Empathy is a strong strategy to construct belief, however leaning in too far may also 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 assist expertise?
“The motion of understanding, being conscious of, being delicate to, and vicariously experiencing the emotions, ideas, and expertise of one other of both the previous or current with out having the emotions, ideas, and expertise absolutely communicated in an objectively express method” —Merriam-webster.com
When sitting down to put in writing this text, I struggled with how you can begin speaking about empathy. I initially wished to start out alongside the strains of “Empathy is a strong device”, however felt like this seemed that we should always pretend empathy to get what we would like; wielding it as a device for use when wanted.
Possibly a greater strategy to phrase it’s that empathy is an extremely highly effective a part of the customer support toolkit. It could actually assist us get nearer to the shopper’s expertise and extra absolutely perceive what they want from us. It will assist them depart this interplay feeling cared for and assist us, as assist professionals, really feel rewarded.
The facility of empathy
“I used to be actually moved with how a lot persistence and kindness I used to be handled. And that has been persistently completed, every time I’ve had a question or downside. I so recognize that. Particularly as I am actually out of my depth with digital know-how which makes me really feel moderately susceptible 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 mild.” —Buyer suggestions (February 2022)
Empathy has unimaginable energy within the buyer assist expertise. It has the facility to make the shopper really feel heard, diffuse a buyer’s anger, and de-escalate a tense state of affairs. When a buyer writes in with a grievance and we reply with real empathy, it could talk a number of issues to the shopper:
- Validation that they’re encountering a real downside;
- Our understanding that the issue is necessary to them;
- Acknowledgment that their downside is now necessary to us; and
- Information that we need to resolve the issue with them.
As a buyer assist skilled, if we really feel empathy for the shopper who’s writing in, we are going to need to work more durable to assist them. It might even encourage us to consider inventive workarounds for points which can be past our management. If we will efficiently resolve the problem 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 assist workforce at Buffer, we considered empathy as one of many key features of any buyer assist expertise. In truth, throughout ticket opinions, we had been measured based mostly 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 excellent.
Whereas prospects do need to really feel heard, their primary aim is to have their downside solved. For some prospects, an empathetic response, with out a clear understanding of the actions being taken, irritates them and makes them really feel worse in regards to the state of affairs and interplay. What prospects want from us are options and never a shoulder to cry on.
Let’s do some 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 just lately purchased from you. Apart from widespread courtesy, they aren’t searching for you to spend the primary 5 minutes of their time collectively explaining how effectively you perceive the frustration they have to’ve skilled all through their ordeal. They aren’t even searching for you to offer a refund for the system. As a substitute, they need their tv to work; they should perceive that you simply’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 situations 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 impression assist 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 may 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, moderately than serving to them out of it” (Thanks for this nugget, Dave!). Being too empathetic in buyer assist, the place we’re inundated day by day with quite a few points and grievances from completely different prospects, may also result in burnout.
Discovering the precise steadiness
Up to now, I’ve mentioned:
- Empathy = Good
- An excessive amount of empathy = Dangerous
How do we discover the steadiness? There isn’t any good reply, however, for me, there are usually three guidelines I observe when working with prospects.
(1) Any empathy I specific have to be real
Buyer assist advocates, not less than inside Buffer, have already got fairly excessive ranges of empathy, so feeling empathy for a buyer would normally come naturally. As a human, residing within the fashionable world, I personally have oftentimes felt extremely annoyed with know-how, completely different firms, or buyer assist experiences. Due to these experiences, I can relate to and empathize with most prospects that attain out to us.
In situations when I’m not naturally empathizing with the shopper, I discover it helpful to essentially try 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 is likely to be associated to the problem they’re dealing with with Buffer. I’d try to think about I’m a distinct particular person feeling the way in which the shopper is feeling, although I personally wouldn’t really feel that manner in the identical state of affairs. It takes just a little bit extra effort, nevertheless it makes the interplay extra real and it could positively impression the results of the dialog.
(2) I’ll default to motion
Whereas empathy is a part of our toolkit, our major device is “motion.” Our job is to assist prospects repair their points: first to establish what the problem 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) Keep 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. Typically talking, we will normally keep away from over-apologizing if we’re real and solution-driven.
Defending my very own boundaries means realizing when to redirect or finish a dialog. There could also be situations the place I don’t know how you can clear up a buyer’s difficulty. A wholesome boundary can be realizing when to escalate the dialog to a different tier of assist.
There could also be different situations 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 significantly necessary with regards to threatening and abusive conduct that may threat my very own psychological well-being.
There could also be occasions if 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 realizing I’ve completed one of the best I probably can for them.
(4) Revisit uplifting conversations
For each carrying dialog encountered, there are possible a number of uplifting conversations which have come our manner. There are much more constructive conversations to discover when trying throughout the entire workforce, so making an effort to have fun and spotlight these may be extremely rewarding and uplifting.
At Buffer, we share significantly touching messages publicly with our workforce on Slack (with the shopper’s identification 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 obtained. One thing like this could equalize our pure human give attention to enchancment.
Stability is tough
The above are my private opinions on empathy’s function within the customer support expertise. Additionally it is my present “excellent.” Not solely will my opinions on this transformation over time, however how carefully I keep on with my “excellent” will change with each interplay. Discovering steadiness is tough and each buyer is completely different. Our moods on completely different days and at completely different occasions additionally differ. The necessary factor is realizing that we’re doing our greatest.
If you happen to learn all the way in which to the tip 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 assist? Ship us a tweet with the hashtag #customersupportthoughts.
This text was initially printed on our assist weblog.
