When two people interact and they are friendly and pleasant with each other, that exchange is perceived as kindness. However, when a sales representative is kind to a customer at a business, it’s considered good customer service. If this is consistently done every time customers interact with said brand, the company gets the reputation of providing a good customer experience (CX).
When you think about it, when is good customer service ever considered kindness? Or can a brand do both — have stellar customer service skills and kind sales associates? Well, at Credico, we believe it’s in the best interests of all businesses to be both kind people and providers of the best customer experience, every single time, to every single customer. That’s because kindness and a solid CX plan are just good business.
It’s possible to be both kind and provide good customer service, and implementing both is a good business strategy. Your brand must do both. For many businesses navigating how to grow and scale their brand, it may seem like you must make a choice — either be kind and don’t make any sales or create a great brand experience and grow and scale. However, businesses can’t just do one or the other; they must be both — genuinely.
The thing about kindness is that it is fundamental to any brand’s customer service experience. It’s how your business not only sets itself apart in your market, but it’s how you put the humanity back into your business data. In today’s business market, we lean a lot on data. Sales become numbers on a report instead of people, preferences, or personalities. Over time, we’ve replaced kindness with quotas and sales trends. Too many business leaders have forgotten why we got into our industry and have lost sight of the fact that businesses need customers, and those customers are real, living, breathing people. When businesses prioritize data over people, the customer experience becomes about profit and not your actual business partners — your customers. When intentionally implemented into every detail of your brand’s customer experience, kindness reinforces your “why” and your gratitude for those who experience your brand, even if they never purchase your product or service.
When kindness is part of your customer experience, customers experience it. That’s the appeal. Your product could sell itself well on its own, but great CX takes it above and beyond; long gone are the days when customers would withstand ill-treatment just to have the latest gadget. Customers understand their relationship with brands is a codependent one; it’s mutual. Thus, where money is exchanged, common courtesies must also be exchanged, felt, and experienced. Customers are more conscientious these days and expect their go-to brands to be so. And when we mean kindness, we don’t mean to be trendy and only be “nice” to people because that’s what society tells you to do. Kindness goes well beyond being friendly or courteous. Kindness in business includes ethics, inclusion, and even your hiring practices. Kindness is also not an exterior-facing strategy. Kindness is how you treat your customers, employees, vendors, and partners, from the inside out and the outside in.
To check if your business is considered kind, evaluate your business integrity. Check your data to see how and where your business strategy could include more kindness. Leverage the data you collect to highlight areas in your business where your brand could be more community-focused. Does your work culture need a reboot? How’s morale? Consider doing a survey where your customers and employees evaluate the level of kindness they experience. When businesses consider the value and impact kindness has on their bottom line, more brands will shift their focus to be the kind of business that not only fosters kindness but also exudes it.
The bottom line is it’s got to be people over profits. If your brand wants more profits, be kind to your people. If your brand needs help implementing kindness into your customer service experience strategy, we can help. Contact Credico today.