Empathy in Customer Service

I familiarized myself with the research report “Empathy in Customer Service: A Consumer Survey and Practical Guide” made by GENESYS and MyCustomer (n.d.). The report presents in relative detail the survey conducted, the methods used and the survey group as well as the findings of the survey. Based on the findings, a six-step practical guide was created for organisations in customer service. The research topic, empathy in customer service, is highly relevant to our Study Unit as it plays a major role in creating customer insight and managing customer experiences. It is a topic that every customer service representative should delve into.  

Findings

The research findings made it clear that empathy is never a poor choice in customer service. Even when the customer doesn’t expect empathy it can really elevate the customer experience and have a positive impact on the brand image (GENESYS & MyCustomer n.d., 14). So, what really is important, is that the organisations working in customer service try to define what empathy means to their customers. When it comes to people, emotions are always present and must be acknowledged. As empathy doesn’t mean the same for everybody, organisations should start by utilizing customer and employee surveys to define it (GENESYS & MyCustomer n.d., 17). After defining the goal, it is easier to achieve.

While in today’s world we use mainly fast digital channels to communicate with our friends and family, customers expect that same from the organisations (GENESYS & MyCustomer n.d., 6). In order to have a positive customer experience, the communication needs to be as convenient and effortless as possible for the customer. To achieve that, the organisations should really focus their attention into their already existing technology and if necessary, update it. If the organisation offers the customer multiple channels of communication, all the customer service agents should have access to all of them. As a result of this, the customer service agents can get to grips with the customer’s problem much faster, without the customer having to explain their whole story again and again. (GENESYS & MyCustomer n.d., 19).

As the customers have a plenty of choice and organisations are in the middle of constant competition, it is crucial to concentrate on creating the best possible customer insight and experiences. Through them, organisations have a possibility to gain loyal customers which increases the organisation’s customer lifetime value (GENESYS & MyCustomer n.d., 20). Organisations need to change their view from as cost-effective as possible to a more understanding and empathic, same goes for all the customer service processes. To succeed in the competitive world, they need to win their customers trust and loyalty. Here, new technology can really make a difference. In the guidebook one of the main tips for organisations is to start utilizing AI as an assistive element in the service processes, as it can pick-up on emotive cues and help the agents by providing possible answer templates. (GENESYS & MyCustomer n.d., 18-19.)

Conclusion

In my opinion the main result of the research was that empathy is really needed in customer services, it can really effectively change the direction of the conversation as well as the customer’s experience. The research proved that the cost-effectiveness is not the only way to go for organisations, deeper understanding of human emotions and psychology is also needed for succeeding in the long term. The research also supported my own belief that the empathy needs to be innate, so that it first comes all the way from the upper managers to the service agents in order to show up for the customers. I think that organisation culture, work atmosphere and well-being of employees are major factors in that.

Bibliography

GENESYS & MyCustomer n.d. Empathy in Customer Service: A Consumer Survey and Practical Guide. GENESYS. Available at: https://www.genesys.com/resources/empathy-in-customer-service-a-consumer-survey-and-practical-guide Accessed on: 4.9.2024.