CBC noted that this should be a year of listening. We think this can prompt us to shift from talking at customers and adopts the approach of the inbound methodology. Here we explore.
“Listening, after all, is an act of love.”
A year of listening
We all need to invest in mechanisms so that we can listen, respond and engage with customers promptly. Your staff is your frontline with customers, so it will be equally important to listen to our employees. We included listening in our 2017 pledge to our customers and team.
The CBC’s Metro Morning host, Matt Galloway advises to “Listen for a living.” Listen to this eloquent podcast segment.
“Be an active listener, a vigorous listener, somebody who leans forward and wants to hear what other people are saying.”
Matt Galloway speaking after receiving an honourary doctor of law degree from his alma mater, York University, Ontario. Watch from 4 minutes.
Net Promoter Score
Every business should be asking its customers on a routine, at least annual basis for their feedback. The most effective mechanism to do this is using Net Promoter. Here is a simple three questions illustration.
Here is a simple three questions illustration.
CUSTOMER NET PROMOTER ILLUSTRATION
We try out many surveys to see what other people are doing, what works or what doesn’t. The net promoter question is ideal. However, the most obvious follow-up question which we see that is so often missing is Why?
We recommend not to make questions mandatory and to allow a don’t know/ not applicable option to each question. This will reduce the number of people who drop out of the survey because there is not an applicable result from which to choose.
We have had a great experience with the Netigate platform. Read our prior post on Top Recommendations for Delighting the Customer.
“Know you, like you, trust you, use you and recommend you,” says Jon Moss, in describing the path on which we should nurture our customers.
Seeking customer feedback is not a checkbox to tick. The time and effort are worthless unless you act upon that collective feedback to change your organisation to be more customer-centric.
Every customer interaction becomes an opportunity to validate our buyer personas. In this way, the buyer personas and always developing and never complete. You can never stop learning more about the goals, pain points and challenges of your customers. These insights guide the strategic direction of your business and refine how you are best able to serve them. Such a true customer intimacy strategy will differentiate you from your competitors.
Brand advocacy
We are strongly influenced by the opinion of others. Just look at these TripAdvisor statistics. Delighting the customer is the last stage of the inbound methodology funnel. Every business should be actively soliciting customer reviews, testimonials or case studies. To not bother is a huge miss. We are all eager for the next customer sale, yet, leveraging your existing customer base can bring new customers to your brand.
Read this excellent post by Victora LaPlante on the Influituve blog – 6 Ways to Unleash The Power of Brand Advocacy. Victoria explores how she discovered the power of advocacy and best practice tips. I am one of those 3,500 HubStars.
Podcasting
Finally, on the topic of listening, we are binging on these podcasts. Many have a pearl of wisdom to reflect upon and apply to your situation.
“Getting rid of friction and frowns and introducing smiles and satisfaction,” Jon Moss commented in The Remarkable Business Show episode 2 in reference to Flywheel.
- The Growth Show with hosts Kipp Bodnar & Meghan Keaney Anderson
- The Remarkable Business Show with host Jon Moss
- Weird Work with host Sam Balter
- The TakeOff with host Jenny Butler
I was delighted to be interviewed by Jenny for The TakeOff podcast episode 3. We talked about starting up new ventures, social responsibility and on seeing ADD as a strength.
Opencity Inc. thinks giving a spotlight to charities is important and one way we can be socially responsible.