“Are You a Bot?”
Such a simple, yet dreaded question in customer experience (CX). If your customer asks that, or even alludes to it, then that signals a major problem.
In CX, we must always lead with curiosity and empathy. We need to pay attention to tone, word choices, punctuation, and use our own Emotional Intelligence (EQ - Emotional Quotient) to support our customers.
EQ is the ability to understand both your own and others’ emotions. Unfortunately, it seems to be a more lost skill than ever these days.
A quick scroll on LinkedIn will show you AI this, AI that, and all sorts of headlines about what the next big thing is. EQ should be, but typically isn’t, newsworthy. It’s not new, it’s not exciting, and it won’t code an app for you in milliseconds. But will it help you create a stronger bond and relationship with your customers? Absolutely.
Which Begs the Question: EQ or AI?
To me, the answer is both. But if I had to pick one, the answer is EQ. Let’s expand on that a bit more.
If your organization relies heavily on customer interaction, feedback, and building rich, deep relationships, then your focus should be on cultivating EQ among your support teams.
If your organization operates more behind the scenes, or perhaps behind the times, then there’s an opportunity to integrate AI into your work.
AI can help in many ways today. It can reduce menial tasks and free up people for more impactful work. It can streamline the customer journey and offer a more robust product experience.
However, if your company is focused solely on churning out answers and resolving tickets as fast as possible, with little regard for accuracy or the customer impact, then by all means, rely only on AI.
(That last paragraph is, hopefully, taken with the sarcasm intended. But if you find yourself nodding along or think your company does operate this way, connect with me on LinkedIn, and we can chat about the many reasons this approach won’t help in the long run.)
All in all, I lean toward building a strong foundation of EQ before implementing too much AI.
How to Cultivate EQ
For some, EQ comes naturally, but for others, it does not. The key fundamentals of EQ from a customer service standpoint are empathy, curiosity, self-awareness, and open communication.
To build these skills, you’ll want to create a team and company environment where they can flourish. Praise curiosity, provide time for professional development and upskilling, and model the transparency and open communication that you want your CX team to display with customers.
Encourage your team to put themselves in the customer’s shoes. If a customer has had a horrible experience with a return, will a short, one-word answer ease their worries? Probably not. But if you recognize, “Wow, this person is having a really hard time, and I can totally see where we dropped the ball,” you might approach the situation differently—with more empathy and curiosity.
And if the answer is a “no” for a particular request, ask, “What isn’t a no?” In other words, if there’s something you can’t do for a customer, what is something you can do? I always tell my teams, "How can we create a win for the customer and a win for the company?" If we can’t do both, how can we get as close as possible to achieving two wins?
Another strategy, especially for improving open communication, is to practice reviewing emails or preparing phone calls by imagining an angry tone. For example, if your customer is already upset and your email is short and to the point, read it back to yourself in an angry voice. Does it sound like something that would appease you, or would it make you angrier? If it would make you angrier, maybe soften the language or find another solution.
In Summary
EQ has been—and remains—a higher priority than AI, despite what many large brands may say. To build EQ, focus on curiosity, empathy, self-awareness, and open communication. Creating a win-win for both your customer and your company should be your ultimate goal, and the more you do this, the bigger your bottom line will grow too.
