2.3 Using Empathy to Strengthen Communication

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After conducting market research, it's now time to empathise with consumers and embrace their feedback, a process known as "Empathy Mapping".

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Empathy Mapping the Customer Experience

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People's mindset has changed and with it the specific needs of consumers. As a business, it is fundamental to understand these changes: if you want to be relevant to your customers, you must understand their needs.

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The best way to capture these needs is to put yourself in the shoes of your customers, a process known as 'Empathy Mapping'.

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Empathy: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another individual.

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In this process, you map out the needs of your customers in four steps:

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Name who they are

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According to the data you have collected and your experience who are the "users" involved? Name them.

• Have they changed from before or is it the same reference group?

• Try to define who is your 'typical' new customer.

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Point out their needs

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What has changed in the the needs of your customers? Point these changes out.

• What are their needs now?

• How do they differ from their previous needs?

• What are their most urgent needs?

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Write what they do on a daily basis

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How do customers behave and think on a daily basis? Put yourself into their shoes.

• What do they do on a daily basis?

• How do they think?

• How do they behave in their natural environment?

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Add what they struggle to do

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What do your customers find particularly difficult to achieve? Address their struggles.

• What are their new struggles?

• What are they trying to achieve?

• Where do you find pain points across their journey?