While some of their answers will seem quite logical, you will typically receive a few that no one in your company would have ever guessed…but you have to ask if you want to hear what your customers are dying to tell you.

You got it, Jeff – it's digging beneath the words that really make the difference; too many just scratch the surface instead.

To your last point, trust is the bridge builder for sure that will at least keep our customers with us as we evolve with them. Cheers for stopping by, always a pleasure.

The random crap might be good, but the understand will lead great.

Bottom line, it really is about engaging and maintaining relationships. Think about a relationship where one person does all the talking and never listens. Not too many people want to be the non-stop talker's friend. Now think about the relationship where your friend listens. I mean really listens to what's being said and what's being said underneath the words. Everyone wants to be that person's friend.

Now take that to the business model and you can create a customer evangelist for sure. Loyal, dedicated, willing to turn others on to your service too. Don't we want those type of customers?

It is so easy these days to get caught up into the “here's what you need” mentality of customer relations. We tend to think that because we are the “marketer”, with a product, we automatically know what our “market” needs. How far from the truth.

Now I've learned that I should start with my market in mind and fit my product to their needs. My market research has totally changed.

But here's what I'm learning from posts like yours: Listening is an ongoing process. Just because I've done the appropriate market/keyword research and determined what the customer is asking for, doesn't mean that I know them well enough to truly help them make the purchase.

Ongoing listening to them and consistently interacting with them builds TRUST. In my book, that trust builds the bridge between their need and my product.