In his classic book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen Covey describes five levels of listening: 1. Ignoring, not really listening at all; 2. Pretending, "Yeah. Uh-huh. Right," 3. Selective, hearing only certain parts of the conversation; 4. Attentive, paying attention and focusing energy on the words that are being said, and; 5. Empathetic, listening with the intent to understand. Covey notes that when we listen, most of us listen at one of the first four levels; very few of us ever practice the highest level, Empathetic listening.
Although Covey wrote about verbal conversation, his underlying keys to good listening also apply to social media. As the use of social media explodes through the use of Twitter, Facebook, and other public forums and blogs, more and more consumers are using it to engage in conversations about businesses and their products and services. But are businesses really listening?
Just as Covey developed a verbal listening model, Cisco has created the Social Media Customer Care Maturity Model to help businesses understand how well they are listening and responding to consumers' conversations in social media.
Much like the levels of listening that Mr. Covey described in his book, the Social Media Customer Care Maturity Model (Figure 1) has Five levels: 1. Listening, or in some cases ignoring; 2. Social Media Broadcasting; 3. Social Media Marketing; 4. Social Media Customer Care; and 5. Proactive Engagement.
Figure 1: Social Media Customer Care Maturity Model
For businesses to truly engage with their customers, they must, as Covey points out, seek first to understand. Businesses at level one or two in the Social Media Customer Care Maturity Model might hear their customers - they might even be talking at them - but they are not really listening. At these first two levels companies might pay casual attention to social media channels - they might even push out some advertising on Facebook or Twitter - but they are not really seeking to understand.
At level three of the Social Media Customer Care Maturity Model, Social Media Marketing, companies will begin to intentionally reach out to their customers with targeted social media marketing which may include advertising, product and event information, contests and commentary on blogs or other social sites. At this level companies are looking to engage with customers to influence buying decisions. Unfortunately, the same company that wants customers and prospects to purchase something because of their social media marketing, may not always be open to receiving service requests or complaints via these same channels. Covey would call this selective listening. And if companies only hear what they want to hear, this could negatively impact their brand image and potentially the loyalty of their customer base.
Level four, Social Media Customer Care, and five, Proactive Engagement, is where companies can really begin to gain traction with both current customers and prospects.
Companies at these levels have increased their level of listening by having a plan, as well as the staff in place to not only receive inquiries about marketing efforts from customers and prospects, but also provide customer service through social media. Great strides are made at level four and it is fair to say that the company is now listening attentively to its customers and prospects.
At level five of the Social Media Customer Care Maturity Model, companies are proactively engaging with customers, even those who may not be addressing that company directly or specifically - for example, customers and prospects looking for advice or help about a product or maybe a broader product category such as a TV. As a consumer you may be looking for advice on a specific brand or simply about 32-inch LCD TVs, and you Tweet or Facebook your followers and friends for help. A company at level five will hear you and respond. Not with just a blind response, "Hey, we have the TV for you!" but with a targeted response that has taken into account the content and context of your social media post. Think about it, you tweet and get a response that details the top models in this category from Company A along with prices, specials, product details, and where to find a local retailer, maybe even how to order online. This company took the time to listen with the intent to understand.
How well is your organization listening when it comes to social media? Take a look at the Social Media Customer Care Maturity Model to determine where your company or your favorite brand falls in this model. What steps need to be taken to move up the model to ensure better engagement with customers? Developing a social media customer care model is a journey, one that I encourage you to embark on today. As social media continues to explode, so will opportunities to engage with customers and prospects, and effective engagement starts with listening. How effectively your company listens is up to you.
