5 Ways to Leverage the Power of Empathy to Elevate Your Brand Strategy

I first learned about the true power of empathy during an Emotional Intelligence for Professionals® course I took a few years ago. Since then, I have embraced empathy as a core value in my life, trying hard to be more empathetic in everything I do—both personally and professionally. After all, understanding and sharing the feelings of others is not only essential to building strong personal relationships, it’s also a critical part of building authentic, fruitful connections with today’s consumers.

With that in mind, I offer up the following five tips to bring more empathy to your brand strategy.

1. Lead with compassion.
Make sure your brand conveys compassion at every customer touchpoint, from your website to social media to in-person interactions. This could be as simple as using empathetic language in your marketing copy or supporting causes that resonate with your consumers.

2. Listen to your customers.
Have one-on-one conversations, conduct social listening or other ethnographic research, or hold focus groups to better understand your customers’ needs, how they feel about your brand and how you can better communicate with them. Better understanding begins with listening to your consumers talk about their lives in their own words.

3. Be authentic.
Today’s consumers can sniff out inauthentic marketing from a mile away, so it’s critical to be open and honest with them. Don’t be afraid to be imperfect—and encourage them to embrace their own imperfection. Establishing a level of comfort, being transparent and encouraging people to be themselves creates a sense of trust and lets your customers know that you “get them.” Being real is what authenticity—and empathy—is all about.

4. Put yourself in their shoes.
This may seem obvious when talking about empathy, but it is critically important. Adapt your consumer’s mindset, immerse in experiences that mirror theirs and take the time to understand their feelings and what makes them tick. This change of perspective will help you remove any bias in your marketing strategy and ensure you’re creating content that truly connects with your target consumers.

5. Create a brand narrative that powerfully connects with your audience.
Translate your deep understanding of consumers into a compelling story that connects with your audience on an emotional level. Invite active engagement, use emotional language, be consistent and show that you share their hopes, dreams and values (in an authentic way, of course), and your brand story will speak to them in a way that makes them want to connect with your brand—and share it with others.

Now more than ever, marketers must show consumers that they holistically understand the pain points they face—and are committed to helping overcome them. If consumers are convinced that a brand understands and empathizes with their situation, they will be more likely to trust that it has the just-right solution to meet their needs. This is the key to extending beyond transactional relationships to forge deeper, loyal and more fulfilling connections with consumers.

Looking to leverage empathy to enhance your marketing efforts? Reach out to Sean Smyth at ssmyth@seedstrategy.com.

Edited by Adam Siegel. In addition to being the Editor of The Accelerator, Adam is a Senior Strategist at Seed Strategy where he draws upon his diverse experience in advertising, research, brand management, new product development and copywriting to help clients craft breakthrough innovation and brand strategy.

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