Empathy is a robust technique to construct belief, however leaning in too far can even backfire. One thing I’ve come to marvel after 3.5 years at Buffer as a Buyer Advocate is how can we use empathy successfully to boost the shopper help expertise?
“The motion of understanding, being conscious of, being delicate to, and vicariously experiencing the sentiments, ideas, and expertise of one other of both the previous or current with out having the sentiments, ideas, and expertise absolutely communicated in an objectively specific method” —Merriam-webster.com
When sitting down to write down this text, I struggled with how you can begin speaking about empathy. I initially needed to start out alongside the strains of “Empathy is a robust software”, however felt like this appeared that we must always pretend empathy to get what we wish; wielding it as a software for use when wanted.
Perhaps a greater technique to phrase it’s that empathy is an extremely highly effective a part of the customer support toolkit. It may assist us get nearer to the shopper’s expertise and extra absolutely perceive what they want from us. This may assist them depart this interplay feeling cared for and assist us, as help professionals, really feel rewarded.
The ability of empathy
“I used to be actually moved with how a lot persistence and kindness I used to be handled. And that has been constantly carried out, at any time when I’ve had a question or drawback. I so recognize that. Particularly as I am actually out of my depth with digital know-how which makes me really feel relatively weak and are the mercy of those that know higher, it’s particularly appreciated. Your service by no means lacks humanity and compassion and in an age the place a lot is regulated by pc packages, this stands out in a brightly shining gentle.” —Buyer suggestions (February 2022)
Empathy has unbelievable energy within the buyer help expertise. It has the facility to make the shopper really feel heard, diffuse a buyer’s anger, and de-escalate a tense scenario. When a buyer writes in with a grievance and we reply with real empathy, it might talk a number of issues to the shopper:
- Validation that they’re encountering a real drawback;
- Our understanding that the issue is vital to them;
- Acknowledgment that their drawback is now vital to us; and
- Information that we wish to resolve the issue with them.
As a buyer help skilled, if we really feel empathy for the shopper who’s writing in, we are going to wish to work tougher to assist them. It could even encourage us to think about inventive workarounds for points which can be past our management. If we will efficiently resolve the difficulty for the shopper, there’s additionally the added bonus of job satisfaction. Our mind rewards us for serving to others.
An excessive amount of empathy can backfire
“Your response is obnoxious.” —Buyer suggestions (February 2021)
Once I first joined the shopper help workforce at Buffer, we considered empathy as one of many key features of any buyer help expertise. Actually, throughout ticket opinions, we have been measured primarily based on three issues: Accuracy, Readability and Empathy (this was later modified to Consciousness, Readability and Empowerment). Over time although, we started to acknowledge that an excessive amount of empathy, or prioritizing empathy over all else, was additionally not perfect.
Whereas prospects do wish to really feel heard, their primary aim is to have their drawback solved. For some prospects, an empathetic response, and not using a clear understanding of the actions being taken, irritates them and makes them really feel worse concerning the scenario and interplay. What prospects want from us are options and never a shoulder to cry on.
Let’s perform a little thought train to see this in motion — you’re employed at an electronics retailer and a buyer is available in with a damaged tv that they not too long ago purchased from you. Apart from widespread courtesy, they aren’t in search of you to spend the primary 5 minutes of their time collectively explaining how effectively you perceive the frustration they need to’ve skilled all through their ordeal. They aren’t even in search of you to supply a refund for the system. As a substitute, they need their tv to work; they should perceive that you just’re taking motion. (Thanks, Ross, for this enjoyable illustration!)
Expressing an excessive amount of empathy can appear disingenuous even when our response comes from a real place. Likewise, in cases the place we’re empathetic however can’t present an answer for the shopper, empathy itself may cause a buyer to really feel even angrier.
An excessive amount of empathy can adversely influence help brokers
“It may be arduous working with dissatisfied prospects. Some issues are very advanced and require a whole lot of troubleshooting, which is emotionally and mentally draining.” —Buffer Buyer Advocate
An excessive amount of empathy will also be dangerous to our well-being. If we’re too empathetic, we threat, to paraphrase a colleague of mine, “becoming a member of them within the pit of their despair, relatively than serving to them out of it” (Thanks for this nugget, Dave!). Being too empathetic in buyer help, the place we’re inundated day by day with quite a few points and grievances from totally different prospects, can even result in burnout.
