Why businesses should be talking
and LISTENING to their customers


Louise Clarke
Louise Clarke

Digital Content Manager

Posted on: 4th Nov. 2022



Listening to customers doesn’t just mean talking about their problems, dealing with miscommunication or making things right when they go wrong, it’s also about finding out why they chose your business, why they like your products or services or why they keep coming back again and again. It’s equally important to know what your SME is doing right and as well as what you could improve on.


Listening to your customers also helps you connect with them. It means paying close attention to their needs and understanding how your business can help them achieve their goals. Ultimately helping to improve customer experience.
 
Research shows that a whopping 86% of customers would be happy to pay more for another provider if they'll receive a better customer experience. Customers need to feel valued and poor customer service is the main reason they look to competitors.
 
Listening to customer feedback is the best way to understand demands and fulfil expectations. No matter how great their businesses products or services are, if business leaders can’t interact with their clients they’ll miss opportunities.
 
Opportunities to upsell and cross-sell can be overlooked when businesses don’t take the time to understand their market. Sometimes the customer isn’t always right and their needs could be met with a different product or service they simply hadn’t considered. Your expert and in-depth knowledge will help them to make better decisions and could benefit you both.



When we really listen to other people we get personal and when we get personal we invest in the relationship. A customer relationship, like any other relationship works both ways and it’s how we build trust and loyalty. Whilst we might be busy looking for new customers, we should never underestimate the power of retaining those we’ve already won over.
 
There are several ways your business can reach out to customers but one of the most important things is to remember to listen. Really listen to what they are saying. In order to understand why customers make certain decisions, it's crucial to to look at things from their perspective.
 
Collecting customer feedback about your products, brand, and service by interviewing customers, sending feedback surveys, hosting focus groups, and reaching out via social media are all part of really finding out how and why they make decisions. This should be a key aspect of your marketing strategy and can help you to grow as a business.
 
Never be afraid to ask them because whether they are happy or not, they will be more than happy to give you their opinion and their opinion matters. Depending on the main objective of the research and identifying the question they want to ask, here are some ways that business leaders can collect valuable feedback that can help guide strategy.
 
• Customer Interviews              
• Online Customer Surveys              
• Live Chat              
• Social Media              
• Website Behavior              
• Recorded Call Data              
• Online Customer Reviews              
• In-Person Surveys              
• Net Promoter Score®              
• Focus Groups              
• Emails              
• Dedicated Feedback Form
 
When deciding what to ask your customers keep it short and simple whilst getting the information needed. Try these questions:
 

1. Where did you hear about our product or service?

2. Which social media platforms do you use every week?

3. How satisfied are you with [current product or service]?

4. What can we improve?

5. How likely are you to recommend us?

 
 

Listening to customers and building relationships with them is fundamental to growing your business but some may find talking to them a challenge particularly when there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. That’s where Happy can help. Talk to us today about Market Research and how we can help you connect and engage with your customers.

To receive more blogs like this, sign up here and we’ll send them when we add them. Only the best stuff. Promise. Subscribe now.

 
 

You may also like:

Avoid these 3 marketing mistakes
Social media… how to shine online
Why market research is your best friend

 
 

Louise Clarke is a Happy Content Manager, designer and illustrator. She is an author of kid’s books, and joined Happy in 2016.

 
 

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