How to Be an Active Listener for Your Customers
Make sure your customers are heard with these techniques
Keep an ear out
If you have ever lent a helping hand to your friend when they are struggling with something in their lives, you know what I am talking about. Having someone to listen to when you feel frustrated is one of the most fundamental human needs ever. So, why should you treat your customers any different?
Today is Get to Know Your Customers Day and we thought we would fill you in about it a little more. The idea is to reach out to your customers and get to know them better, because it is the customers who make or break your brand. With the advent of all things digital, building a direct relationship with your customer base has been put on a back burner. Today, let us turn that round and give a huge shout out to all customers around the world who make businesses thrive.
If you are running a business and want to reach out to your clients a bit more, then try being an active listener. It will pay off more than you can imagine!
1. Look at the reviews
If you are not sure about how your business is doing, it’s important that you check out reviews either on the website itself or snoop around on social media a little bit. Whether they be personal profiles of people or pages where they share information about your service, keep an eye out for both praise and criticism. That way, you can get an idea about what people like about your company and what they don’t.
If you do this, you also get to know who your customers are!
2. Regular surveys
Regular surveys are one of the most effective ways of knowing how to upgrade your business. In an age of endless competition, it is important that you know what it is exactly that people expect out of you. Informal qualitative surveys can be done through applications like Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, Zoho Forms etc.
For more in-depth surveys however, you can also use sophisticated tools like Survey Monkey, Survey Gizmo, Qualtrics, SoGo Survey etc.
3. Be open-minded and take criticism in your stride
Being open-minded and comfortable with criticism goes a long way into building a healthy relationship with your customer. Feedback through social media, personal messaging apps, and emails can be a valuable means to gather information on how customers are responding to your brand or business.
Feel free to proceed with an ongoing back and forth communication with them in an organic way that doesn’t seem forced. It is also important to communicate in a way that breaks down the customer-business hierarchy and makes it easier for people to put in a query or suggestion that might be useful to you in future.
4. Take customer calls seriously
Yes, emails, surveys, and social media are all effective means of communication, but, at the end of the day, you might just need to pick up a call when someone is in need. Customer service calls are one of the easiest and most effective ways of lending a helping hand to your customer when in need.
When customers are upset or frustrated, it is the service provider’s responsibility to provide them with the correct instruction as to what to do next.
5. Look for cues
First of all, don’t take it personally when the customer gets upset. Listen to what they have to say keenly, and without any judgement. Get on a face-to-face video call if you have to and make them comfortable first.
Sometimes, a personal touch to your communication might be far more effective than a survey, which doesn’t always let you read between the lines. When you communicate with a customer face-to-face, you can notice a lot of non-verbal cues which might reveal more than you think.
Before you go
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