Create Better Customer Empathy Maps Using These Easy Guide
A couple of months ago, I decided that I was going to make a move concerning my transition into Product Management from a non-tech-related background. I had no practical experience of anything tech before this time. The first time I was told to create an empathy map, I had not the faintest idea what I was told to do.
So, I did what most Product Managers do. Research. During this time, I found out that an empathy map is a tool used to visualize and articulate what a product manager and his team know about the users of a product.
But the question now is how you represent several thoughts on a map and communicate their preferences to your team before building the product. The aim of creating the map is to better understand the target customer base. They allow you to visualize customer needs, condense customer data into a clear, simple chart, and help you see what customers want — not what you think they want.
I had no experience whatsoever, remember? So, after my research, I also reached out to product managers whom I got a lot of experienced insights from. And from all I gathered, I was able to deduce the following:
What the customer thinks and feels
This section mainly focuses on the customer’s emotions and feelings. When I first set out to get potential customers’ thoughts about a test product, I wasn’t so sure about how I was supposed to do that because I’m not psychic. But you actually have to find out what really matters to these customers, what their major concerns are. All these can be deciphered from what they share with you. Remember the product is more about them, not you. Especially how their thoughts may influence their spending habits.
What the customer hears
Who are your potential customers listening to and getting their advice from? Are they influenced by family and peers, or do they trust social media influencers and mainstream media more? This will come in handy when it is time to take your product to the market.
What the customer sees
The type of problem the target customer base is exposed to on a daily basis and what exactly is in their environment should also be paid attention to. Understanding this helps to better understand what is affecting them and it will affect their purchasing behavior(s). This will also help to create products that solve a problem they foresee or never saw coming.
What the customer says and does
This is almost similar to thoughts. As I stated earlier, it is from what potential customers say that the product manager can have a feel of what they think or feel. And this can be obtained verbatim from user interviews or based on already existing knowledge or data.
Similarly, actions the users take are also very crucial. This means their actions and behaviors must be taken into cognisance.
The customer’s pains
This is where the customers’ frustrations, fears, and blockers (which can be unfamiliarity with technology or a short attention span) are examined with a view to helping them overcome these pains. This information will direct the team towards creating a viable solution to help them reach their goals and desires.
The customer’s gains
This should include information regarding the target customers’ happiness, and how it is obtained. It will also include their goals, wants, and needs — what exactly makes them happy on a daily basis. Also included is what they hope to accomplish, for instance, completing a task within five minutes.
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