It's never been easier for a customer to jump ship. One negative experience and they can swap brands at the click of a button or swipe of a screen – whether that's down to bad user experience (UX), poor customer service, or a lack of transparency and empathy.

Indeed, the challenges and hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has only served to highlight the importance of using empathy in building long-lasting emotional relationships between brand and customer.

For marketers, customers switching between brands can be a bitter pill to swallow, but in today's increasingly digital-first world, it's imperative that companies focus on experience over transaction, on using personalisation to achieve the levels of empathy that truly get to the heart of people's needs, wants, and desires.