two ears, one mouth

Today in an online marketing forum, I answered a question about why company marketers are afraid of new methodologies such as measuring online conversations in social media.

My response was focused around the change of mindset that marketers need to have. There is a considerable difference from the traditional method of pushing your message (e.g. using television, radio, direct marketing, etc) and engaging with a target audience, not something that marketing departments have been used to.

Companies are now required to listen, understand and respond with relevance to what is being said online and responding inappropriately can create further issues.

I signed off with the suggestion:

perhaps the phrase "you have two ears and one mouth, use them in those proportions" needs to be adopted by online marketing now?

The difference between Getting and Understanding

I've been speaking a lot with leading digital industry people recently and am getting suprised by the number of them stating phases such as:

• "Your customers 'get' this idea!"


• "Its a demographic difference, your target audience just 'get' it"


• "Do you have management that just "doesn't get it"?"

Well, it stikes me that 'getting it' just doesn't cut the mustard really. In this sound-bite (sound-byte surely?) time we live in, everything has to be communicated in mere principles. Why has it become socially acceptable for people to consume just enough information to be able to recite your ideas back and nothing more?

What happened to 'Understanding'?


I sadly think that understanding is becoming a dirty word, somehow conveying that you either took too long to grasp a concept or that the person explaining somehow said too much. Perhaps its the consequence of a time-poor society that even providing suitable explanation is too much effort to the listener.

The word is a description of what it is: a solid support on which to base something heavy. It conveys, not just the retention of small lightweight premaces or 'revision friendly phrases', but the effort of listening hard and the comprehension of what is important.

When did you or your company last take the time to understand?

Chief Conversation Officer?

I've previously mentioned that some companies have created a Chief Blogger or similar role. However, blogging/micro-blogging is only one toolset to use when trying to engage with your customers and listening to them is just as important.

With this in mind, why not have the title Chief Conversation Officer?

Definition:
A person in an organisation who is responsible for participating in social media and monitoring all channels. Their role is to undertsand the dialogue happening, to try to resolve where possible or viable and highlight issues back through the orgainsation to improve product, service or brand.

Has anyone else got a better definition?

Successful brands listen

I've reccently read the posting: The New Economics of Brands by Umair Haque, who is Director of the Havas Media Lab and contributor to many notable publications on digital technologies.

One of his quotes about company communications really resonated with me:

"The future of communications as advantage lies in talking less and listening
more."

Note: However, I do think that he has not made the clear differentiation between brands and advertising. It is possible to advertise a product or servcie, without necessarily creating a brand (and vice-versa).

Now listening in humans is either a learnt or natural skill that many people do not have. The the same is also true of companies. Learning to listen correctly, to hear not just what you want to hear, is especially hard, hard, hard!

So, is listening correctly part of your company DNA?