When you cant 'SEE' your Customers, 'TOUCH' them...by 'LISTENING'!

" When you cant SEE your Customers...TOUCH them...by LISTENING! " ... yes i am talking about the sensory capabilities which we all are blessed with, but the question is, are our businesses capable of this? Especially during this phase of the global pandemic, where the restriction on movement of people, goods and services have cracked the funnel of revenues for every type of business out there.

Yesterday i was talking to one of my friends who also happens to be the owner of an automotive dealership group which i had created 5 to 6 years back, as a regional sales manager. A brilliant entrepreneur, 'Apple' fan, automotive enthusiast, who started with one brand and later extended this business to 7 stores across 3 brands within these 5 years.

Our Yesterday's call was a little different though. " I have returned the LOIs for these 2 brands, and closed down these 5 stores. I am now sticking only to this brand, and operating out of these 2 locations" ...he said sounding dejected, but still trying to maintain his composure. On asking why was he continuing with that particular brand, he said "The brand is easy to sell, has got a large acceptance, EVEN THOUGH the margins are almost garbage...and even in these times, there are a handful of passerby's who stop in and check the products. At least i have a few leads coming in and ...sometimes...someone even books a vehicle...out of excitement".

The call ended finally, discussing about our kids, hobbies and hoping that the new normal actually turns out a bit normal.

To be honest, I was Shocked!!! not because of the impact on the business...as its true for every store out there...., but i was shocked to see the lack of vision and the of craving to leverage technology in order to build business resilience...And this is true for many business owners across the globe, be it automotive, CPG, E-commerce etc. While majority of business owners use state of art cell phones, are super active on social media, spend a bomb on making their stores class apart, but when it comes to SENSING their Customers, they rely on factors "brands pull" or "store campaigns" or "sight on the road" syndromes.... without understanding the engine which drives it all.

We all are in lockdowns, which means most of us are home, glued to our cell phones, followed by laptops...and then gaming consoles. Even while working, we have parallel tabs and windows open, where we are either researching, buying, contemplating a purchase, or figuring out whom to reach if we need support or recommendations...and more than 68% of web surfers are actively keeping themselves updated on Covid- drugs, impact and home remedies. - Now isn't this a Fantastic Business opportunity for startups into Organic medicines/food product, to track & reach millions of of curious customers, who are seeking easy to use, FDA approved, immunity boosting food products which could home delivered in sanitized packages?

- Or for Last-mile Delivery Providers to connect with businesses and showcase their capabilities of assuring "on-time; in full" delivery KPI, backed with a medical assurance of the package being virus free.

- Or for a medical device manufacturer to introduce a Package Treating Scanner for Logistic Service Providers....leveraging optimized ray cleansing mechanism, which prints out a holographic label or a activates the QR code stating - this package is scanned, treated and assured to be hygienic.

3 business ideas from just unanimous 1 insight, scoped by the surfing behavior, IP tracks, Key word search, coming from different geographies, well segmented and cleansed. This is the POWER of SOCIAL LISTENING...which is VERY DIFFERENT from SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING.

While social media monitoring looks at metrics like engagement rate and number of mentions, social listening looks beyond the numbers to consider the MOOD behind the data. This helps businesses understand how people feel about the business and its competitors. This “online mood” is also called as SOCIAL MEDIA SENTIMENT which is a key part of social media listening.

I would list down the following as why as a Business i would invest in an "Required and Customized" CXM tool.

1) The top priority - To ENGAGE with my customers, where they are present the most. Be it a teenager on Snapchat, or a CEO on Twitter, or a Celebrity on Instagram. This also helps me identify the pool of influencers who can be my brand ambassadors.

2) Handle CRISIS and Social Tsunamis - Rather than justifying, i'd rather apologize to a Product or a PR failure. Studies show that customers are bound to promote your brand AGAIN and LOUDLY, once they has experienced your fire saving measures, when addressed as soon as possible. This means that i dont only have a better CSAT but also a better NPS. Isn't that great?

3) Say hi to your new COMPETITOR!! - Social listening is more than understanding what people say about you. You also want to know what they say about your competitors. Are they praising an old competitor for his excellent customer service, or are they cheering some one new, for the fantastic deal and campaigns?

This gives you important insights into where you fit in the marketplace. You can learn what your competitors are up to in real-time. About their new products, new marketing campaigns, leadership changes, CSR presence, etc.

4) Everything else, which helps me Learn, Improve and Perform better as a Solution Providing Business entity!

To Start with, here’s a list of important keywords and topics to monitor right from the day one:

1. Your brand name and handles
2. Your product name(s), including common misspellings
3. Your competitors’ brand names, product names, and handles
4. Industry buzzwords
5. Your slogan and those of your competitors
6. Names of key people in your company and your competitors’ companies (your CEO, spokesperson, etc.)
7. Campaign names or keywords
8. Your branded hashtags and those of your competitors
9. Unbranded hashtags related to your industry
10. You should also monitor common misspellings and abbreviations.

so to sum it up......Happy Listening, and wishing you crucial insights which help you thrive and perform in your business trek.