Three actions to drive customer listening and improve story telling

To enable a new state of customer listening, take these three actions:

1. Collect feedback from multiple sources to tell the comprehensive story of customers’ lives. When multiple sources of feedback point to the same issue or opportunity, you’ll see the company debate halt. There is power in convergence.

2. Build one-company categorization of issues, so that they roll-up to volumes that command attention.

3. Present information from multiple sources by stage of the experience. This is a game-changer. Issues and opportunities will always be in reference to customers when they are presented by the stage of the experience.

Your job is to take customers off the spread sheets and survey results, and advance a conversation within your organization about the lives of your customers – their experiences – and who they are. This means finding new and disruptive ways to engage your executives and the ranks of your company. Make them want to hear the customers’ words and listen to what is going on in your customers’ lives.