Listen Up: Here’s the Secret to B2B and B2C Marketing

“More than 42% of companies don’t survey their customers or collect feedback. How can they claim to put the customer first if they don't make the effort to listen to what they have to say?”

A surprising statistic, when today’s technology and communication channels are omnipresent.

Listening is your strongest ally

Regardless of the business context, target audience and whether it is for B2B, B2C or employer brand marketing, listening, understanding, reformulating, proposing, creating, delivering and building loyalty are extremely essential. These are important steps that seasoned marketers can take in order to increase visibility and awareness.

In marketing, you must listen to truly understand

The saying, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood" can serve all organizations, whether small, medium or large service or product companies, in any market, industry or sector.

People often begin to reflect and respond even before the other has finished speaking. Yet, in marketing, the 15-20% of information missed can be crucial. You spend dozens of hours as a team on a marketing strategy; deck, pitch, request for pricing, in order to find THE dream contract and you are told that it more or less meets the need. Does that sound familiar? Of course, this type of situation can result from several factors, however it is a safe to say that listening plays a key role!

Think about a failed marketing campaign: a poor understanding of the audience is often at the root of these failures and can have serious consequences for the development of your business. Today, with the ever-present use of social media, the audience has the upper hand. More informed than ever, they will not hesitate to comment on your products, services and may even become your most difficult critic! Knowing that between 88-97 % of consumers trust the online opinions of their peers before making a transaction, we can understand that the lack of listening can inevitably harm a marketing strategy and its return on investment. It seems to be a growing trend: the consumer wants to hear… the consumer! Once again, it's all about listening.

Listening is so simple, so easy, but is it really?

Listening may seem obvious, but when you look at some statistics, you quickly realize that this belief is not applied by everyone in marketing. Some companies often think they are doing the right thing but fall into the trap of communicating only what they want to say while failing to focus on what people need to hear. Yet, a multitude of effective and useful vehicles are available to them to listen to their target audience:

• Surveys, quizzes & contests
• Social media, forums, blogs & case studies
• SMS campaigns & live chats
• Videoconferencing & interactive applications
• Suggestion boxes & help lines
• Interviews, FAQs & collection of testimonials
• Online reviews
• Ambassador programs
• Annual meeting

So far yet so close: How COVID-19 reinforced company’s listening skills

As a result of the pandemic, many companies had to rethink the way they listen and communicate. For example, in collaboration with one of our clients, for whom the crisis was an opportunity to challenge the status quo, we thoroughly reviewed their positioning on social networks along with their brand strategy. Many of the marketing and communication strategies carried out were primarily based on listening to:

• The real issues and needs of their customers, the customer journey.
• Comments on their web platforms that needed to be addressed. Yes, it takes a lot of listening and humility!
• The perceptions and expectations of their workers.

As a result, the efforts made for this specific client were extremely effective over the course of the first 9 months of the pandemic:

• The viewing rate of their B2B videos and online campaigns increased by 32%.
• Negative comments about their brand dropped significantly by over 60%.
• The viewing rate of their internal communications to employees increased from 53% to 84%.

In closing, listen carefully

In marketing, listening remains a great added value. It saves time and money, adapts your strategies and campaigns, engages and retains your target audiences, increases your visibility, and helps you stay abreast of the best practices and trends in your market. Go ahead, give it a try!