April Hot Take: How to Engage Your Dream Customers With Empathy

Porsche and Honda both make cars. They do NOT have the same brand story. They are not selling to the same people. Customers buy from them for very different reasons – not simply “because I need a car.” Your business, no matter what industry you are in, needs to understand this.

People often ask me, “How the heck did you, as a brand strategist, come to now be an empathy advocate, author, and speaker?” And I tell them the truth: Empathy has been the success secret of my marketing career.

Marketers get this. You can’t influence or persuade someone – or build right-fit offerings for them – if you don’t understand them. You must peek into their lives, see things how they see them, and ensure your solutions meet those needs, address those goals, and fulfill those aspirations. Or quite frankly, they should not be doing business with you.

To access the episode transcript, please click on the episode title at http://www.TheEmpathyEdge.com

Key Takeaways:

Your messaging needs to be about more than just the product. Your brand story should connect and engage with your audience.
Research proves we often make decisions with subconscious emotion, then justify them with logic.
Good marketing is not sleazy – when done right and genuinely with offering value as the intention, it’s a way to let people who need you the most find you.

“Empathy in marketing is understanding the goals, desires, fears, values, and needs of your ideal audience and creating products and services that speak to them.” — Maria Ross

Episode References:

My new course! Brand Story Breakthrough

Branding Basics for Small Business, 2nd Edition (2014)

Nike If You Let Me Play Ad

Just one of many Subaru ads I love!

The Empathy Edge with Melina Palmer: Why Your Customers Can’t Tell You What They Want

Don’t forget to download your free guide! Discover The 5 Business Benefits of Empathy: http://red-slice.com/business-benefits-empathy

Connect with Maria:

Get the podcast and book: TheEmpathyEdge.com

Learn more about Maria and her work: Red-Slice.com

Hire Maria to speak at your next event: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take my LinkedIn Learning Course! Leading with Empathy