Customer empathy — make it your competitive advantage

I believe every employee in every company wants to do a good job and make customers happy. That said, I am also a realist and have experienced both stellar and not-so-stellar customer service interactions, as I am sure all of you have.

People don’t typically buy for logical reasons alone; they also buy for emotional reasons. Because of this emotional component it is important to consider the concept of empathy and how it is important in establishing a positive service experience for your customers.

In previous months I have described two components of a valuable customer experience: product knowledge and responsiveness. I also explained a memorable customer service experience makes financial sense, as it costs six times more to find a new customer than to keep an existing one.

While you always need to find new customers because people move, stop needing things due to life changes, etc., you must take care of your existing customers because they can also be advocates for your company.

The most recent Microsoft Global State of Customer Service research study found “90 per cent of respondents indicated that customer service is important to their choice of and loyalty to a brand.” The same study also found 63 per cent of consumers in the United States would change companies due to what they perceived as poor service.

With this research and your own interactions offering such a compelling argument, it is somewhat mind-boggling there is a challenge in delivering a consistently high standard of customer service.

A quote attributed to Maya Angelou, American poet and civil rights activist, states: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

How you make your customers feel directly impacts whether they will continue to shop with you. This is the foundation of demonstrating empathy in a customer service situation.

In my roles leading customer service teams and my work with clients, I find the concept of empathy is easy to describe but difficult to demonstrate. Empathy is easy to apply when you see, understand and share the feelings of another person.

Try to imagine how it would make you feel if instead of hearing “I really don’t know” or “I can’t help you” or “No, it’s not possible,” you would hear something like “Thank you for bringing this to our attention” or “I’m happy to help” or “I completely understand.”

For your company to be able to deliver the right type of empathetic response there are some key concepts that must be ingrained and built into its culture.

First, acknowledge the customer’s concern.

The employee, your representative to the customer at that moment, has an opportunity to ensure satisfaction is achieved. Acknowledging the concern must be delivered by honestly presenting the goal is to help the customer. If the employee is not sincere, the situation may escalate into something more negative. Your staff must listen attentively to the customer and be their guide and support to address their concern.

Second, look at the situation from the customer’s perspective.

This means becoming an advocate. Ask the customer to describe what happened in their own words. Let them finish speaking without interruption. Restate what was said to confirm your understanding. Be specific in the identification of the problem. Only when you have this agreement can you work to solve the concern.

Third, take action and solve the problem.

Use positive language to avoid any insinuations and conflict. Your role is to serve the customer in a way that makes them want to come back. When the employee takes control of the situation with a mindset of service and confidence, the customer will feel respected and appreciated. Helping the customer understand why the situation arose is good but a solution is what they want.

The employee’s goal at this point is a resolution that addresses the concern and, ideally, results in an extremely satisfied customer.

Tools such as recorded calls, supervisor oversight (from afar, not over-the-shoulder) and training in role-play scenarios are excellent approaches to supporting the three steps above and building in a consistent approach to customer service and ensuring the right answers are given. Leading companies know embedding the core principle of empathy into customer interactions can significantly enhance the overall experience for the customer.

Tim’s bits: A company’s purpose is more than simply selling a product or service. Creating loyal customers is achieved when the entire customer service experience is positive and results in customer referral. Developing a mindset of empathy in all customer service interactions can serve as a strong competitive advantage for your company.

Tim Kist is a certified management consultant, authorized by law, and a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Manitoba

tim@tk3consulting.ca