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THE IMPORTANCE OF EMPATHY IN CUSTOMER SERVICE

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empathy in customer service

empathy in customer service

Customer service is the process of providing services to customers. In general, empathy improves the quality of customer service because it establishes a connection or bond between the customer and the employee.

Offering great customer service is no longer just a nice touch— it is fast becoming the key differentiator between business success and failure. Luckily, today’s companies can harness their power by developing one important trait – empathy.

Maintain this level of understanding for your customer and your chances of ending each conversation on a positive note will increase.

When you consider that 89% of companies compete on the quality of customer service alone, the impact of empathy becomes a clear differentiator. It can be the important difference between a positive and a negative peak; a loyal customer, or a competitor’s gain.

Empathy is Customer Service

You can spend all day talking with customers who have had problems with the company. Some of their problems may or may not have a resolution, but you can always show empathy. In doing so you:

  • Help the customer feel heard
  • Acknowledge their feelings
  • Provide a good experience

Without empathy, the interaction can be cold and off-putting to customers, thus increasing the conflict.

Think of frontline customer service teams. Even in the best of times, it’s hard to keep up the optimistic, empathetic, and professional tone customers expect. Customer service teams are called upon to communicate with empathy all day, every day.

Customer service challenges amplify during times of crisis or uncertainty, as customers may need payment grace periods or policy exceptions for returns. No matter their requests, customers are counting on empathy, and they reward personal interactions that help them feel respected and understood.

Customer empathy can make a real difference during difficult times

People yearn for their needs to be considered and understood, especially during times of upheaval like we’re experiencing now. Agents will be dealing with customers that have lost their jobs, businesses, and even their loved ones. In difficult circumstances, even minor situations carry a much heavier weight.

As a company, you have the power to make a positive difference in your customer’s day, and in turn, create a loyal customer for life. Remember that one small act of goodwill can start a movement. And all it takes is a little empathy.

Credits: Dixa; Study.com

HOW TO IDENTIFY A BAD CUSTOMER

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a customer shouting at the call centre agent

how to identify a bad customer

Customers are always right until they are wrong! So, how do you identify a bad customer?

Are you confused? You have heard that all customers are kings and that customers are always right, but if you have worked in customer service for long enough you know as well as I do that no human is always right. Some customers are confused, some are bossy and rude. Some customers are unbelievably selfish, and some just like to throw tantrums unnecessarily. Some people are just unfair and are looking to exploit your services. Therefore, to keep your service team effective, you should know how to recognize these people.

How to identify a bad customer

One important aspect of customer service is the ability to identify who really needs your service in order to maintain efficiency. More so, the truth is that you can actually improve your service by timely identifying this group of ‘bad’ customers and taking action. If a customer contacts you with a frequency far above the average, devouring too much of your team’s time, he might not be worth keeping. Of course, this doesn’t mean that anyone reaching out with requests is potentially a bad customer.

But if you have someone who constantly reaches out to you with questions that could have been answered by simply going through your website or knowledge base, if a customer is obviously too lazy to think for himself, he deserves the label of a potential ‘bad customer’. If a customer is constantly rude to your employees and is deliberately being difficult, they might not be worth keeping. Your employees are also a top priority, and their mental state would make or mar your business. A satisfied employee can help retain more customers, therefore politely let the rude customer go.

In the next blog post, we will be exposing more bad customers that you do not want in your business.
Stay tuned. Share your opinion with us. Thank you

COMMUNICATION IN CUSTOMER SERVICE

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communication in customer service

8 rules for good customer service

Business success depends on strong communication. In customer service, this is especially true. When reflecting on the importance of customer service experiences, recent studies have revealed their direct impact on a business’s customer retention and profits.

The result of a good customer experience: 7 out of 10 consumers are willing to spend more money with a company that provides great customer service.

The result of a bad customer experience: Over half of US consumers will abandon a planned purchase or transaction because of poor customer service.

When every interaction counts, it’s important to take a closer look at the basic dos and don’ts of communicating effectively with customers.

Learn the top five dos and don’ts of customer communication, some general best practices for your teams to keep in mind, and how to tie it all together to build loyalty.

