Customer Service
Emphasizing empathy: How retail and e-commerce brands can provide the right CX at the right moment
Rachel Eisenhauer, VP of marketing for SundaySky, explains how the pandemic has only heightened the need for retail and e-commerce brands to maintain empathy and emotional intelligence in all digital experiences and communications.
March 19, 2021 by Rachel Eisenhauer — VP, Marketing, SundaySky
There are moments in life when price takes a backseat for consumers. They have an important decision to make and a hard sell only adds to their stress. What they would value above all else at that point is empathy; someone who understands their situation and is focused on helping them find the right solution, not just closing a sale.
In a Salesforce survey of 8,000 consumers and business buyers, 54% felt companies must transform how they interact with customers. Roughly three quarters said when a company delivers an extraordinary experience, they expect others to do the same. With the pandemic, more people than ever are shopping online. This has only heightened the need for brands to respond quickly and react appropriately, and therefore, maintaining empathy and emotional intelligence in digital experiences and communications is critical.
Unfortunately, many retailers and e-commerce brands are clinging to dated sales approaches, and by not putting buyer's needs first, they're missing out on what they desire most; loyal, long-term customers who will generate greater revenue, recommend them often, and decrease customer acquisition costs with higher lifetime value.
Care and share
Today, it's all about the customer experience, which is why analysts from IDC project technology purchases in this realm to grow to $641 billion in 2022. Still, implementing technology just for the sake of checking a box isn't the answer. The key to success is connecting the product and brand message in a relevant way to your audience. If brands fail to adapt, they risk customers feeling uninformed, lost or uncared for.
Humanization is the new personalization. Still, personalized CX is challenging, and it's essential to pair data-driven content with emotional resonance, creating an experience that compels action and deepens the connection.
We see this repeatedly with complex information or processes, customer education, and, when companies try to affect behavioral change. Traditional marketing often fails to provide clear information, guidance and reassurance. What's more, customers don't want to sift through lengthy, multi-subject collateral when they're seeking a simple and timely answer to a specific question. This only ends up increasing frustration, stress and confusion.
The trick is showing you care and being able to share the right messages when they're needed most. The ability to activate data can help drive that CX. That doesn't require access to deep data — you just need the technology and flexibility to get the most out of the data you possess. It's about avoiding that blast of information that says, "Hey, we know you're having this life-changing moment — check out our products." Instead, you need to direct them so they feel confident they're making an informed decision.
In fact, when data is limited, an interactive experience can deliver an immersive CX that not only drives engagement, it allows for additional data collection to round out the customer profile. And that enables even more effective education and produces greater value.
A part of the journey
You're not looking for one-off sales — you want to be a part of the customer journey as much as possible. And in a single life-changing moment, there can be ample opportunity for retailers to become customer champions.
For example, look at the arrival of a newborn. A couple needs to create a nursery; having concise information available regarding such things as the safest furniture can alleviate fears and facilitate a decision. Those self-install black-out blinds? A video tutorial on how to install them correctly, and another module on proper and hygienic cleaning, can do the same. When it comes to clothes, an at-a-glance email guide for correct sizing, or one shareable on a screen, can be invaluable. Then there's information that can be offered on toys that'll enhance a child's development, inspired by Montessori curriculum.
Maybe the couple needs to move to the suburbs. A modular on-demand video library for cable services – what's needed for an installation visit, troubleshooting, understanding a bill – can make busy lives easier. Auto retailers who have resources on vehicle safety, investments funds that can project future tuition needs, travel services that can detail the best way to make a trip with a baby — all this and more are touchpoints for savvy retailers and brands and become part of their extended journey.
Simple and concise
Whether through email, online assistance, or other digital channels, keep messages concise, simple and empathetic. Customers want helpful information fast and easy; mounds of generic content won't do, relevance is key, and it all must be brought to life in a compelling way.
This is why the use of video is becoming more widespread within a digital CX strategy. It can convey emotion using verbal and visual communication and animation, delivering a 9X improvement in recall over text. Further, it's no longer costly to produce — if you plan for it in a strategic way: to be modular and not a one-size-fits-every digital channel. In fact, sometimes slick production values come off as too heavy-handed, while basic pieces seem more humanized and genuine. But most important with this, or any other medium, is being able to deliver personalized content on the fly and at scale. So, choose your technology wisely.
Deloitte has reported that customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than rivals. Analysts at Gartner note over two-thirds of companies now compete mainly on the basis of CX. Forrester has shown that brands who improve CX by just a single point can see more than $1 billion in added revenue.
Emphasize empathy — because doing good can be great for the bottom line.
Rachel Eisenhauer is VP of marketing for SundaySky
About Rachel Eisenhauer
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