Why saying sorry might be the most important thing your business does
The simple act of a business saying sorry has fallen out of fashion. James West of ONLE Networking ponders why sorry seems to have become the hardest word, and why the trend presents a beautiful opportunity for all business owners to stand out in a sea of AI sameness and apathy.
“Taking ownership of a problem makes you feel real, lived-in, tangible. It instantly gives me a positive feeling about you and your business. In the same way that fobbing me off, blaming others or simply making it impossible to contact you makes me want to immediately find a new supplier.
James West
How many times has someone failed to say sorry to you recently? At points where they previously would have?
In the past week alone, it happened at a restaurant (which failed us at every possible point of the experience). It happened when I rang a call centre on behalf of my Dad (who’d been basically ripped off - and the supplier knew it). And it happened when a professional emailed me the details of another client and seemed a bit indignant when I pointed out their error (“please delete it immediately, it’s not for you”).
Or more accurately, it DIDN’T happen. ‘It’ being an apology. Not a grovelling, sycophantic showy exhibition of remorse. There’s no need for or point to that. Just a simple, ‘sorry about that, let me put that right for you’.
I’m not going to go into the ‘why’ of this. Because it doesn’t really matter. What I’m seeing is that businesses, and the individuals representing them, appear to have developed a belligerent, “not my problem mate” approach to customers. Which is frustrating to deal with. But on the flip side, presents a brilliant opportunity for small businesses to stand out a mile.
You can’t look at any content platform at the moment without hearing talk of the rise of AI and how it will obliterate the job market. It won’t.
(If you’d like reassurance why AI will never be truly good at writing, and the reasons why it’s being overhyped, look no further than this 3-minute video of Ben Affleck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax_yajCugQQ. Yes, that Ben Affleck - who started writing Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon when he was 19).
Bringing this down to a more basic, relatable level, some of the key differentiators that will safeguard businesses against AI are people, relationships, and real, relatable content and interactions. Saying sorry is one of the simplest ways to demonstrate them and remind yourself of their importance. Here’s why.
Two reasons why a business saying sorry is so powerful
1) You’ve taken ownership of the situation. This is reassuring. And it’s right - if I’m the customer, the onus should be on the organisation to make it right.
2) It proves you’re human. Who makes mistakes and is strong enough to admit and own them.
Why is this psychology so important? For the first point, taking ownership of a problem makes you feel real, lived-in, tangible. It instantly gives me a positive feeling about you and your business. In the same way that fobbing me off, blaming others or simply making it impossible to contact you makes me want to immediately find a new supplier.
Reason 2 is arguably even more important. Not just for comfort. Yes, we like dealing with real people. But because as AI and automation continue to appeal to businesses who love the idea of cost savings, adoption will rise. And this will make it harder to find real businesses, represented on the front line by real people. Therefore, we will be more drawn to that authenticity and humanity than ever.
Your AI-immune business differentiator
And that’s why learning to say sorry is a mindset that steers you towards your biggest differentiator. In a world that seems determined to commoditise everything, avoid contact at all costs and use AI as a weak replacement for human content and contact, the simple act of saying sorry humanises you in a vivid and powerful way.
Because true human interaction is already scarce. How many emails and DMs do you get from ‘people’ which are either bots or automated scripts? This isn’t going to get better.
The good news is that while much of the business narrative is about engineering pesky people out of the money-making engine, you can stand out by just being a human. Flaws and all.
It might not be obvious to you yet, and it might sound a bit twee and even old-fashioned in this world of fast-paced technological development, but getting it wrong, and showing that you’re willing to make it right, might be the fastest way to gain trust and loyalty.