The step after CX is clear for most… It’s revenue. But is this right? Is this the right thing in mind when building a great CX?
The mindset around CX is key. Before we talk about CX, we should think about CE, the Customer Empathy. Why?
“Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another’s position.” 1)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathy
Listen to understand is most important here. Often CX is done because everyone is telling us that we need it… which isn’t wrong. Wrong is if we are doing it with revenue goals in mind. This means we have only our own goals in mind… and this isn’t empathy at all.
This is like intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. True CX is intrinsic because we are passionate to help the customer, there is nothing else which motivates us from outside.
All in all, Customer Experience and Customer Empathy should go hand in hand.
Please read also this article from 12/2018 about trust and his elements. Empathy is one element of trust.
And there is another important topic. If this isn’t the approach behind empathy, empathy will fail.
References
| ⇡1 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathy |
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Sven I struggle with “empathy” – it is the new buzzword and I just believe that brands will ever know enough about the private lives of their customers to truly have the proper empathy. I think all a brand can do is to do their utmost best to understand the wants and needs of their customers and to try to align to those products/services which will help the customers make progress in their lives. Empathy is therefore very much correlated to understand the exchange of value that needs to take place between the brand and the customer and allowing the customer to dictate how and when they want to achieve that value.
Ray, you are right… “empathy” is the new buzzword. However, for me empathy is an element of trust (another buzzword). As you see here in my article from 12/2018 I’m taliking about it much longer than they are buzzwords. https://esser.me/trust-as-the-foundation-for-interaction-part-1
Understanding the wants and need of their customer is essential. For me, the point is the motivation to do so. If it is just (or mainly) done to gain revenue it is the wrong motivation. I often talk about CX and digital transformation with C-level and other senior executives… they fully agree that digital transformation and CX is key. If you digg into it deeper at some point (very quick) you reach the “but”… “but I need to do revenue”. CX is – more or less – masquerade.
Amazon, as we all know, is a leader in CX. They placed the customer needs on place 1, 2 AND 3. Then on number 4 the first company goals came in. With doing so they growed number 4 much more compared with if they have place corporate goals on 1 or 2.
CX requires a transformation while 90% are just doing a translation (see the difference here: https://esser.me/do-you-know-why-your-transformation-is-no-transformation)
The point is, that we need to transform the core to do transformation and this – I think – can’t be done without the right motivation and therefore empathy (which is more than just listen and understand) is a good element. It’s also great because trust is based on empathy, logic and authenthicity which is all needed to build an relationship with a customer as a foundation for CX.
Often – me included – we just listen to answer, not to understand… which we should. For me, it is about the mindset and placing customer needs on 1,2 and 3. It doesn’t matter how you name it, but it is helpfull to have a word for it. I’m verry happy if you have a better word than empathy!