Last month my professional education focused on two topics: design thinking and the psychology of negotiation. While on any other occasion I’d happily engage in a more detailed debate on either of these two topics (I’m becoming a big fan of both!), the short version of everything I’ve heard and learned at this point could be summed up in just one word: empathy.
You might not guess this, but I’m a trained anthropologist (and also one at heart). During their studies, anthropologists spend most of their time practicing techniques for putting themselves in other people’s shoes, in which they must remove their own predispositions, opinions, and feelings from the equation. The aim is to fully understand their interviewees, the objects of study. Yes, it’s a technique you can learn, but most of all, it’s a mindset that you internalize. Some say that because of this acquired open-mindedness of mine, I’m sometimes a bit too suggestible—but I think it actually just makes me an extremely good listener.
Anyway, the ability to empathize is something I learned during my studies, when I never even dreamed that my career path would take me into the realm of public relations and later marketing. However, these techniques are something I use in my work every day, both in communication within the company and in working with clients. The more I pay attention to empathy in business, the more I realize that there is a strong possibility that this is what separates good companies from great ones.
Why is empathy profitable?
This “soft skill,” which stereotypically has no place in the business mindset, is receiving increasing attention from leaders around the world, no doubt thanks to research like this, which proves the business success of companies that foster a culture of empathy.
The top ten companies on the 2015 Global Empathy Index have more than doubled in value compared to the bottom ten companies on the index, and they also earned 50% more.
But I dare say that (even without the numbers the research shows) every savvy marketer or salesperson is well aware that the key to closing a sale is to anticipate your customer’s needs and show them the way a product or service will best satisfy their needs. Truly understanding your customers in this context means you have insight into the customer’s emotions (fears, desires, pains, and doubts), and good sales skills also require the ability to anticipate and find the best solution. That’s actually the essence of empathy: feeling the client’s pain (or desire) even before they consciously feel it themselves.
What do feelings have to do with business?
No matter what business you’re in, you can be sure, without a shred of doubt, that your customers make purchases emotionally. The sooner you become aware of this fact, the sooner you can start thinking about ways to develop your business so that customers will perceive you emotionally and treat you that way as well. It’s therefore appropriate to consider how to incorporate more empathy into your marketing activities, your relationships with customers and, last but not least, with your products or services.
