Best Practices For Emotional Engagement In Customer Service

Anyone who is customer facing should be building close, authentic, long lasting relationships with their customers. It pays off in more ways than you can imagine: repeat customers, references, community champions, content ideas, competitive intel and so much more. Here are 5 ways you and your team can start building those relationships: 1. Amplify a customer’s LinkedIn posts - When your customer posts something interesting, don’t just like it yourself but share the link on your internal chat and ask your team to like it as well. It’s amazing how powerful this is. It’s human nature to look at who is liking your content on any social platform and most people get a consistent number of likes. If you drive 50% more for a customer they will notice that. 2. Help find candidates for their team and jobs for them if they’re looking - In your position engaging with a specific persona all day every day you have amazing visibility and connections into relevant candidates for open jobs and companies hiring. If you let your customers know that you can be a resource for them on both sides of the table you will see how quickly you can start playing matchmaker. 3. Share best practices that have nothing to do with your company/product - Everyone is looking to improve in their job. Everyone wants to know what their peers are doing at other companies. When you hear good ideas from other customers or read about a best practice, send it to them. Just show them you’re thinking about them and are invested in them being successful. 4. Make them look good in front of their manager and/or team - It needs to be authentic and relevant but find a reason to give your customer a shoutout when you’re in a meeting with them. It doesn’t even need to be a big thing but something about how they’re the fastest to roll out your product, how their feature request ended up becoming a game changer for a bunch of customers, how they’re the most productive team you’ve seen at one particular thing. 5. Fight for a feature/bug fix/service that they’re asking for - In short, be the squeaky wheel for your customer. When they ask for something, set the expectation that it takes a while to get that thing done but then go fight for it internally. Each company has their own process for this kind of stuff but if you push in the right ways you can usually get their request prioritized. When it’s done make sure the customer knows you fought for them to get that thing done. The best thing is that these are “free”. Of course they will take time and energy but the return on this work is astronomical. I honestly didn’t appreciate the power of these relationships when I started my career but I now have close relationships with so many customers that I’ve worked with over the years. They’re a sounding board for business ideas, they’re working with companies I’m advising and we’ve become each other cheerleaders. What did I miss? What else are you doing to build relationships with your customers?

Ever feel like your customer service calls could use a friendliness boost? You're not alone. Many of us struggle to balance empathy, accuracy, and efficiency while juggling multiple channels and difficult customers. But what if I told you there are psychological techniques that can make you sound more empathetic and friendly on every call, without sacrificing efficiency? In my latest video, I share five powerful empathy hacks that can transform your customer interactions: The Empathy Anchor: A simple technique to connect emotionally before problem-solving. Smiling Through Your Voice: A proven method to sound warmer, even on tough calls. The Power of Personalization: How using a customer's name can build instant rapport. Mirror and Match: A psychological approach to align with your caller's energy. The Positive Close: A strategy to leave a lasting, positive impression. These aren't just tricks - they're psychologically backed methods that respect your customer's feelings while making your job easier. One of my clients saw their customer satisfaction scores increase by 20% after implementing these techniques, all while maintaining efficient call times. Imagine starting each call feeling confident in your ability to connect with customers, no matter the situation. It's not just possible - it's achievable with the right approach. Remember, being empathetic and friendly doesn't have to be time-consuming or fake. These small psychological techniques can make a big difference for both you and your customers. Would you be interested in this video?

The mom needed jeans for her 13-year-old son. She was nervous and worried about getting it wrong. I was a 16-year-old retail associate, about to get my first lesson in customer empathy. Empathy comes from a shared or relatable experience. It helps us better understand our customer's needs so we can provide a better experience. Clearly, I didn't SHARE my customer's experience. I didn't know how it felt to be a mom trying to buy clothes for a teenage boy. But I could RELATE to the mom for two reasons. First, I had recently been someone's 13-year-old son. Second, I knew how it felt to be overwhelmed when you went shopping for a gift. I reassured the mom, asked her some questions about her son, and helped her buy the perfect pair of jeans. The mom returned with her son a week later to buy more. She was beaming with pride and confidence since the first pair was a huge hit. She was my first repeat customer. Empathy for the win. It took me awhile to break down the technique I had used to empathize with my customer in that moment. Here's the process: 1. Identify the emotion I could tell the mom was feeling nervous. 2. Ask yourself, "Why is this customer feeling this way?" The mom told me directly. She wanted to make sure she bought the right jeans for her son and worried about getting it wrong. 3. Think about a time when you had a similar feeling.  I instantly thought about times when I was nervous about buying something for someone else. 4. Try to demonstrate that you know how they feel. Relating to the mom helped me understand she was looking for assurance. I knew a lot about both our products and the jean preferences of teenage boys, so it was easy for me to make suggestions. 💡Try this technique: practice empathizing with customers you serve today. You might be amazed at how it can improve the experience!