The Art of Active Listening in Branding

According to recent research, the average person who hasn’t worked to develop good listening skills is likely to understand and retain only about 50% of any conversation, and that’s immediately after the conversation. Forty-eight hours later, average retention drops to less than 25%!  “Poor listening habits and skills affect more than 70% of all employees, resulting in misunderstandings, errors, missed opportunities, arguments, stalled projects and damaged relationships.” We need to and we can do better.

At elionetwork, branding and localisation are at the heart of what we do. We face an increasing challenge because of diversity – differences in culture, language and speech patterns. We depend largely on virtual conversations and our core business demands we cultivate excellent listening skills in order to understand and accurately translate clients’ thoughts and ideas into reality. Our goal is to capture the clients’ vision, not perceived vision and most definitely not ours. Our team utilizes skills that we wish to share with the industry on how one can actively listen to understand nuances and connect with a client’s feelings and thoughts.

Types of Listening in Branding

Firstly, let’s categorise the types of listening. Active listening is for clarification and to avoid misunderstandings. Asking questions makes clients feel valued and encourages openness. Summarising and paraphrasing ensure that the client is understood in the manner they want to be. Our preconceived ideas about a certain issue usually cause subjectivity. There are two voices, the client’s and our own internal dialogue. Awareness is key.

Pay attention to non-verbal cues. Show empathy. Sometimes emotions mask true intent. Other times, clients may have difficulty expressing thoughts and ideas. Be patient and guide clients through the thinking process. Eventually, a client can be a friend. Do respond. It’s a fine line between being silent and allowing clients to speak to the end and not giving feedback.

Social listening allows one to understand trends, keep up to date with market demands and monitor chatter about products and services. There’s so much valuable consumer data that words or formal qualitative surveys may not be able to capture. Yet the flip side of this is that we have information overload. There is enormous competition for our attention from advertisements, TV, social media, and the news – and with all these incoming sources of information, sometimes we screen out irrelevant data but also important facts. Consumer conversations are getting transparent, we need to assist clients to listen, not guess.

Benefits of Active Listening in Branding

In active listening, we are able to identify deeper clients’ needs. For branding, we require not just content but intent. This reduces the likelihood of misunderstandings or tension and ultimately leads to us closing the deal, which translates to increased sales and profits.

elionetwork believes very much in growing relationships. Active listening in branding allows us to establish a more comfortable relationship with the client. We take care of our clients and support them to do well. Their success is our pride and joy. We want repeat business.

Social listening helps us map a strategy for clients that engages audience in a proactive and meaningful way. We can also propose an effective market penetration and product development strategy and subsequently brand the diversification roadmap.

How to Practice Active Listening in Branding

Sounds simple enough but we’re actually not taught the skills of listening. With regards to client relationships, we recommend:

1. Prepare in advance. Search for clients’ products and services. Understand the company’s history, culture and sensitivities, check out the competition. Have a plan for questions to drive the discussion and items you wish to clarify. Encourage clients to express their innermost ideas.

2. Spend less time talking and more time listening. We can’t do both at the same time. Pay attention to clients’ particular language style and expression.

3. Process the information. Be genuinely interested in the client. Medical studies show that someone who’s mentally engaged has increased blood pressure, a higher pulse rate and more perspiration.

4. Don’t jump to conclusions. Don’t respond, especially emotionally to everything that’s being said. Fully understand clients’perspective before sharing an opinion. And do not impose your own solutions.

5. Don’t join the meeting with personal worries. Leave your baggage and distractions at home.

6. Take notes. Too few people turn up for meetings with a notepad, physical or digital. Important relevant points, repeated information and facts and figures should be written for future verification.

Fortunately, active listening is a skill that everyone can learn. Stay focused, make a conscious effort to practice what you have learnt, and build a sincere, genuine relationship. It’s a great corporate skill, beneficial for every aspect of our personal and social life. At elionetwork, we understand the power of active listening in branding. Contact us today to learn how our expert team can help your business harness the benefits of effective communication and build stronger client relationships. Let’s elevate your brand together.