Empathy may not immediately come to someone’s mind when listing the necessary skills to run a successful business. Business leaders have always been regarded as strong minded and determined and often those qualities do not resonate with an empathetic persona. Yet, as markets have matured, business science has been democratized, and more competition has popped up, it is customer service that is making a play among the necessary skills to run a business. And, when you think of customer service, empathy starts making more sense as one of those skills you expect successful business leaders to have.
There is no successful customer experience without empathy. From the moment in which you start creating the customer support dynamics in your business to the moment in which you have a customer service exchange with a client, empathy is always present. Whether you realize it or not, you are subconsciously asking yourself “How is this client feeling?” and adjusting your response to their perspective. Making a correct assessment of your client’s feelings and responding accordingly correlates with how your client will rate their customer experience.
Today, we will analyze how you can build more empathy with your customers to ultimate improve customer experience. Read along to learn some tips that will differentiate your business from the next.
Listen to your customers
Empathy starts in the ears. You cannot possibly relate to someone’s experience if you do not know about it. Take your time to actively listen to your customers. Develop communication channels through which they can voice their questions, concerns, and praises. A live virtual receptionist, for example, goes a long way in creating a channel through which your customers can talk about their customer experience with a feeling like they are being listened. A good virtual receptionist will condense this information in a message that you can follow up on to ensure any issues are resolved.
Repetition
As you are listening to your customers or following up on their concerns, using the same words they use can have a strong positive impact. By carefully choosing words that your client used as they voiced their concern, you are matching their energy. You are letting them know that what is important to them, is also important to you. This is a comforting feeling to your customers.
React
Without being exaggerated, you want to react to what you are hearing. Monotony makes it seem as if you do not care. If your business messed up, show regret, discomfort, sympathy. If your business did great, show joy, happiness, gratefulness. Customers want human interactions. Human interactions always make for positive customer experiences.
Be Genuine
People can tell when you are not being truthful. As you put in practice all these tips, make sure that you are not being condescending as you listen. Make sure that you are repeating with intent, not mockery. Make sure that your reactions are sincere and not exaggerations. As you staff people that will deal with your customer service, look for people who are genuine.
At Easybee Virtual Receptionists, we look for, and teach, empathy as we staff and develop our operators. Our operators are selected and trained to care. This makes them genuine. This makes them a great addition to any business that chooses Easybee Virtual Receptionists to assist with their customer service department.
If you, too, are looking to develop empathy within your organization, try Easybee’s 2-week free trial. You will see how pleasant our operators can make your customers’ experiences while you can focus on the part of your business that you do best.
