Compassion

WORK

At the core of any business is the way we treat our customers, clients and anyone else who provides us with the gift of their attention. One of the major ways we connect with them is by evoking their emotion. Did you notice how many Super Bowl ads featured heavy emotional scenes designed to either shock or connect? Companies of all sizes reach out through emotion, but I think the most successful are those that include compassion in their appeals.

Rather than merely acknowledging your clientele, make them feel welcome from the moment they arrive or hear about you. Make sure all of your communications — be they virtual or otherwise — stand up to greet someone, saying, “Hi! Come sit and chat with us!”

Make sure all sales are secondary to any genuine help you can provide. Of course, your whole reason for doing what you do is to serve people through your products and services, but most people can smell a sale from a mile away. People are ready to buy when they are ready. All you can do is have the entire process set up to make a transaction smooth and easy when the time is right.

During this process, help educate your prospects by showing examples, tutorials and timelines. Someone who is completely new to your offerings — and possibly a bit overwhelmed — can be put at ease with lots of open and honest communication. This process should start from the moment they first visit your website looking for more information. Before a single dollar can be handed over, people very much need to have a feeling of trust. But before they can, your culture of compassion must be obvious.

After the prospect makes a purchase, have an on-boarding process that’s designed to make them feel well cared for during the entire transaction. Think this through carefully: Is there a simple item you can send them to help inspire them, nurture them and make them want to spread the word about you? Can you celebrate with them (dance party, anyone?) when they finish a goal or achieve a milestone?

While lots of marketers harp on being authentic and instilling trust online first, I believe that authenticity begins with being compassionate with your future customers no matter where they are in the sales process. And in an increasingly word-of-mouth driven business world — one with more referrals and less advertising — your customer service is what will stand out most.

LIFE

In a world of impatience, split decisions and frantic overwhelm, we desire peace. We search for it, we ask the universe for it and then we hope it miraculously comes. But maybe there’s a way to be the change we want to see in the world. And maybe part of that is through increased compassion.

Some questions I ask myself:

Is there a way for me to improve my mood by paying forward some kindness to a random stranger? The act is often as much for me as it is for them, but I don’t expect any outcomes or paybacks.

Can I give someone or something a chance? I love when I can look back even two months and see such a phenomenal shift in perspective because I gave someone else’s ideas the space to inspire me.

Would applying compassion towards my unrealistic expectations give me some peace? Can I just give myself a break? (I think the answer to this one most times is ”yes.”)

Can I surprise a friend with a visit, a gift, a thoughtful card or some other kind of connection? I think about ways I can help remedy a friend’s difficult time, or just help someone for no particular reason at all.

Could I stretch my empathy even further? To get to a place of true empathy, think about another person’s situation as a whole. When doing this I find it helpful to be outside of my home just observing others at a time when I’m not feeling rushed. Without judgement I try to really take in the people I see, imagining their hardships, their loves, their joys.

Is it possible for you to sit down with a family member you may not have been getting along with and really try to understand how they feel? This may be one of the hardest ways to practice compassion, but sometimes removing all of your own barriers while attempting to understand another’s viewpoint (even if you don’t agree) can help you remember that we are all human and valued. Just because someone sees the world differently doesn’t mean they are worth less.

And isn’t that what all of these ideas are about? When we take a moment to consider others and how they feel, we feel better knowing others are doing the same for us.

INSPIRATION

“Compassion may be defined as the capacity to be attentive to the experience of others, to wish the best for others, and to sense what will truly serve others.”

― Joan Halifax

TAKE ACTION

Try applying the questions in the Life section above to your experience today. How could any of them made the day or week better?

Originally published at Your Vibrant Journey: A Journal by Beneficial Studio.