Customer Success: Empathy not Sympathy
I am an Arsenal fan and as such I do have an in-depth understanding about sympathy. I am just putting this out here 🌚.
The similarity between sympathy and empathy ends in “...pathy”, they have absolutely different meanings.
One experience about empathy that stood out for me over the years was an experience with a cab driver that drove me to the hospital where my mom and siblings were admitted. I was on my way home late at night when I got the call from the hospital and I had to reroute the cab to the hospital. It was way past visiting hours when I arrived and I was only allowed in for a bit. I wasn’t conscious of the time and the fact that I would be unable to get a cab at that hour in that vicinity until I stepped out of the hospital to leave. I was about to start weeping when someone tapped my shoulder. Lo and behold, it was the cab driver!!!
He explained that he heard my conversation on the phone and figured it would be difficult getting a cab from there and so he waited. Let’s just say he is the reason I believe angels live among us.
Simply put, empathy is imagining and understanding how someone might feel without necessarily having those feelings yourself. Unlike sympathy where one person shares the feelings of another; being empathetic does not require you being in the same situation or sharing the same feelings.
As a customer success executive, I dare say that empathy is the first and most important skill to have. This is the ability to have an interaction with a customer where you would intentionally put yourself in the customer’s shoes, considering the issue from their own point of view in order to adequately understand the issue that they are experiencing and to develop the best approach for resolution.
Empathy seems like such a laborious process and you may wonder why then it is important.
Here is why:
It gives a better understanding of the customer. Customer success is all about the customer and it is therefore imperative to understand your customers, their emotions and their needs. The only way to do this is by being empathetic.
“Reading in between the lines”. This means understanding what is left unsaid. Be it in the tone, voice, body language or behavioral pattern of your customer.
Conflict resolution– because from time to time, you will find yourself putting out a fire or preventing one from starting. Fire in this context is the unavoidable conflict(s) that keep popping up here and there. A proper understanding of your customer helps to effectively resolve customers' complaints and make them know that their complaints are heard and their feedback is valid. One trade secret about customer success is that empathy can turn the angriest of customers into the happiest customer.
Building stronger customer relationships. Being empathetic towards your customers converts your customers to ambassadors.
When you have customers that are your ambassadors, you would not be needing to beg your customers to refer you and give incentives. They would sing your praises like it's the hottest new single on the chart.
Cheers,
Seun