The Value of Listening: Appreciating The Voice of Your Customer and Your Supplier

Listening. A vital skill that is often overlooked. As the foundation of many relationships, the skill of listening poses a significant role in your business, customer, and supplier relationships. Is your company looking to strengthen relationships with your suppliers and/or your customers? Through effective listening, you gain the ability to truly appreciate what is being communicated to you by your customer while simultaneously turning around and implementing those thoughts into your business. While you may not believe that “your customer is always right,” being able to understand their expectations and demands while ensuring your business needs are being met provides a unique and valuable relationship.

July 27, 2021

Voices Working Together

How well do you know your customer? Your supplier? Effective communication is incredibly beneficial for all parties. Whether you believe it or not, your supplier is an extension of your business, and they play a vital role in the services you are providing your customer(s). Essentially, your chosen supplier is working alongside your business to supply a deliverable encompassing pre-established customer requirements. Coupled with the fact that not all suppliers manufacture the same, identifying and communicating a customer’s expectations to their selected supplier allows for transparency and open communication into the relationship.

Having the ability to openly communicate and understand your customer’s expectations of their supplier(s) invites businesses to target specific supplier characteristics and qualify certain suppliers based on their demands. On the positive side, an opportunity to involve your customers in the supplier selection process allows them to share their supplier expectations, possibly leading to a higher likelihood of success and ownership in their selection.

Understanding your customer’s expectations will also provide insight into which suppliers to use and which ones to avoid. Deciphering which supplier best meets the needs of your customer? Internal conversations with your customer may assist in differentiating amongst suppliers to ensure your customer’s project is in the right hands.

Unfortunately, there are times when production does not meet the customer’s requirements or an experience with a particular supplier isn’t meeting expectations. In this case, it’s essential to listen to your customer with understanding. Eliminate the guesswork. The time you take to listen to your customer and thoroughly comprehend their concerns will provide an opportunity for growth and invite you to take necessary action and solve the specific concern. Neglecting or disregarding customer concerns may lead you to longer lead times, production complications, and mistrust. In any event, never assume for your customer or your supplier, but respond with constructive feedback that incorporates details of your discussion. Your customers and suppliers need to know that you’re paying attention and taking the initiative to address these concerns.

Gathering Valuable Insight: Capturing What’s Most Important

How well are you able to differentiate information? Are you able to pull specific details from a conversation and itemize the information according to its importance? Transparent and honest discussions with customers provide an opportunity to flag areas of concern, share celebrations and are a great way to continue building a relationship.

Internal conversations with your customers are a golden opportunity that will set the tone and expectations of your relationship. How often should you have these conversations? Add that topic to your next meeting. Establish a level of trust that encourages productive conversations and enables critical thinking and problem-solving. Whatever you and your customer are discussing, whether it includes topics such as payment terms, finances, project budgets, product specifications, or quality control, these internal conversations are precious.

Active Listening in a Virtual World

Many businesses are adapting to upcoming technology and implementing it into their everyday routines. Email, phone calls, and text messages enable conversations to happen within seconds, eliminating the need for face-to-face interactions. While we appreciate quick responses and the ability to receive answers immediately, it poses the question, are you truly engaged in the conversation? Are you showing that you’re actively listening or that you are genuinely involved in the discussion? Are you comprehending what is being said to you?

Unfortunately, our global pandemic crippled in-person interactions, causing businesses to look elsewhere for face-to-face interactions and ways to engage with their customers and employees actively. Opportunities to engage in a virtual experience have allowed companies to continue using technology while simultaneously engaging in a more immediate interaction but more physically distant. Fortunately, these virtual interactions encourage active listening through prompt email conversations and text messages; virtual meetings promote facial expressions, eye contact, and non-verbal interactions, the same types of responses that in-person meetings promote. However, just with anything else, cell phones ring, emails ding, and text messages interrupt our thought process leading to disruptions and misunderstanding within our conversations.

Whether you’re involved with an in-person or virtual discussion, active listening with your customers and suppliers allows them to feel heard and appreciated. Active listening works to prevent miscommunication, as you are strongly encouraged to ask questions and provide feedback to clarify your understanding. When you respond appropriately, you are advocating for an interactive dialog and facilitating the conversation. Incorporating active listening into your conversations will assist in establishing rapport, respect, and trust, not only with your customers but with your employees and suppliers, as well. Giving your speaker your undivided attention may seem like a given; however, allowing your text messages and emails to wait might seem even more overwhelming. Just know that the time you take to listen and value your customer’s opinion is much more valuable than causing disarray and diverting your attention to a message that can wait for your response.

As many businesses have chosen to continue working remotely, active listening is a skill that we all must continue to practice and develop. Keep in mind that active listening doesn’t just require a verbal discussion, but it is an opportunity to provide feedback and check for understanding through various mediums.

It’s about genuinely reacting to your speaker and showing that you are honestly engaged in what they have to say.

How Can HB International Assist You?

We apply our customer’s voices to our everyday business practices. With our team located globally, we use various mediums to communicate with our customers and our suppliers. HB International’s team works around the clock to ensure our customers’ voices are heard. We work closely with all of our customers to verify every detail is communicated, from reviewing physical product samples, overseeing and approving product drawings, reviewing product specifications, and sharing supplier audits and product inspections. Our open communication is what sets us apart and continues to establish long-lasting successful customer relationships.