How well do you know your customers? Can you describe their needs, desires and aspirations? How about their buying patterns and how they use your product?

Since it’s your customers who keep you in business, understanding as much as you can about them should be at the core of your strategy. That’s true whether you’re marketing to attract new customers or making logistical improvements to ensure your current customers are satisfied. And understanding starts with listening. In fact, business owners cite not listening to customers as the cause of 14% of business failures.

Let’s look at how to make sure you have both the information and the capacity you need to give your current customers what they are looking for.

Dealing With Complaints
Listening is essential, but it can definitely be challenging sometimes — because so much customer feedback comes in the form of complaints. Customers will rarely come to you with compliments because when your product works the way it should, which hopefully is most of the time, they tend to take it for granted. Maybe they’ll tell people they know about it, but not necessarily in a way that will get back to you.

That leaves your company on the receiving end of mostly complaints. After all, complaining is what the internet is for. How would we survive without the comments section? But remember: When people complain, it’s usually because they care. Customers rarely complain because they hate your product; it’s usually because they like your product and want it to improve. [Continue Reading in XBIZ Magazine]