You use social listening to get in touch with (potential) customers. You start a conversation with them about shared interests. It is a first step, followed by a visit to your site and conversion, followed by the right customer care.
With social listening you can start the online conversation with your (new) customer and show your c level executive list own knowledge and skills. You can also find this customer in places you often wouldn't have thought of yourself. A slightly different use of (the same) tooling can lead to interesting and new insights.
The description that Nathalie Verdoolaege gives to it in her article here on Frankwatching is:
Tracking and monitoring all conversations surrounding your organization, brand, product, target group or industry and converting this online buzz into actionable data and advice.
To have a better insight into trends and who is talking about what, I would like to expand this with:
Discovering trends and developments and actively responding to them.