Some may chuckle at the notion of listening being a skill because you are not “doing” anything. After all, you are just waiting for the other person to stop speaking so you can share your information? However, it is this mindset that has gotten companies into trouble. Many companies have gotten into the habit of planning their responses while their customers are still talking. It is amazing to me how many situations could be avoided or at least solved in a timely manner if companies took the time to listen to their customers. If companies are truly listening to their customers they would do the following:Acknowledge their presence. I know this seems like an obvious point, but if companies are truly seeking to learn about their customers then they should be willing to answer their questions. How many times have you called customer service because you were experiencing an issue with a product/service and while the customer service representative is working on “resolving” the issue you had to endure sitting through a speech about their new product/service? If this is your organization’s idea of a good time to “pitch” a new service you are sorely mistaken. Timing is everything and being forced to learn about a new service when a customer is currently experiencing problems with the old one will only frustrate them.Summarize. You should be able to repeat your customer’s needs if you were listening (it goes without saying that a customer’s duty is to clearly convey the problem). After all, you will not be able to resolve the issue if you are unable to identify problem. Repeating what the customer has just said indicates that you are concerned and allows the customer the opportunity to correct you in the event that you misunderstood them.In the event that you do not understand the issue your customer is experiencing, it is okay to ask for clarification after they have completely explained their situation (many times your question will be answered if you let the customer finish speaking). The majority of your customers will not give you a hard time about asking them questions–especially if it will help speed up the process in getting their issue resolved.Seek feedback. Companies can further demonstrate their ability to listen to their customers by actively seeking their customers input about their product/service by conducting market research (i.e. surveys, focus groups, etc.). The only way to confirm that you are on the same page as your customers is to actively pursue their opinions. You might be surprised at how accommodating your customers would be in assisting your organizations’ s efforts to improve your service. Companies should be more than willing to adequately reward their customers (i.e. chance to win a prize, discounts, etc.) in order to further increase the chances of receiving their customers cooperation.Just imagine what might happen when companies start listening and customers start talking–a conversation!
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