This is the prototype of the perfect customer for you. You want to attract this type of customer, and the more of your customers that fit the ideal, the better. So, it makes sense that this is the kind of customer you should be paying attention to.

A customer is someone who has purchased from you, but it is also someone who might purchase from you. You should treat customers, prospects, and general public with equal respect. However, you should spend your time listening to the people who you most want as customers.

Where Can You Listen?

Listening can (and should) happen everywhere. That being said, you can hone your listening by using certain tools and techniques.

Offline, you should be conducting customer surveys and just be getting out and talking to customers and prospects. Attend trade shows and conferences that are also attended by your ideal customers. If there are none in your area, start one. As your expertise grows, you may want to consider doing some speaking engagements. This is a great way to meet prospects and to get people to tell you about the issues that they face.

Online, the possibilities are endless. You can listen on Twitter with the help of Twitter Search. You can track key words and phrases across the web using Google Alerts. Forums are an outstanding place to listen. You can also create your own listening posts with a blog or podcast. Sure, this is about you talking, but it will also force you to research and learn about your customers. And you can encourage dialog and reader comments.

Be sure to listen where customers are talking. If you can find out where ideal customers congregate, online and offline, then you need to be there too.

Active listening will help you to better understand and connect with your customers. It will make sales and marketing easier, because you will be able to position yourself right between the customer and the need. Being a good listener will also endear you to the people you want to reach. Everyone loves being listened to. So close that yapper, put aside that profit and loss sheet for a moment, and start exploring the world of your customers.

photo credit: Travis Isaacs

Recommended Reading

I am constantly on the prowl for good business books. Right now, I am reading Crush It, by Gary Vaynerchuk. I love Gary’s take on passion and business. This book will give you a kick in the butt to get up and get moving as you pursue your passions and your business.

If you are interested in Crush It, you can get it through Amazon by clicking here or by visiting your local bookstore.

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Bradford Shimp is the publisher of All Biz Answers. He is also the co-creator of Idea Anglers, a place to see your ideas come to life through collaboration. Follow on Twitter @bradfordshimp. Let Bradford help you with your business – visit BroadRiverCreative.com