Empathetic Marketing: How to Use the New Secret to Successful Marketing

If you keep up with business trends, you know that emotional intelligence (EQ) is being discussed and written about everywhere, from boardrooms to blogs. If you have high EQ, you can recognize your own feelings and those of others and use that understanding to manage your emotions and relationships.

It has been proven that high emotional intelligence is key to success at work:

• The Carnegie Institute of Technology found that 85 percent of your financial success is due to EQ skills such as your ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead; only 15 percent is due to technical knowledge.
• TalentSmart found that people with high EQ earn, on average, $29,000 more per year than their peers.
• They also found that EQ is the strongest predictor of performance–so strong that 90 percent of top performers have high EQ.

As it turns out, a high EQ might also be key to a successful marketing strategy. That’s because one of the key factors of a high EQ is empathy – it just makes sense that the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes can go a very long way!

Here are 5 ways to incorporate empathetic marketing into every marketing initiative and campaign you undertake:

1. Dive deep to understand client challenges.

On the surface, you might know what your client challenges are, but dive deeper to understand the causes of their challenges. For instance, if your clients are strapped for time, list all the reasons they are constantly racing against the clock.

Do they have small children and are trying to have some sort of work-life balance, or are they facing intense competition from other innovative companies in their field? Those are two completely different sources of stress. Adjust your messaging accordingly.

2. Think about the impact your messaging will have.

Speaking of your message, really take the time to think about the impact it will have on your client. Will it make them feel understood? Will it build trust in you? Will it further strengthen your relationship?

If you step back and realize, “Oh wait, this will make them feel more anxious,” time for a rewrite. Remember, you want to show that you understand and genuinely care about their challenges.

3. Focus on helping over selling.

Another thing to focus on when writing your messaging is to help your clients, not sell to them. Duh, right?

But think about it in this way: Imagine going to visit a friend who is recovering from a major illness and spending the entire time talking about yourself instead of focusing solely on him, how he is doing, and how you can help. Take that approach when creating content for marketing.

4. Encourage feedback – and listen to it.

As I alluded to above, a key to empathy is listening. If you take the time to encourage feedback from your clients, listen to it, respond to it, and actually do something with it, your clients will immediately see that you care about them.

5. Share and be vulnerable.

No one is invincible, infallible, or incapable of making mistakes – and we all know that. When you do mess up, tell your clients. You might be surprised at the feedback you get!

That’s because letting yourself be vulnerable by sharing your feelings can create a very strong empathetic bond between you and your clients. They will get to understand you better, too, and well, you can’t shake a stick at that.

How do you already use empathetic marketing for your business? Which of the above suggestions are you eager to try?

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