Is your small business equipped for empathic customer service from anywhere?

Customers want empathy more than ever – 71% of consumers say businesses that show empathy during the pandemic have earned their loyalty, according to the Salesforce Consumer and Workforce series.

Empathy and customer relationships have been cornerstones of successful small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) for ages. But customer interactions increasingly happen within digital channels rather than the face-to-face environments where many SMBs thrive.

Most consumers (68%) say they’re online more often than not, while a whopping 88% say they expect companies to accelerate digital initiatives due to COVID-19. So how can you ensure your business’ usual human touch, even if everyone is interacting from their own homes?

The answer comes down to three areas: technology, policies and people.

While your empathy and customer service might be unparalleled in person, in a digital environment you’ll need the right technology to connect with customers quickly and ensure personalised interactions at scale. But those final two areas are also key – even with the right tools and platforms, you’ll need to know how much flexibility you can provide customers and ensure frontline reps fully understand that flexibility.

How is your SMB travelling in these three areas? Download the checklist to find out.