Never Underestimate the Importance of Empathetic Customer Service

Delivering a great customer experience (CX) is undeniably essential to ensuring the long-term success of the company. But in the drive to deliver a CX that’s fast, efficient and tech-savvy, it’s important not to forget the real cornerstone: empathetic customer service.

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Yes, even in the era of chatbots, autoresponders and one-click shopping, where customer care is delivered via automation as often as by actual live agents (and with good reason), the degree of care people receive is still a major deciding factor in how they perceive your brand.

It’s no surprise. Sincerity, openness, lack of condescension, and good, old-fashioned friendliness are all things that people seek out in their social and interpersonal relationships. Naturally, consumers value them in their business relationships, too.

Offering customers friendly, empathetic, and accessible service should be a priority for your customer care agents. Click To Tweet

Here are a few ways to achieve this important goal:

6. Keep a positive tone

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First and foremost, your customer service agents should work to respond to all customer questions and comments—no matter how negative—with a polite, positive tone. Especially when delivering bad news, it’s important to defuse any potential anger or frustration on the behalf of the customer.

5. Speak the same language as your customers

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Empathetic customer service is also accessible customer service, which means connecting with people in terms they understand. If your agents are prone to slip into jargon that’s specific to your industry or business, customers are likely to tune them out.

Also, our country is a diverse place, and so are your customers. Ensure your contact center not only offers service in English and Spanish, but also in the dozens of other languages and dialogues spoken across the continent.

4. Provide agents with a great workplace culture

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The empathy your customer service reps bring to their job is often a direct extension of the culture in which they work. Even the most upbeat, outgoing agent will have difficulty to maintain a positive attitude and friendly demeanor in a company culture that’s negative or uninspiring.

It’s important, then, to cultivate a culture in which customer care agents feel respected and empowered. It should also offer them the chance to get to know their fellow agents and socialize — even if they work virtually.

3. Hire selectively

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Creating a positive culture isn’t necessarily an easy task. So, when you’ve achieved this important goal, you should then focus on hiring new customer care agents in a way that preserves that culture. Although an emphasis on empathetic customer service should be encouraged and cultivated post-hire, it can’t always be brought out in someone who doesn’t naturally possess it. So, along with proficiencies in important customer care skills like speed, efficiency, and knowledgeability, prospective agents should also be screened for their ability to fit within your culture.

2. Offer agents opportunities for continuous improvement and education

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Technology is constantly evolving, as are the channels in which customers interact with businesses, and it’s necessary to keep agents up to date. Additionally, ongoing education is also a key factor in cultivating the kind of interpersonal communications skills that truly engage and satisfy customers.

And the #1 way to ensure effective and empathetic customer service is…

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Business leaders today are choosing to elevate their customer service offerings by partnering with a dedicated contact service provider. This allows companies to focus on running their businesses while offering their clients and consumers the expertise of high-quality agents, without the worry.

Eliminate some of the pressure of managing a thriving business by partnering with accomplished professionals to handle your customer services needs..

About Us

With more than 25 years of delivering stellar customer care, Working Solutions’ on-demand services are designed to suit a wide range of industries and businesses, no matter how large and small. We pride ourselves on offering clients empathetic agents who are also highly effective at their jobs.

We invite you to discover for yourself what engaged, motivated, and empathetic customer service agents can do for your business.