Top dos and don’ts for communicating effectively with customers

  • DO: Build sincere relationships according to leading communication principles. Principles such as communicating professionally, openly, and honestly to attract, engage, and retain customers.
    • Example: If a customer asks a question regarding your product’s features, your team should be honest and sincere about those features and not overpromise on capabilities to secure a sale.
  • DON’T: Disregard your customers’ concerns or let them feel underappreciated. This can often lead to customers disengaging with your brand or being driven to other competitors.
    • Example: If a customer is worried about your product malfunctioning, your team should not brush their concerns off with a curt, “Don’t worry about it.” They should take the time to address those concerns until the customer feels comfortable and satisfied.
  • DO: Communicate proactively to customers, supplying as much relevant information upfront to provide a sense of authority and security.
    • Example: If a customer asks about your product’s use cases, your team should fully answer their question. Additionally provide any supporting documents, links, or information where the customer can learn more.
  • DON’T: Be vague when answering customers’ questions, leaving the customer confused and dissatisfied.
    • Example: If a customer asks, “How does your product work?” and your team doesn’t know, they shouldn’t answer with “I don’t know.” Instead, they should answer truthfully and to the best of their ability, supplying as much detail as possible. If they aren’t sure or did not supply adequate information, they should promise the customer that they will follow up with their teams for more information and then reach out to them once they acquire the necessary information.
  • DO: Automate essential client communication tasks for ease of use and efficiency.
    • Example: Business leaders can either employ a chatbot that can point customers to the right resources for their needs, proactively create a customer-facing FAQ page with the top asked questions and their subsequent answers, or provide employees with a list of the most asked questions and their responses so they are able to best help customers when interfacing with them.
  • DON’T: Omit customer-facing information and resources that provide them with important knowledge they need to make informed decisions about your business.
    • Example: When customers visit your site, they are conducting a search to inform whether or not they want to proceed along the customer journey. Key information, such as “About us” and “Contact us” pages, or a phone number, address, or social media handles should be found there. If your site is vague and omits this key information, they likely won’t pursue your product due to a lack of trust and transparency. Any self-serve information that the customer accesses and navigates without employee guidance should be written in a clear and concise manner, eliminating any chance for confusion or frustration. Using a digital writing assistant like Grammarly Business can help streamline these efforts by scanning content for grammar, spelling, punctuation, clarity, conciseness, and tone within seconds and providing real-time suggestions for improvement.
  • DO: Acknowledge and address problems when they exist so that your clients’ needs are met and their loyalty increases.
    • Example: If a customer experiences an issue or problem with your product, your team should acknowledge their negative experience and work to find a solution that satisfies the customer. Showing empathy is the key to turning a negative customer situation into a positive one.
  • DON’T: Ignore customer complaints and concerns or get defensive when addressing them.
    • Example: If a customer takes the time to share their negative experience or issue with your team, they should never respond with aggression or annoyance. This makes it even more difficult to change that customer’s opinion about your business. This will immediately reflect poorly on the company as a whole—all because of one employee’s actions.
  • DO: Personalize communications with every customer, but ensure it maintains a consistent style and voice aligned with the company.
    • Example: If your team is writing to a customer, ensure that their tone and style are consistent with those guidelines set by your business. This is crucial to maintaining a consistent brand-aligned experience—in addition to proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Digital communication assistants like Grammarly Business can easily facilitate this process, detecting a passage’s tone and style in a matter of seconds, and providing suggestions for improvement.
  • DON’T: Write canned responses to customers that feel impersonal or insincere.
    • Example: Customers, whether they come to your team with issues or not, are unique and expect to be treated as such. Providing canned responses that show no personal touches or qualities will be off-putting to a customer. They expect to be heard, and canned responses do nothing to accomplish that.

These key dos and don’ts provide the groundwork for communicating effectively with customers. But how can you ensure they’re practiced and followed regularly?

Credit: Grammarly Business

CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE – 5 Things Your Customers Deserve

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Think about this: Amazon, Uber, Zoom, and Tesla Motors, what do these brands have in common? They were each, not the first to do what they do, but they did the consumers’ job better than their competitors. And, they consistently give their customers the best service experience they deserve.

They are all disruptors. Walmart disrupted local retail businesses when they came into a community. Uber disrupted the taxi-cab industry. Amazon disrupted the entire retail world, Zoom disrupted physical meetings and office space. And, Tesla disrupted the automobile industry.

So, are you starting in a career or business and it looks like there is nothing new to do? Like everything that could be done has already been done? There is yet a way to disrupt your market. Make an exceptional customer experience your brand identity. Customer service is often overlooked in companies, and, this could be a big opportunity to differentiate your business and attract and retain loyal customers.

