The Art of Listening
A quick story – I was reading to my son last night before bed, which I do every night. It’s one of those times we have to spend together, without stress or interruptions.
Our puppy started barking. It’s a new thing she has been doing lately – barking at the cat, or at something she sees outside. I also knew, in the back of my mind, that she also barks when she has to go out.
I quickly ignored that thought. I was spending quality time with my son, and he was close to being asleep.
When he finally fell asleep, I got up, and could immediately tell what she was really barking about.
I mean an entire roll of paper towels clean up kind of barking. I don’t blame my dog, I blame myself for ignoring her and not LISTENING.
Now, relating this to your small business.
The economy is tough right now, and you might find yourself with more free time on your hands than you would care for.
Now is a great time to LISTEN to your customers.
Call them up – ask them how they feel about your company and the services you provide to them. Yes, use the word “feel”. Purchasing is typically an emotional act – at least in the sense of who they purchase from. Actually listen to what your customer has to say – write it down, put it in a spreadsheet – whatever works best for you to organize the feedback.
Call all of your customers. Call potential customers, and ask them questions about your product or service, what they like about the current supplier, what they dislike. You’d be surprised at how open people are about who they are not satisfied with.
And make sure your customers are satisfied with you and your company. Other people might just be calling your customers, asking them these same type of questions. And I am sure you don’t want your customer to leave you with the same type of result my dog left for me last night.
Good luck – let me know what kind of questions you ask, and what the typical response is.
