Tip: Increase purchase intent by speaking for yourself ("I") instead of the company ("we")

Thanks to an outdated study, it's common practice to speak as the company ("we") when communicating with customers. Instead, increase satisfaction and purchase intent by speaking for yourself ("I").

The vast majority (92%) of customer service managers use the pronoun "we" instead of "I" when interacting with customers. This may be due to the findings of a 1982 study, which advised downplaying the self in favor of the company. But a much more recent study (2018) has shown that this approach may no longer be applicable. Customers were up to 19% more satisfied and had a 15% higher purchase intent when the speaker said "I" instead of "we". Put simply, the former sounds emotionally involved while the latter sounds distant, and customers like the former. This effect seems to work for all customer service communications (inquiries, complaints, etc.) and may extend into other realms such as sales and PR. It also works across mediums (email, in-person, etc.).

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