For The Best Customer Service Experience, Do These:

  1. Know Your Customers – Who is your ideal customer? What does your customer need? How can you meet that need? Do your research and analyze your target audience. Beyond the service, you want to provide, know enough about them to become a part of their lives.
  2. Design a customer-centered service experience – Your customers are at the centre of all you do, not you. Alongside the product or service you are offering, deliberately put your customers at the centre of your activities by designing a customized service experience. Therefore, if you know them as explained above, this should not be difficult to do.
  3. Respond quickly to every customer inquiry or comment – Know when to read the script and when to use your humanity. Do not ever keep your customers waiting. Never!
  4. Stay in Touch – Adequate use of social media will give you top-of-the-mind awareness with your customers. Be conveniently accessible to your customers and stay in touch. Social media is an extension of brand marketing for you, therefore, use it sufficiently. Something as simple as a good CRM (Customer Relationship Management) program can help you keep track of your customers, what they have bought in the past and any issues they have had.
  5. Celebrate them – Give a human touch to your brand by interacting with your customers’ experiences and achievements. Celebrate their moments with them, and, thank them for patronizing you.

In conclusion, let them know that you are not just after their money, you sincerely want to make their lives easier. 93% of customers are liekly to make repeat purchases with companies who offer excellent customer service.

A confident lady

9 Tips on How to Be a Great Boss

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A confident lady

Bosses are the most misunderstood persons on earth! Even when they mean well, their actions and inactions affect company morale and productivity more than anything else. Now, not everyone knows how to be a great boss. But we all have stories to share of enduring a bad one. Employees go to work and want to do a good job but it is the boss that sometimes gets in the way of them performing well.

Have you recently been promoted to manager and you are worried about how to get your job
done without any heartaches?

Here’s How to Win the Boss-of-the-Year Award

Boss of the year mug

1. Communicate clear vision: ensure that employees understand the why and what about the organization.
2. Connect vision to daily tasks: get the employees engaged with the company’s vision by breaking down the vision into their specific job description. This way, they’d align their daily tasks with the vision.
3. Set clear performance expectations but don’t micromanage: tell them what is expected in clear terms and leave them to get it done. Trust your employees’ ability to perform.
4. Give good feedback and develop your talent: let them know when they are doing a good job and when they are not meeting targets. Provide opportunities for career and personal development.
5. Find out what motivates your workers (make work fun)
6. Appreciate employee efforts: reward good performance. Offer praises generously in private and in public, this is a sure morale booster.

7. Stay connected and aware of updates
8. Care about the employee as a person: Show empathy, practice emotional intelligence. Employees are happy when they know that the manager cares for them on a personal level.
9. Value employee perspectives: remember that you’re all in it together, listen to their opinions and suggestions. Let them know that their perspectives matter.

Treat your employees how you want your customers to be treated. Be humane and allow yourself to enjoy being a manager. What kind of a boss are you?

Treat customers like guests and employees like people

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The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is to treat customers like guests and employees like people. That’s something your business should definitely have, to make sure those clients return … If you broke some law regarding an employee’s compensation, for example, they can sue you…The foremost opportunity you will have to deter a customer from suing is when they been treated well….

You should also be aware that, when customers share their story, they’re not just sharing pain points. They’re actually teaching you how to make your product, service, and business better – Being Human is Good Business.

Enhance Your Status in Your Customer’s Eyes

When you or your team members introduce yourselves to customers, do you use your first name only, or do you share your first and last names? These days most people keep it casual and stick to first names only. In terms of status that’s a mistake. Instead, when you offer your first and last name it tells customers, “I am comfortable being held accountable. If you have a question, you should ask for me, which is why I’m volunteering my full name. I’m someone important enough for you to know.” All that enhanced status comes simply by adding your last name.

A fast way to lose status is to start talking to someone who isn’t ready and willing to listen. So before asking customers or coworkers a lot of questions, it’s important to ensure you have their full attention. Unfortunately, common attempts to get attention actually hurt our status. Asking someone if they have a minute won’t go over well if it’s obvious that the conversation will take more than 60 seconds. That’s why so much of what I share in my seminars and coaching tools is about being more thoughtful with word choices. Next time you’re about to have a serious conversation with a customer or coworker, begin with a simple, “How’s your time, are we OK?”