There are strategies and techniques involved with active listening. It is hard for most people. It is hard because it requires effort. When our customers or clients talk we must focus on what they want to say. Are we actively listening to our customers? Can we repeat back to them what they like and don’t like about our website, product, or service? If not, someone else will.
Web Analytics, Key Performance Indicators, and advanced metrics all measure how well we are listening to our customers. They tell us how well we understand, interpret, and deliver what our customers want. The better we understand them the better we can serve them.
Everything our customers say isn’t the most pleasant thing to hear. They might tell us that the new site re-design stinks, our search results are broken, or our new promotion isn’t very good. All these things hurt but it’s how we respond that matters most. It is tempting to ignore the feedback and keep doing what we do. It is tempting to make excuses or blame the customer for not understanding why things are the way they are. Decisions to ignore, make excuses, or blame the customer all add up. The way we respond will have major impacts on the bottom line.
How do we actively listen to our customers? Number one give them ways to give us feedback. Surveys are a powerful way to listen to the voice of the customer. Many people want to provide information and be of help if they can. Another way is to follow them around in the digital world. Using path reports in web analytics will tell us the paths our customers took while on the site. If you could follow around your customers in real life you could learn a lot. Especially if the customer gave you a keyword phrase telling you what they wanted from you. You might have exactly what the customer wants but aren’t displaying it well or it might be labeled so your customer doesn’t recognize it.
In addition to surveys and pathing reports there are more ways to listen to your customer. Another way is to track internal site search results. These are what your customers are typing in the search bar once they are on your site. The words they use will tell you what they can’t find easily on your website. I’ve seen cases where the most popular search phrase is popular because it’s buried in the site structure. Another way to listen is by external keyword search. Customers might be using a completely different set of vocabulary then what you are calling something internally. Depending on your industry you might be neck deep in jargon that everyday consumers never use. By speaking their language you’ll satisfy their needs.
One of the final and best ways to actively listen to your customers is through what they write about your company or product. Performing a search online for your name and products will yield some interesting discussions your customers are having about you. An easy way to track these conversations is by using Google Alerts. Everytime your product or company is mentioned an alert will be emailed to you. Your weaknesses and strengths can be tracked through the words of your customers. They say a single letter represents the voices of hundreds more. Take these conversations seriously and let them help you become the best in your field.
