Do you ask your customers how you’re doing? If not then that might be something for you to think about! Even if you do though ask for their assessment of your company’s performance – do you hear what they’re saying? Or do you ignore what they say, congratulate yourself that you’ve ticked that box and move on? If you do hear what they say do you really listen? Be humble and look at things from their perspective? Avoid being defensive and see if there’s anything in what they’re saying that you can use?
There is real value in such listening. You may get some positive news stories that you can use for PR purposes. You may learn of needs that your customers have that you didn’t know about and which you are (or can be) well positioned to satisfy. You may learn of issues that need to be rectified. There are many such positives. And then of course there is the more intangible one of them knowing that they are being listened to. So ask, hear and listen. But it’s also important to avoid neglecting the final stage – ACTION. Take action (within resource constraints of course) on what you learn. Otherwise it’s all a waste.
