Empathy: Silver Bullet for CX in the pandemic world!
VOICE OF AMBASSADORS
Empathy: Silver Bullet for CX in the pandemic world!
When we speak about Empathy, it forms the core of a customer experience design strategy and today, it is more important than ever in the pandemic world! It is the silver bullet to surf this pandemic as a CX leader. As Judith Orloff M.D. beautifully puts it on her blog page–
“Empathy is extremely important right now. We’re all struggling to cope with the changes around us and adjust to our new normal. As we navigate these choppy waters, we could all benefit from a little Empathy from others, so try to operate with Empathy at the forefront of your minds. The power of a simple, ‘I hear you’ or ‘That must be hard’ can go a long way when it comes to helping your counterpart deal with their stresses, frustrations and problems. Sometimes all people need is to feel heard and to know someone cares about what they’re going through”.
VUCA – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity & Ambiguity
The term VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity – I know you have heard that a million times now!) is all the more important for the current world. Till now boardrooms were only discussing & planning for VUCA, but now we are suddenly caught in the “execution mode” like being at the battle field, clueless where the next bullet could hit us from. Only the well placed individuals, groups, organizations and countries will emerge victorious.
So why would brands be left out in this race then?
For brands to ensure they stay in business, are able to retain customers at relatively lower costs, to ensure loyalty, profits – execution of strategies will be the key. A no brainer then that the differential factor is how brands show Empathy towards their customers. A dictionary will put Empathy as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. As a CX practitioner, I will echo “putting yourself in the customer’s shoes”. The pre-requisite being that the brands actions are viewed from the customers’s eyes, but with more importance to the emotional aspect. More often than not, empathy is the saving grace in such times!
Empathy isn’t Sympathy
Empathy as we understand isn’t sympathy; Sympathy would rather mean that brand starts to feel pity or have sorrow for someone else’s misfortune. In fact, that’s not what the customer is even expecting at all. Remember all those boardroom discussions to understand what the customer wants & how can we better align our products & services, being agile, responsive etc? Empathy is what the customer is looking at during these COVID times.
What a customer hence wants brands to display empathy is by having the customer at the centre, and then designing strategies around the key theme- how would I feel as a customer if a brand were to do that to me?
It’s actually about putting oneself in customer shoes & now being the time to practise some of the jargons in our go to market powerpoint decks!
How did the last transaction make them feel? Will he/she continue purchasing/renewing our subscription? Will my customer recommend me/ still better advocate me on social media/ online forums/WhatsApp groups? These pressing questions are the more important ones as communications between your frontline team & a customer is limited to digital channels, for now.
Brands who are ahead of the curve on digital transformation and practise Empathy as a brand mantra are the ones that will emerge victorious having ducked that “unknown bullet”. And that’s where we say that Empathy is really the silver bullet for CX success in the pandemic world.
What can brands do to strengthen Empathy towards customers (if your brand isn’t already doing that)?
How Brands can Strengthen Empathy towards Customers in the pandemic world
- Actually put yourself into the customer’s shoes
Try paying for your internet service provider/ still better upgrade your plan, if you represent the Telecom industry. Prematurely break a time deposit/ call customer care with a query, if you represent banking industry. Any WOW moments? Or more of pain points? That should answer you the next steps. - Get out of the usual environment
Don’t assume the only path that your customers will take to approach you for sales/ service that worked pre March 2020, are there any other effective ways? Touchpoints? Can those help showcase more Empathy during these tough times? - Get feedback
As any data person will highlight, you can action only what you measure, so keep engaging with customers to collect their valuable feedback. Only then will you know areas to improve to build on your Empathy quotient. - Cultivate a sense of curiosity
A task to enforce upon your internal customers, your employees to practise, can something be done better? If we were to take the path A, then what, if path B then what? What will ensure that we actually display Empathy towards our customers, rather than a manifesto printout on our desks & now on their WFH walls. There has to be a shift of habit from thinking ‘what’s going on?’ to ‘genuinely wondering where are we heading?’
Empathy: Savior in the pandemic world!
In the end, it’s a beginning towards learning to be kind to our customers, who are currently confused, frustrated and waiting for life to get back to normal. Customer experience aims at delivering life time memories, rather than just a focus on a seamless and happy transactions. Empathy to understand customer’s feelings and perspectives will be the first step to show that you care. Followed by building loyalty! Therefore, Empathy is really the silver bullet for CX success in the pandemic world.
Mr. Hrushikesh Kulkarni, is a customer centric enthusiast with more than 15 years corporate experience, currently working as Senior Client Partner with LitmusWorld. In his previous assignment, he was associated as an Associate Vice President with Karvy Insights. His research experience ranges with clients across BFSI, Retail, Telecom, FMCG & Retail sectors, across geographies like India, Singapore & Malaysia. He is a speaker at various customer excellence summits & events, sharing the power of data driven decision making for actionable insights. He has authored various articles & engages in the capacity of a visiting faculty with leading management schools.
