About 10 years, my family began noticing that I wasn’t quite catching things in conversations. It took me a while to admit it to myself, but eventually, I went for a hearing test. The results showed my hearing was fading. I chose to ignore the audiologist’s advice and carried on as if nothing had changed.
Fast forwarding through a lot of frustrating conversations, I found myself back for another test. This time, I accepted the NHS offer of two hearing aids. Most of us will experience a decline in hearing as we age, but I blame the Status Quo gig at Hammersmith Odeon in 1984 that had my ears ringing for days.
Listening is a gift.
No one enjoys being in a one-sided conversation, knowing their words aren’t being heard. Traditional marketing has often felt like that; interrupting people with TV commercials, magazine ads, or cold calls in the middle of a busy day. We don’t really want them and most of the time they are not actually aimed at us.
But what if your small business marketing wasn’t interrupting? What if it was helping your audience succeed? When we listen, we begin to understand. Social media often feels like walking into a crowded room, shouting something about yourself, and then running away. But what if, instead, you walked into the room, sat down, and took the time to engage in a two-way conversation? That’s how relationships are built. It’s also how trust is built.
Listening to your customers and prospects doesn’t just benefit them, it benefits you too. As author Bobette Buster puts it, “Listening is a gift - one we give to ourselves and others. When you listen, you always gain more than you had going into the conversation… you know more.”
Listen to your customers. What do they care about? What do they believe in? How do they want to feel about the products and services they invest in? Listening to your customers’ needs demonstrates empathy and understanding. These are traits that can set your business apart. It’s through this listening that we, as businesses, can discover the real problems we can solve. The ones that matter to our customers.
And once we’ve listened, we can educate.
So, what do your customers actually want? What problems are they facing that you can help solve? Where are they lacking understanding about your product or service, and how can you bring clarity? What can you do to build deeper trust between your business and your audience? Don’t just create something and try to sell it. Listen to your customers, hear what they’re asking for, and create that. It’s an act of generosity that breeds wisdom.
As marketing expert Seth Godin says, “You can’t be seen until you learn to see.”
My ears might not be as sharp as they once were, but now I’ve got help to listen. If you need help creating content that benefits your customer and your business, schedule a conversation.
At Simple Story Marketing, we help purpose-led businesses create change with simple, story-based marketing that works.
P.S. If you want to make 7 simple changes to your website content so it makes the customer the hero visit the homepage and download the free PDF.
