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First rule in empathetic marketing: Know thy customer

One way brands are effectively engaging with customers is through empathy. A buzzword in the marketing world, empathy is the act of putting yourself in your customer’s shoes and taking time to understand their thoughts, feelings, circumstances, and personality.

January 13, 2016

By Brooke Cade, InMoment

Social media has changed the way we interact with each other. Not only with our family and friends, but with our customers and other businesses. Today, successful companies are using social media and other digital platforms to connect, engage, and build stronger relationships with their customers.

One way brands are effectively engaging with customers is through empathy. A buzzword in the marketing world, empathy is the act of putting yourself in your customer’s shoes and taking time to understand their thoughts, feelings, circumstances, and personality to provide them with the best service.

To move forward in creating an empathetic marketing plan, you must first take time to understand (and really know) your customers. Many missed opportunities happen online, with negative reviews or comments, where brands fail to address the concerns of their customers and help to rectify the situation. By ignoring your customers, especially online, you risk not only turning them away from your company, but losing potential customers as well.

How to use empathy to connect and build relationships with customers?

To build and nurture those relationships with customers, you must first understand them—their hopes and dreams, fears and worries. The more you understand them, the better service you can provide, and the more proactive you can be to ensure their needs are met. Use this time to gather feedback, talk to them, and develop strategies to improve and strengthen the customer experience.

As you move forward, use an empathy map and brainstorm with your team (include managers and shareholders as well) to devise ways you can bring more empathy to the table. During the brainstorm session, focus on the four aspects of the customer experience: feeling, doing, thinking, and seeing; putting yourself in your customer’s shoes.

How to execute empathy into your own marketing strategy?

Let’s look at two companies who've successfully used empathy in their campaigns: Extra Space Storage and Extra Gum.

Extra Space Storage recently released a video, 10 Things I Wish I'd Known Before Having a Baby, where they pulled people in to help first time parents navigate through the overwhelming amounts of parenting advice they’ve received. This was a unique video that shared touching stories and tips from real parents. Through this video, Extra Space Storage was able to build a strong connection with their current and future customers in a more personal way.

The other video, The Story of Sarah & Juan, was presented by Extra Gum. This is a wonderful and tender commercial around young love. Extra Gum was able to connect with a lot of people through this video because many have been there (falling in love), dream of finding that special someone, or are currently with the person they are falling in love with.

In these examples, both companies were able to move past their brand and reach a deeper level with their customers. What can you do to think outside of the box and find a new angle to connect with people?

Moving forward with your marketing strategy

By incorporating empathy into your marketing plan, you can discover new and more meaningful ways to reach people and grow loyalty with your brand. Each person has a story to tell and are looking to share those special memories. Give them a way to share those moments while building a connection with you and your brand.

Take to social media and other platforms where your customers hang out and start a conversation. Engage with your customers, address their concerns and complaints (professionally), and provide them with positive interactions to strengthen your loyal customer base and attract more prospects to your brand.

Brooke Cade is a freelance writer withInMoment.com. When she is not writing, Brooke is committed to learning more about helping businesses and sales professionals improve their customer experience.