Empathy. Is it really necessary? Do we really need to understand where someone else is coming from? 

A customer recently had two very different experiences with medical offices. One office displayed kindness and patience, the other not so much. Keeping in mind that if a customer is contacting a medical facility, they might not be feeling well to begin with, which do you think the customer would prefer to return to if given a choice?

Understand your customers’ current challenges. See your products, your business and the world through their eyes. Truly understand their life experience for that moment in time. As humans, if we feel understood, we feel respected. If we feel respected, we’re more likely to return to that business.

It’s more than understanding where they are. It’s recognizing and appreciating what they are going through. It’s realizing how they will interpret your words and tone. 

It’s not about what you give out. It’s what the customer believes they are receiving.