To say it’s been a challenging year for us all is an understatement. Business owners and self-employed people have had to continuously adapt in order to keep going – and they are the lucky ones. Whether it’s the pandemic, our businesses or life in general, things can impact our wellbeing and we all need to offload sometimes. July is The Samaritans awareness month, which culminates in The Big Listen on 24th. And this year they have also released a book called How to Listen – encouraging us all to have better conversations when it matters most. In addition to supporting others, we believe that listening is the key to successful client relationships – and we could probably all afford get better at it …
How to listen
For most of us, life is so busy juggling work and family or social commitments that it can be hard to find the time to listen, let alone reflect on how well we are doing it. And for many of us, the pressure to look like we have it all together can make it difficult to talk about our challenges. But these sort of conversations not only create better connections, they can significantly increase wellbeing and – in the case of The Samaritans – literally be the difference between life and death. The How to Listen book is full of tips from trained Samaritans about having difficult conversations but all of them – such as listening to understand rather than to judge or reply – are useful for having better conversations in every area of our lives … including with our customers.
Listening to our clients
Many of us spend time preparing our 60 second pitches, presentations or agendas, getting ready to talk-the-talk but how many of us prepare ourselves to listen? In listening and asking open questions we connect better with our clients, creating longer term, more trustworthy relationships with them and we get a deeper understanding of their challenges which enables us to be more competitive suppliers to them.
Listening to our target markets
On a wider scale, how often do we send out a print or email campaign shouting about our latest products or services then wait and see what feedback we get? Would it not be better to invest in surveying our target markets before we’ve even developed our product or service to ensure it is exactly what they want and need? Thanks to evolving data collection and management there are many ways that we can do this and produce personalised campaigns that offer people the products and services that most appeal to them. Our team of tech and creative experts can help you listen to your customers better.
Helping ensure everyone is listened to when they really need it
The Samaritans are there 24/7 for anyone who just needs someone to talk to – and they are needed now more than ever. They can be contacted day or night by phone on 116 123 or by email at jo@samaritans.org They rely on donations and volunteers and there are many things businesses can do to enable them to continue their work, from making them their nominated charity of the year to fun fundraising events or simply spreading awareness of their work. Get inspiration here.
We’re listening …
Whatever your commercial challenges, we are here to listen with an open mind. Whether you need help launching a new product or service, want to appeal better to your target market or simply want to brainstorm ways to get more business through design, print and web, call us on 0208 590 0922 or email us at info@marcomedia.co.uk We’re here for you throughout lockdown and beyond…