In college, part of my speech communication degree requirement was to take a semester-long class in listening. As any brazen college student would, I wondered aloud:

How will we fill an entire semester studying “listening”?

As it turns out, you can spend your life honing the craft of listening. It was, in retrospect, my favorite class of my entire college experience. The lessons were simple but profound:

  • Listening is an ACTIVE process.
  • Listening is a skill that can be developed.
  • Listening is a choice we make with each interaction.
  • Listening is more important than anything you possibly have to say.

Think about the best decisions your company has made. Did you achieve the desired result because you plugged your ears and starting talking?

No.

The success happened because you stopped long enough to listen.

More than ever before, customers are talking. They are sharing wows and frustrations, needs and desires, problems and opportunities.

Are you where your customers are having these conversations?

  • Face-to-face
  • Online industry communities
  • Social networking communities (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
  • Geo-location sites (Foursquare, Yelp, Gowalla, Whrrl, etc.)
  • Blogs

There is a wealth of information available in the areas mentioned above. Several opportunities to deliver creative solutions to real customer problems are within earshot (digitally, if not F2F).

Are you listening?

The mediums for listening may have changed, but the constant remains: your customers are talking. Look at these new and emerging mediums as additional communication channels open to you. Join them…and start listening.

Do this (today)

  • Search LinkedIn groups for your niche, industry, topics that define your brand. Don’t doubt you’ll find groups that are of interest.
  • Search Twitter for the same topics. Look for #hashtags that look interesting. Follow the hashtags. Follow people that seem to be discussing topics of interest.
  • Search Google Blogsearch for the same topics. Go to the blogs and follow them using your favorite RSS tool (like Google Reader).
  • Call one of your customers and ask them to share their lastest frustration. Don’t listen to react or respond. Just listen, reflect back that you understand, thank them for the time and hang up.

What listening strategies do you employ? How do you best listen to your customers?

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