By John Sonnhalter, Rainmaker Journeyman at Sonnhalter
Think about the people you care about and like both in your personal life as well as your professional one. I bet one of the reasons you like them is because they take the time to listen.
You know it’s hard to have a conversation with someone who’s always talking. In business, I think the best salesmen are the ones who take the time to find out what the customer’s problem is and then offers options for fixing it.
I find that those same people who want to talk a lot don’t worry much what’s said about their company or brand on the internet, and that could come back to bite them big time in the long run.
I recently read a post by Zoe Summers in Social Media Examiner that outlines ways to use listening in your business life (social listening is also known as social media monitoring). Here are some highlights:
- Generate leads by solving problems
- Attract new customers
- Discover where your target audience hangs out
- Use as a customer care tool
- Get feedback on new products
Another post by Jay Baer, 6 Parts of Your Company That Should be Listening to Social Conversations, I found extremely interesting and wanted to share some highlights. Some are obvious; others we all should put on our list.
- Sales – Listening programs give you the opportunity to find prospects when the timing is perfect and when they’re actually asking for answers you have.
- Marketing and PR – Listening helps make sure that the language you’re using as a company is the same language being used by the people you’re hoping to hook.
- Customer Service – Customers are airing their concerns, questions and grievances over social media channels, especially if traditional channels prove less than helpful.
- R&D – You can fuel your idea engine by harnessing the input, thoughts and creativity of the online audience.
- HR – The obvious potential here is talent recruiting, in both finding potential employees and examining their online social graphs.
- Executives and Management – They can understand market trends through the unfettered viewpoint of the online masses and determine whether they’re behind, ahead of, or riding the curve.
So next time, whether it’s online or in person, take a deep breath and listen first.