Discovering the correct steadiness
To this point, I’ve mentioned:
- Empathy = Good
- An excessive amount of empathy = Dangerous
How do we discover the steadiness? There is no such thing as a good reply, however, for me, there are usually three guidelines I comply with when working with prospects.
(1) Any empathy I specific should be real
Buyer help advocates, at the very least inside Buffer, have already got fairly excessive ranges of empathy, so feeling empathy for a buyer would often come naturally. As a human, residing within the fashionable world, I actually have oftentimes felt extremely pissed off with know-how, totally different firms, or buyer help experiences. Due to these experiences, I can relate to and empathize with most prospects that attain out to us.
In cases when I’m not naturally empathizing with the shopper, I discover it helpful to essentially attempt to put myself within the buyer’s footwear. I’d make up a narrative in my thoughts to assist — like imagining that the shopper had been reprimanded by their boss for an error that may be associated to the difficulty they’re going through with Buffer. I’d attempt to think about I’m a unique individual feeling the way in which the shopper is feeling, regardless that I actually wouldn’t really feel that means in the identical scenario. It takes a bit bit extra effort, nevertheless it makes the interplay extra real and it might positively influence the results of the dialog.
(2) I’ll default to motion
Whereas empathy is a part of our toolkit, our major software is “motion.” Our job is to assist prospects repair their points: first to determine what the difficulty is after which to search for an answer or a subsequent step. That is the first goal of each interplay and with out motion on the forefront, no quantity of empathy will suffice.
(3) Preserve wholesome boundaries
There are two boundaries I like to remember: these of the shopper, and my very own. To me, defending a buyer’s boundary means not over-apologizing. Whereas we’d really feel extremely unhealthy for the shopper, our job is to seek out options and to empower and uplift our prospects. Usually talking, we will often keep away from over-apologizing if we’re real and solution-driven.
Defending my very own boundaries means understanding when to redirect or finish a dialog. There could also be cases the place I don’t know how you can resolve a buyer’s difficulty. A wholesome boundary can be understanding when to escalate the dialog to a different tier of help.
There could also be different cases the place a dialog turns into an excessive amount of to deal with and I can then lean into Buffer’s Teammate Safety Pledge and hand the dialog off to a different teammate or a workforce lead. That is notably vital on the subject of threatening and abusive conduct that may threat my very own psychological well-being.
There could also be instances while you attain an deadlock with the shopper. The place no answer suits the shopper’s wants and no reply will deescalate the dialog — the place any response makes the shopper angrier. When additional dialogue doesn’t really feel productive, I finish the dialog understanding I’ve carried out the most effective I probably can for them.
(4) Revisit uplifting conversations
For each sporting dialog encountered, there are seemingly a number of uplifting conversations which have come our means. There are much more constructive conversations to discover when trying throughout the entire workforce, so making an effort to rejoice and spotlight these may be extremely rewarding and uplifting.
At Buffer, we share notably touching messages publicly with our workforce on Slack (with the shopper’s id redacted). Our teammate, Cheryl, additionally publishes a month-to-month Buyer Satisfaction (CSAT) Report back to our workforce, the place she highlights all the constructive suggestions we’ve acquired. One thing like this could equalize our pure human concentrate on enchancment.
Steadiness is tough
The above are my private opinions on empathy’s position within the customer support expertise. It’s also my present “perfect.” Not solely will my opinions on this modification over time, however how carefully I persist with my “perfect” will change with each interplay. Discovering steadiness is tough and each buyer is totally different. Our moods on totally different days and at totally different instances additionally range. The vital factor is understanding that we’re doing our greatest.
If you happen to learn all the way in which to the top of this text, it means you already care sufficient about your craft to take a position time studying extra opinions on it.
I’d love to listen to your ideas: How do you view empathy in buyer help? Ship us a tweet with the hashtag #customersupportthoughts.
This text was initially printed on our help weblog.
