Empathetic Bankers: Bankers who understand and respond to customers’ emotional state, according to Accenture. Maintaining a human touch is becoming difficult since 50 percent of customers use digital banking. And it’s more than a feel-good: Empathetic banks’ earnings rose 1.3 percent in 2020, while laggards fell 0.6 percent. Similarly, mixing humanity and technology should be at the heart of crisis communication.
‘Partisan Changes:’ Some consumers, especially Millennials and Gen-Xers, want companies to take political stands. Voting rights legislation may test corporate stomachs for stand-taking. Traditionalists urge companies to steer clear of politics and “partisan changes.” Yet hundreds of business leaders recently signed a letter defending voting rights. Savvy crisis pros are preparing for this battle’s casualties.