The Art of Listening to Customers, One Ingredient for Success

2 people holding/shaking hands

With the expansion of the internet, business marketers have realized that customers play a substantial role in the business’ success. Not only because they buy the product, but also because they talk about it to others. While, in the past, talking to your family and friends about your favorite company’s latest release had limited impact, it is not as accurate now. Posting a review of a product on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. means that thousands of people (sometimes even more) are susceptible to seeing and being influenced by your opinion. Customer listening is becoming exponentially important.

The power of an internet review should not be ignored. 86% of consumers hesitate to buy something from a business with bad reviews, while positive reviews increase revenue, according to invesp, consumers are likely to spend 31% more money on businesses with good reviews.

So, should businesses focus on maximizing customer satisfaction with a product/service? Yes, but not only. It is rather more important for the business owner to aim at maximizing satisfaction with the entire business!

By polishing the customer aftercare, brand image, and product quality, the company will make the customer happier, and thus more likely (1) to come back, and (2) to talk about the business around them and on the internet. This can be achieved by using customer listening practices.

Here are some ways of listening to your customers that do not ask for extreme expertise or journey to the bank:

 

The keyword is interactions!

 

Thanks to social media, it has become incredibly easy to implement customer listening. When posting on one of your pages, be mindful of the comments, and ask questions on platforms such as Twitter. Customers might give you insightful feedback or even ideas for new products. By interacting with them, you can develop a community around your brand, and at the same time increase customer loyalty. The secret is to be close to your customers, so interact with personalized answers for each tweet, be funny and human! On this matter, Netflix (@netflix) has completely understood the assignment.

 

 

Track mentions

 

It is easy to look up what people say about you on the internet. Stay informed by regularly checking what consumers and media think about your brand. This way, you will have a better idea of your business’s public image. Having a strong brand image is important because consumers do not only buy a product, they also buy what your business/brand stands for. Being aware of what people think of your business will help you in either adjusting, if it is not the brand image you are aiming for, or to continue in that direction if the image reflected is positive. According to widpl, 90% of the buying decisions are based solely on the brand image!

 

Embrace criticism

 

Yes! Feedback is Gold when it comes to knowing the major areas of improvement of your business. Never respond harshly to negative comments or feedback. Constructive criticism is always valuable for the business, and by showing that you care, people on the internet will become more interested in what the business has to offer! It can be assumed that one critic might be an ambassador to many silent critics with the same problem. Canva (@canva) has shown great responses to feedback.

 

 

Is only listening enough?

 

No! When the customers give feedback or interact with you, they expect you to care about their experience with your business. React to their feedback as much as possible and share updates to show that you value their opinion. Examples such as Class Pass (@ClassPass) and Adobe (@Adobe) have shown great responses to customers’ feedback.

 

 

 

With this in mind, what do you think about this post? Feel free to share this post with a comment on your social media!

February 14, 2022 Digital Marketing Sarah Assih
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