70% of marketers have no empathy for customers.
We have a delusion that we’re good at it.
Here’s how you can master empathy in your marketing campaigns:
1/ Make active listening a priority.
Talk to customers every week.
Observe them every week.
Listen to learn rather than listen to react.
2/ Share their feelings.
What does it mean?
Sign up for your product and marketing campaigns.
Find out their struggles and frustrations.
Then, go fix them.
3/ Evaluate first.
Answer this question before sending any campaign: How would I like to receive this?
Do you enjoy it? Is it boring? Is it too promotional?
This is typical: Putting (oneself) in (someone’s) shoes.
4/ Step out of your comfort zone.
Reach out to support the team and read their tickets.
Listen to your sales team (and their calls).
Go to in-person events to see how customers react in real life.
If possible, become the customer (shadow a customer for a day/week/month)
5/ Actively collect feedback.
Ask your customers & prospects.
Ask them:
How could you improve X?
What’s preventing them from doing their job today (with your services/product)?
6/ Have difficult, respectful conversations.
Talk to a customer who recently churned.
Talk to a customer who was extremely angry with your product/services.
As Bill Gates says, “Your most unhappy customers are the greatest source of learning”.
7/ Join forces for a shared cause
Hang out in the communities where your customers are hanging out.
Be with thought leaders who are inspiring them.
Join the newsletters that they are reading.
8/ Cultivate curiosity.
Studs Terkel: “Don’t be an examiner, be the interested inquirer.”
Cultivating curiosity requires more than just transactional conversation. It’s about going deep.
Set yourself a challenge to have a conversation with one prospect (someone who is not your customer).
9/ Admit your biases.
We all have assumptions about others and use collective labels.
Here are 20 biases you should be aware of.
10/ You have to care.
Deeply care about your customers’ problems.
Focus on solving their problems.
Go over and beyond.
This is scheduled by Twitter Scheduling Software.