Actionable Listening vs. Active Listening

There’s “Active Listening.” That’s what most savvy brands are doing. It’s mostly about Social Media Monitoring. “Quick! Somebody said something about us! Say something back!” I liken it to the excitement one might feel when toying around with an old ham radio. This is a good thing to be doing, for all brands, regardless of size.

But you can take it further, into the realm of “Actionable Listening.” The difference here is that the folks doing the listening/responding are empowered to effect change within their organization, on customers’ behalf.

Best examples to date? Dell (I’m looking at you, @RichardatDELL) and Comcast Cares. In both cases, customers who tweet or blog about these brands receive a timely response that includes an offer of assistance. And that offer is no B.S. These listeners have the juice in their organizations to ACT. They are getting RESULTS for these customers.

When I bitched on Twitter about my Comcast phone service, Comcast’s famous Frank Eliason contacted me immediately and had someone call my (befuddled) wife to check the line. When I moaned about receiving a “blue screen of death” during the Twebinar, one of Richard Binhammer’s compatriots DM’d me to see if I was using a Dell, and if so, could he help?

To successfully engage in Actionable Listening, the corporation must make an investment not only in Monitoring tools but in providing infrastructure changes that back-up the lip-service with speedy and effective results.

Reg’lar folks who willingly engage in a conversation with an official brand representative need to feel that the interchange is going to add real value, not apply a band-aid.

Are you listening? Great. But are you also empowered to act effectively on your customers’ behalf?

Continue reading here: Social Media Marketing: No Guarantees

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