Building empathy with your customers helps create trust and healthy relationships. And when customers trust you, they're more likely to keep doing business with you.
Put yourself in your customers' shoes
These days we mostly have plenty of options about where to shop. Many of us will use multiple information sources for research and will bring high expectations when we shop. And when we decide to buy, we want to feel valued, respected, and understood by the brands we choose to buy from.
To give your customers this experience of shopping with you—with a view to nurturing repeat business—you need to get to know them. What do they need, what are their expectations, what are their experiences of your brand? Some of that you can find out from the data you collect. Data can tell you, for example, what they search for on your website, what they end up buying, or how many comments they leave on your social media channels.
But to really get inside their heads, you need to get closer to them and build deeper connections with them. Ultimately, you need to find a way to put yourself in your customers' shoes and experience the world as they do—by building empathy with them.
How can you build empathy with your customers?
It's all about your mindset. Approach your customers with an open mind. Be genuinely curious and nonjudgmental and listen actively. Remember that your customers may have a different perspective from you (and from other customers). Ask questions about their experience of interacting with your business: what went well? What could have gone better?
Depending on your business, you may be able to ask them face to face or over the phone. If not, then ask for feedback in other ways, such as online reviews. Do your best to respond promptly, so that customers know you've read and absorbed their comments. Try to reply in a personal way and show your appreciation to the reviewer.
How the payment experience can help
As part of building empathy with your customers, it's worth finding out about their payment experience and expectations. In the main, customers will probably tell you they want:
- Payments to be processed in a secure way
- Payment data to be kept secure
- Choice around how they pay
- Quick and easy checkout
You may hear, for example, that they'd like to use a particular payment method, such as contactless for fast, convenient in-person payments. Can you take that feedback on board and implement a new payment type with your current payment platform?
For eCommerce payments, a service like our Customer Information Management (CIM) can be a great way to reflect the empathy you have for your customers. It lets you address their expectations around:
Security. CIM provides secure storage of sensitive payment customer data, allowing you to demonstrate you value and respect your customers' privacy and security.
Convenience. CIM makes future transactions quicker and easier for returning customers as they don't need to re-enter their information. This shows understanding and consideration for customers' time and effort.
Trust. Using a secure and reliable solution like CIM can help you build trust with your customers. It's a way of showing you've taken on board and responded to their concerns about data security.
Personalization. You can use the information stored in CIM to personalize the customer experience, demonstrating an understanding of individual customers' preferences.
MiracleCord, a business founded on empathy
Mark Locascio was inspired by his own family's experience to set up MiracleCord, a private cord blood and cord tissue stem cell bank, to help other families who might need a stem cell transplant. The company's customers are expecting parents who want to save their baby's cord blood and tissue to protect the health of family members from potential life-threatening medical conditions.
MiracleCord uses Automated Recurring Billing to set up recurring billing for customers who are on payment plans or have chosen to have their annual payments processed automatically. "The Authorize.net automated recurring billing feature has been a great time-saver for our billing department and our customers," says Mark.
Learn more
Ready to learn more about how Authorize.net can help you build empathy with your customers through payment experiences that can make them feel valued and respected? Visit our website or call us on 1-888-323-4289.
Disclaimer: Case studies, comparisons, statistics, research, and recommendations are provided “AS IS” and intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for operational, marketing, legal, technical, tax, financial or other advice. Authorize.net neither makes any warranty or representation as to the completeness or accuracy of the information within this document, nor assumes any liability or responsibility that may result from reliance on such information. The Information contained herein is not intended as investment or legal advice, and readers are encouraged to seek the advice of a competent professional where such advice is required.
