Using Empathy in Customer Service to Increase Sales

What is good customer service? Understanding your customers’ problems? Yes. Offering them relevant solutions? Yes. Managing their expectations effectively? Yes! But what separates it from great customer service? Empathy. That’s right. Providing an excellent customer experience is not just about providing the best products anymore. It’s also about allowing them memorable interaction, where empathy takes the front stage.

But what is empathy? Empathy is the ability to identify or understand other people’s thoughts, emotions, and feelings. It has now become a must-have skill for enhanced customer experience.

As it turns out, 21.3% of customers expect more empathy in their interaction with customer service. True, your main aim is to capture more customers for the growth of the business. But leading with empathy can set you apart from others. An empathetic approach is all you need to establish customer loyalty and boost your brand image.

 

How Is Empathy Critical to Sales?

The key to prioritizing your customers? Encouraging your sales team to communicate with genuine interest and understanding with potential clients. When you show empathy, it automatically indicates to the customer that you care and value their emotions. Let’s understand how.

 

Empathy Forms Trust

Today, customers want more than just a great product. They want to be seen and heard. Thus, when you look at things from their perspective, customers will see it as an act of trust. As a result, their brand loyalty increases, and they keep coming back for more.

 

Empathy Helps Find the Solution

Your customers are looking for a solution to their problems. And nothing could be better than exercising empathy to help them through it. When you understand your customers and their frustration, it helps you resonate with them and gain deeper insight into their needs. Which ultimately, makes you better equipped to offer them relevant solutions.

Empathy Improves Business Relations

Apart from achieving customer trust and satisfaction, taking an empathetic approach helps you develop long-term customer relations. Empathy can help you stay connected with your prospects and find multiple opportunities for repeat sales.

And the result of all this? An empathetic salesperson will effectively close more sales, allowing your business to grow significantly.

 

How to Develop Empathy in Your Customer Service?

While it’s true that empathy is a natural trait, it is also something that you can teach with little attention and due diligence. Here’s how your sales team can lead with more empathy in your customer services.

1. Listen Actively

Listening actively and patiently is the key to empathy. Is your sales team truly hearing the customer or are they the only one talking? According to research, nearly 88% of consumers want the salesperson to listen to them. Thus, it all comes down to paying attention to what the customer is saying or even not saying. Focus on their feelings, tone, or body language to get better insights. Most importantly, express genuine curiosity and ask follow-up questions for a healthy interaction.

 

2. Think like the Customer

The best way to empathize with your customers is to put yourself in their shoes. Try to get your sales team to imagine how would they feel and react if in a similar situation. This will help them understand where the customer is coming from and partner with the customer to find the best solution to their problem.

 

3. Use Empathetic Language

Words matter to make communication more effective. Practice using vocabulary that reflects genuineness and willingness on your part. Ask clarifying questions to dig deeper into their pain points. Moreover, try to use the same language as your customer to show them that they are heard.

 

4. Get Feedback

Want to analyze the quality of your customer interactions? Gather valuable customer feedback. Use various channels such as email surveys, live chat, social media, etc. You can also ask your sales team to encourage feedback from the customers at the end of their conversations. This will help you understand what you need to work on to offer better customer service.

Moreover, your customer will trust your business more when you value their feedback and opinions and work towards resolving them.

 

Final Words

And to go back to the question again, what separates good customer service from great customer service? The answer is, going that extra mile to truly understand your client and deliver them a positive brand experience. Adopting an empathetic approach is enough to bring a positive change in your business culture and foster lasting connections with your customers.