The Importance of Empathy in Marketing

Marketing has changed drastically over the last fifty years. While its core principles and drives have largely persevered, marketing strategies nowadays place an unprecedented emphasis on building deeper customer relationships.

Outdated, aggressive, “salesman” approaches have made way for complex, inbound funnels and campaigns bent on converting strangers into loyal friends. In this new marketing paradigm, empathy is more critical than ever before; connecting with your audience on an emotional level has become absolutely essential.

What empathy offers

• Building trust. Consumers are becoming increasingly desensitized to marketing, especially online. Trust in companies is declining, with 81 percent of consumers reporting that they need to trust a brand to patronize them.
• Connecting with your audience. Long-term, meaningful relationships are key to gaining loyalty and thriving as a brand. An empathetic approach to marketing helps reassure your audience that you actually care about their interests and well-being.
• Standing out from brands that don’t make the effort to connect with their audiences.

Becoming more empathetic in your marketing

Get to know your customers better, and speak to them directly

Understanding your customers is critical. You need to be able to convincingly show your audience that you can address their pain points and the specific challenges they face — they can smell generalizations and disingenuity a mile away.

Rather than focusing solely on quantitative data and analytics, incorporate qualitative, ethnographic research. The ultimate goal is grasping a customer’s attitudes and motivations. For example, if you determine that people typically search for your product in the afternoon, you have a better chance of presenting relevant content to them at an opportune time, when you know they’ll be receptive. Timelapse rigorously tested the perfect send schedule for our client, SRPGO, and the hyper-relevant commuter newsletters we help them craft. By integrating your marketing activity seamlessly into your demographic’s routine, you can meet consumers before they even have a chance to consider your competition.

Talk to your customers; get as much feedback as possible from your sales staff, then interact with your audience on social media, encourage replies to emails, and use everything you learn to build detailed buyer personas that you can check future content against. When you create content for your audience, don’t just sell them solutions — provide additional tips and value, building your reputation as a knowledgeable, authentic, and generous brand.

Put your customers first, and make sure to personalize

At its core, empathy is all about prioritizing another person and embracing their perspective. This means treating your marketing endeavors as a two-way street.

Encourage comments through social media and ask your customers questions instead of just spewing messaging at them. Most importantly, genuinely listen to the responses you get, and ensure your resulting actions or changes are apparent.

We’ve gone into more depth on this next strategy in a previous article — using personalization wherever possible. 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase from a brand that provides personalized experiences. Tailoring your material to what your audience wants and who they are is a great way to make your customers feel heard and connected.

Tell human stories

Stories with a core human element are inherently captivating. Be sure to use case studies in your marketing, and include plentiful examples of real, specific people. Photos and quotes help tremendously.

User-generated content (another approach we’ve written about in detail) is an amazing opportunity for connection. Encourage your followers to share their experiences on social media. People are much more likely to trust their peers than a brand they don’t know yet.

Use humor

When appropriate, humor is one of the most effective ways to break down the barriers between brand and audience. One of Timelapse’s latest clients, Waffle, gave us license to be playful and witty as we crafted their brand voice, resulting in a fantastic response to their social media ads.

Avoid content stuffed with bland, soulless corporate jargon in favor of fun personal anecdotes, light-hearted jokes, and clever replies to your followers. Remind your audience that there are real people behind your brand.

Incorporate a stance on popular issues

Taking a stand on social issues can feel scary for a brand, but research shows that modern consumers expect it. 53% of respondents said they want brands to engage in conversations around at least one social issue. Having a clear moral compass reinforces that your brand considers its social impact and the people who support it.

For added clout, demonstrate your commitment to social good by donating to causes that reflect your values. Brands have a unique platform to positively influence the causes they care about, and doing so respectfully will humanize your brand further.

The bottom line

Empathy is only becoming more important in marketing. Today’s audiences have come to expect more personal, authentic, and empathetic relationships with brands, and their standards continue to rise.

To see how Timelapse can help you put more focus on empathy in your marketing, build business relationships, and grow your brand, get in touch.