Are You Listening?
"Listening tends to be an underrated marketing strategy," Diane Hessan, president and CEO of Communispace, said when she and I were discussing trends.
But that's changing. Hessan is seeing an increasing in the number of companies cocreating and collaborating with their customers, and that starts with gaining an understanding of their needs, preferences, and expectations.
"We're at the vortex of market research and social media," Hessan said. "Increasingly, companies are using social media to listen to and gather insight from customers."
The challenge many companies face, she said, is not just keeping a pulse on customers, but also ensuring that they're acting on what they're learning from customers. According to Hessan, online communities are helping with both because they're ongoing. Businesses usually have to find customers and "scream at them" to get their attention and participation, she said, but with online communities customers are at the ready. "If customers feel like they're insiders, they'll rush in and tell you what they think," she said.
"It used to be that a customer group would arrive at 7 p.m. for a focus group, you would show them creative, and then show them the door," Hessan said. Online communities, on the other hand, are all about long-term engagement.
Additionally, online communities allow companies to "listen in" on what customers are saying to each other. According to Hessan, about 50 percent of what's going on in online communities is customers talking to each other. Insight from these conversations can be invaluable.
Hessan noted that companies that host or participate in online communities must close the loop on feedback they receive or risk customers' ire. Companies don't have to do everything customers suggest; they just need to communicate with customers on what actions have or haven't been taken and why.
There are two primary, yet somewhat opposing objectives that are common among marketers using online communities to interact with customers. The first is what Hessan called illumination-type work aimed at better understanding consumers to drive break-throughs. The other she called fast track information: "I'm working on X and I need information now to make it more relevant to customers." Both approaches can make online communities more strategic and deliver a high payoff.
The big question Hessan hears most often regarding participants in online communities is, "Who are these people?" According to Hessan they're people from every type of customer segment who love feeling heard. "It's rare that a company gets back to you, so people loving having input into a brand," she said. "It's just fun to be a part of it."
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- Turn Up the Volume on Customer Listening
- Subway Misses the Mark on a Customer Relationship Opportunity
- Guest Blogger Catrina Logan Boisson: Demonstrating the Value of Customer Data
Tim,
Great point. "Listening" to customers whether through a blog or an online community or forum really should be "interacting." The point is to create a dialog, learn from what you're hearing, and respond. As Diane said, closing the loop. Martha Rogers and Don Peppers might consider this as part of what they call the learning relationship. It grows over time because of that closed loop of listening-action-response. And it creates a competitive advantage, because, as Don and Martha say, the more you know about your customers, the more you can do for them that your competitors can't because they don't have that information.
Now this interests me a lot. This is something we can all learn from, especially with a blog such as this one.
A blog which attracts comments needs to attract discussion, not just comments. That means that, without trying to have the last word, every reasonable comment ought to turn into a discussion. The blogger should ensure that he or she interacts with those who comment.
This builds community which builds brand. You guys try to do that here, and sometimes miss. I try to do it at Marketing by Permission and sometimes miss, but this is all part of the message that Diane has.
Listening must be active. Just hearing is not enough.