For a company to attract new customers, they must feel that someone empathizes with them as an individual and understands their challenges. Since most people begin researching about a product or service online, empathy must be clear in a company’s copywriting for people to feel a genuine sense of connection. Storytelling is an especially effective way for businesses to demonstrate empathy online. It’s about understanding what other people want and need so the company can connect them to those resources.
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Empathy in Copywriting
Showing empathy in copywriting is a learned skill. It requires the writer to find studies and other sources of reliable information to understand why people have the need the company is trying to meet in the first place. For example, a financial institution that offers retirement savings would be wise to learn more about the anxiety people feel about not having enough money to retire. Rather than pushing more products on the customer, the copywriter should discuss the origins of the anxiety and practical ways to address it.
When a website reader feels understood, he or she is more likely to reach out in search of a specific solution. This isn’t the time for the banker responding to the inquiry to give statistics on how great the bank is or why its retirement savings accounts are the best. Rather, he or she should focus on specific ways that establishing more retirement savings now will improve the potential customer’s life. That shows empathy and doesn’t make the customer feel pressured.
Empathy in UX and Web Design
If website designers don’t understand what their customers feel and experience, people will go elsewhere to search for what they need. Before they write their first code, they need to appreciate the empathetic and emotional UX of the company’s customer base. Knowing that people are emotional creatures makes it easier to create a user experience that will resonate with them. It brings an all-important sense of humanity to the brand. Here are some specific tips on how to achieve that:
- Include emotionally powerful images
- Copywriters should stress that the company understands it customers and the pain points they face
- Include blog posts with a decidedly conversational tone
- Include video where appropriate to help people connect beyond the words and pictures
- Place testimonials from other customers in a prominent place on the website
- Review feedback often and reward customers for their loyalty
Empathy in Action: The Sales Meeting
The Internet, smartphones, and other forms of instant connectivity have revolutionized the sales field but that’s not without a cost. With most communication taking place electronically, salespeople are not as comfortable interacting with prospects in person. Checking a smartphone every few minutes does not send a message of genuine concern about the prospect. Truly professional salespeople understand the importance of being present and paying attention to what is happening directly in front of them.
Empathy in sales means imagining life from the perspective of the prospect. What is the person’s schedule like, how much stress does he or she face, and what are his or her biggest concerns? Knowing the answer to these questions allows the empathetic salesperson to relate to the prospect’s experience and offer the best solutions to make his or her professional life just a little easier.
