I was picking up some lunch at Subway, inspired by Jared, when the exchange between the customer and employee in front of me caught my attention. It was proof of a listening issue – Get this:

Customer: “…club with no ham, lettuce and tomato”

Employee: *Starts putting ham on sandwich*

Customer: “no… no ham.”

Employee: *correct the ham, moves down* “Do you want lettuce?”

This issue with an employee who isn’t really listening is a lot more common than individuals and organizations care to admit when they’re marketing online – especially within social media. What’s worse is that consumers are so used to this kind of behavior that they barely flinch. It’s becoming social accepted. “Accepted” in the sense that we often walk away annoyed but tend to forget about the incident.

But what about other situations that we may find ourselves in while marketing. We might actually be listening, but are we REALLY listening? Are we hanging on the words of the customer to the point that – if polled like a teacher asking a daydreaming student for an answer – we can snap to attention and provide a relevant solution?

Like the exchange in Pulp Fiction between Travolta and Thurman:

Mia to Vincent: “Do you listen…. Or do you just wait to talk?”

You’d be surprised just how many businesses feel that their listening is up to par, but what they’re actually doing is waiting for a chance to talk; an opportunity to break into the conversation with a hook, solution or pre-sell. A way to build credibility by leveraging the current topic. They’re listening enough to find a way to flip the topic in their favor.

Very few people are actually good listeners. Dale Carnegie writes about one in his killer book “How to Win Friends and Influence People”:

He said:

“It struck me so forcibly that I shall never forget him. He had qualities which I had never seen in any other man. Never had I seen such concentrated attention. There was none of that piercing ‘soul penetrating gaze’ business. His eyes were mild and genial. His voice was low and kind. His gestures were few. But the attention he gave me, his appreciation of what I said, even when I said it badly, was extraordinary. You’ve no idea what it meant to be listened to like that.”

So, when you’re out there beating the virtual streets with your social media marketing – are you listening, or just waiting to talk?