There is a deservedly famous scene in Taxi Driver (Martin Scorcese, 1976) where Travis Bickle, the lead character played by Robert de Niro, tries various lines and deliveries in front of a mirror, angrily and seemingly puzzled at an imagined effrontery, and exclaims “Are you talkin’ to me?!”

This is what I imagine most traditional marketers’ expressions and words to be in the face of the social media explosion: surprised that their consumers are talking to them. And in many cases, talking back.  As well as upset at the loss of control of their carefully crafted messages, unsure of whether to do anything about it, then unsure of what to do.  And in my own reenactment of the Taxi Driver scene, with brands as Travis Bickle, I envision the mirror talking back, in the voice of consumers: “Are you talking to me?!” “Yes, but are you listening to us?”

Since the once one-way monologue from brands to consumers has irreversibly mutated into a multi-way conversations thanks to social media, the need to listen has become a critical part of any marketer’s must-do list.

One could even say that listening to what consumers are saying about your brand, which has been called many things from Social Media Monitoring to Buzz Monitoring to Social Listening, is a matter of survival.  Here are a few reasons why:

1. If you’re not listening, the relationship will not work. Every couples therapist will tell you that. And it’s true for brands: the days of forcing your messages on your target markets are over. Now your targets are talking back and are expecting to be listened to. If only one side listens, the relationship will deteriorate and the lifetime value of your consumers will plummet.
2. Social listening = free market research. Or if not exactly free, at least very inexpensive.  Only a few years ago, marketers spent thousands of dollars for focus groups, attitude and perception studies, purchase intent research, etc.  All of this primary research can be done through social listening with almost the same level of accuracy, at any time and repeatedly, for a fraction of the cost.
3. Listening is knowing. The corollary is: not listening is being in the dark.  From product reviews to blog posts to tweets to Q&A threads, there are a lot of places where your brand can, and will, be discussed. Very often positively but possibly negatively.  Wouldn’t you want to know what your consumers are saying?
4. Listening leads to engagement. Pushing the previous argument a bit further: if your consumers are talking about you and you’re listening, what’s next? Well, you can use the feedback for product enhancements or marketing strategy changes but why not respond to them and engage them in a dialogue with your brand. If you are not listening, you are missing out on a tremendous opportunity to strengthen the bonds your consumers have with your brand.
5. Listening allows real-time marketing strategy adjustments. If you’re listening and you’re engaging, you can see the results of these activities and get feedback on other marketing efforts instantly. This luxury was something that was simply impossible a few years ago. And shortening the turnaround time of research results used to be exorbitant. With social listening you can get real-time feedback and adjust your strategies accordingly (do not overreact though!).
6. Listening is neither expensive nor difficult. Yes, you have to dedicate resources (time, staff in some cases, or have an agency do it on your behalf) but the return on that investment is tremendous because there are a lot of tools available for free or near free to allow you to listen and engage.  And since marketers are starting to agree with my points 1 through 5 above, a lot of tools are cropping up that make social listening approachable and usable by any marketing team. Our own Lori Dicker recently listed some of our favorite social listening tools in an iMedia Connection article.

So, marketers, are you listening?

JP Clement is Co-Founder and COO of KARMA Media Labs.