Empathy towards the customer

During the development of the following guide we will be addressing the importance of using empathy in the development of our interpersonal relationships with our clients. Empathy is a very useful tool and one of the most essential skills for any professional who must have frequent contact and communication with his or her clientele. When we are able to develop empathy towards others, we can perceive a wider range of feelings and concerns that concern the personal state of our intercommunicator.

Thanks to empathy we know how to act and behave in certain scenarios and in this way make our message be received more effectively, managing to awaken our client's interest in the best possible way.

What is empathy?

Empathy is the ability we develop to position ourselves in another person's shoes. This means that we must be able to adopt the vision of the other person, to be able to share their impressions, feelings, state of mind or concerns about a certain aspect.

Empathy allows us to perceive the same sensations as the other person, even if the same things are not happening to us. This ability is used in many professions, such as marketing, in order to shape a message. Marketing, to be able to shape a message that causes a greater impact on the customer, taking into account their feelings.

Usefulness of empathy towards clients

The client-coach relationship is a somewhat peculiar professional relationship. Transmitting knowledge is not just any service; it requires a great deal of participation and interest from the subject who wishes to learn. If the client does not show a good disposition, it is very unlikely that the lessons received can be useful, even if the coach has excellent skills. That said, empathy enters into this relationship as the main variable in shaping the coach's message and transmitting knowledge in the most appropriate way possible.

If we are able to perceive the situation from the client's perspective, we are likely to find better strategies that will be useful in satisfying the client's interests. It is incorrect to analyze a problem if we only take into account our vision as a coach, since it will be inaccurate to approach the solutions from the feelings, moods and experience of the coach, since it will obviously not be in accordance with those shared by the client.

Generate solutions that are adapted to your client, you must think about him, not about you. To do this you must strive to feel and see the situations to be faced from the closest possible position to our client.

Tailor the message to your customers

Once you have been able to place yourself in your client's position and perceive the facts from a vision close to theirs, your main task as a communicator is to know how to adapt your message so that it is received in the most effective way possible, without losing its essence and content. Not everyone who has experience is able to teach others, since this also requires knowing how to communicate and transmit knowledge.

If you are able to feel like the person to whom you must get your message across, you will be able to perfect your educational strategies so that the message is adapted to the capabilities and state of the person who is to receive it. Empathy is precisely the key to adapting a message. Thanks to our qualities as social beings, we can generate empathy towards other people. Develop this ability and your coaching sessions will be perceived with greater pleasure, causing the desired effect and particularized to each situation.