Using marketing to empathize in uncertain times
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in a 2020 edition of WOW Magazine.
By Mackenzie Ryan Walters
CEO & Strategist
Empathy is critical to marketing, especially now.
There are so many unknowns in our personal and professional lives as we grapple with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ability for your business to acknowledge that uncertainty – and take it a step further by empathizing – can set you apart in the marketplace.
Empathizing is human. It acknowledges your customer is a real person, with real feelings of joy, fear or uncertainty. Customers want to be seen, acknowledged and understood.
When I lead clients through Marketing Jump Start strategy sessions, we put together a brand script, which is a framework for developing the voice, tone and approach for business communication and marketing. That includes how to empathize.
Because the Marketing Jump Start is designed for businesses with 1-3 employees or small nonprofits, it also identifies conversations your clients may want to have with you. Everyone on your team is equipped to use the talking points in conversations, emails, social media and other marketing efforts.
Q: What does your client really want?
This is the most important question, and sometimes the answer is the result of the service or product you sell. From my perspective, a financial planning or insurance company is really selling peace of mind.
Q: What is their internal problem?
As opposed to an external problem, such as buying or selling a house, the internal problem describes the emotional complexities your product or service addresses. For a real estate company, for example, it’s acknowledging that moving is one of the 5 most stress-inducing events in your customers’ lives.
Q: What is the philosophical problem?
Businesses have the opportunity to serve a higher purpose and express their purpose through marketing. One of my favorite examples is the Dove “Real Beauty,” campaign, which showcases women of all shapes, sizes, skin tones and ages.
Dove is addressing the philosophical problem of low body-confidence and self-esteem among girls and women through their “Real Beauty Pledge,” which uses real women, not models, in their ads and a promise to never portray the “unachievable … ‘perfect’ beauty,” which is typically digitally distorted.
When you tap into what your customers really want, and the philosophical problems your company can fight against, you have the ability to connect on a deeper, relational level with your customers.
Mackenzie Walters is the CEO and strategist at StoryStruck Marketing, and a champion of using journalism techniques to identify and implement customer segmentation strategies. By identifying and targeting their priority customer segments, companies can increase revenue, reduce risk, and elevate customer experiences. A former national award-winning journalist, Mackenzie lives in West Des Moines with her husband, Andy, two boys, and two dogs. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and baking sourdough bread.