One lesson I have learned in my 20+ years in the communications business is that good listening skills are the key to a any effective communication. Whether it’s me trying to listen as my wife rattles off the 10 things going on with my kids this week and what we have to do to make it happen, or a marketer trying to learn more about a potential customer, effective listening is key to a successful outcome.
In order for me to effectively participate and successfully manage my kids schedules (without getting yelled at by my wife), I must identify where there is a need for my services (Chauffeur), what specific services are of interest (Transportation) and how often must I provide these services (Too Often)? For marketers it’s basically the same. We need to understand where our product or service fits within the prospects world. We must next determine which services to offer and then create a marketing program to solve our prospects business need.
More and more these programs require a two way dialogue. We cannot provide the right service at the right time unless we understand what the customer needs. By creating a dialogue with the prospect we can learn what is required of us to be successful. Personalization and communicating with prospects with relevant content are great ways to start that dialogue. The internet has become the most effective listening device in the history of marketing. If you can get your prospects to the web and query their interest in your product or service, you then can determine what is required for a successful outcome.
What I Learned Today about Media 