As she passed in front of us and continued down the aisle, I leaned over and shared a passing thought with my traveling companion.
In what seemed like no time at all, she reappeared at our side. ”Oh my, I did forget your tea.”, the extremely apologetic stewardess said. ”I’m so sorry. I’ll be right back.”
I was so embarrassed. I really didn’t mean for her to overhear me. All that I had whispered to my partner was “I just realized that I never got my tea.” And now that I think about it, how could she have even heard what I said anyway? She was three seats away!
So when she did bring my tea, I asked her. ”How did you manage to hear what I said?” “Practice”, she answered. ”The key to being really good at my job is training myself to hear what my customers are saying even when they don’t think I’m listening.”
Bottom line? Eavesdropping. Simple, systematic eavesdropping. More commonly known as listening when you’re not supposed to be. When was the last time that you eavesdropped on your customers? Do you know what they’re saying about you when they don’t think that you’re listening? Or, as another generation might have said, are your ears burning as often as they should be?
Four Innovative ways to eavesdrop on your customers
1. Create Forums: Although many businesses still use traditional client feedback strategies, social media has become the client survey of the day and as such, is probably the most powerful eavesdropping tool that exists in the market place. The trick here is to create forums that encourage provocative conversations, keeping in mind that there are at least two types of conversations that are worth eavesdropping on: one – the conversation between the company and the customers (actual or potential); two – the conversations amongst customers themselves. Which conversation would you rather listen in on?
2. Reward employees for eavesdropping: Imagine how much unsolicited customer feedback your employees overhear… overhear and never report back to you. Now, imagine how much more unsolicited customer feedback you could have access to if a) your employees were better intentional eavesdroppers and b) they were rewarded for the fruits of their eavesdropping labors. Why Not! launch an eavesdropping program. Teach staff how to master the art of discreet but intentional eavesdropping and then make it easy for them to report their findings for points or some other kind of incentive.
3. Google yourself: We recently went through a pretty frustrating kitchen renovation. The owners of the company are such hopelessly bad business people that quite frankly, telling them how we feel about our customer experience with them would be a waste of our breath. But telling the world? Now that would be worthwhile. So, I put their name and the word “reviews” into Google search and lo and behold, I discovered a whole community of people anxious to share their experience with this particular company. Now, some reviews were good, (well, one was good), and the rest were not. But each review represented someone who was passionate enough about their experience that they took the time to write the review and share it with the inhabitants of cyberspace. Feeling courageous? This is one way to find out what some pretty passionate customers are saying when they don’t think you’re listening!
4. Ask the question: What if…. What if you were to call one loyal, enthusiastic client each month and ask them “What would you tell someone about our customer experience if you didn’t think we were listening?” First of all, the question will surprise them which is a good thing. Then, if you’re lucky, they’ll start with all of the good stuff. But don’t let them get away with that. Push them to describe the flaws in your customer experience. Reassure them that the challenges in your business are as important as the successes and that you are counting on them to allow you to eavesdrop on this imaginary conversation so that your business can serve them better in the long run. Ask the tough questions. Get the tough answers. Grow your business.
So… get your ears burning more often. Practice simple, systematic eavesdropping to find out what your customers are saying when they don’t think you’re listening. Then apply imagination to the information and innovate your way to attracting, keeping and engaging more customers so that you can grow your business.
What do you think about the value of customer feedback?
What are some of the most innovative ways that you have tried or experienced for finding out what customers are really thinking?
Tags: business strategies, customer experience, customer experience innovation, customer feeback, customer service, customer service innovation, innovation, innovative business strategies, strategic innovation
