The power of empathy is beautifully expressed by the great Maya Angelou:
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
As a HME Independent Retailer, connecting with your customers with Empathy is your ultimate competitive edge. This pinnacle of human connection is what customers crave and need when they come into your store.
As a NOVA MVP, the Most Valuable Person in your customer’s store experience, you are empowered to change how they feel, and give them an experience they will never forget. Empathy can make that happen.
Here is a powerful and easy two-step plan to connect and engage with empathy.
1. The Greeting
Remember the 5 second rule and greet your customers within 5 seconds of entering your store. Rather than saying, “How can I help you?” – instead, try… “Hi and welcome, my name is Sue and I’m here to help.” This small, yet meaningful shift makes the customer FEEL supported and embraced in those first 5 seconds.
2. Listen & Confirm with Emotion
When your customer is sharing with you what their needs are for coming in, really focus and give them your full attention… you can see, hear and feel the EMOTIONS they are feeling. Then, CONFIRM what they are expressing. Examples could be, “I understand, that is really tough.” Or, “Wow, that is really good news.” It’s a simple, yet powerful moment that establishes empathy.
Once you have executed this two-step Connect and Engage with Empathy, you will begin to establish trust and make your customer more comfortable to share more. As you continue the customer dialog with empathy… the more they share, the more you can help with product solutions they didn’t even know were possible or available.
As empathy is a key ingredient for establishing trust, the education, solution and options you are providing will have much greater impact with your customer. With empathy, you can transform your customers’ lives and Empower Human Ability.
Learn how one independent pharmacy grew thier business though this mentality here.
Written by Sue Chen
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