The Important Role Of Empathy In Marketing Strategy & Messaging

Summary

B2B Marketing Exchange Podcast Summary Episode: The Important Role Of Empathy In Marketing Strategy & Messaging
Release Date: November 27, 2024
Host/Author: Demand Gen Report

---

Introduction

In this insightful episode of the B2B Marketing Exchange Podcast, hosted by Demand Gen Report, marketing enthusiast and empathy activist Rob Volpe delves deep into the pivotal role of empathy in shaping effective marketing strategies and messaging. Recorded live at the B2B Marketing Exchange East conference in Alpharetta, Georgia, the episode features a dynamic conversation between Rob, host Claudia Tirico, and co-host Kelly Lindenow, followed by a comprehensive session replay of Rob's highly acclaimed presentation.

The Need for Empathy in Modern Marketing

Rob Volpe emphasizes the growing recognition within the industry that traditional marketing approaches are increasingly ineffective. He asserts, "For all the tension that's there, there's a growing awareness that, hey, the old ways aren't working. That's the old school tropes. That's not working anymore." (00:00). In an era dominated by artificial intelligence, Rob highlights the irreplaceable value of the human touch, positioning empathy as a crucial differentiator that fosters unique and meaningful connections with audiences.

Understanding Empathy

Rob clarifies the concept of empathy, distinguishing between its types:

• Emotional Empathy: "Feeling the feelings of somebody else as them." (04:22)
• Cognitive Empathy: "Taking on the perspective, understanding the point of view, where somebody else is coming from." (04:22)

He emphasizes that in the context of marketing, cognitive empathy is particularly vital. This form allows marketers to grasp customers' perspectives and motivations without necessarily sharing their emotions, facilitating more strategic and effective interactions.

Common Misconceptions About Empathy in Marketing

Rob addresses prevalent misunderstandings surrounding empathy in the corporate environment. A significant barrier is the fear that displaying empathy may be perceived as a sign of weakness or lead to loss of respect. Referencing the State of Workplace Empathy study by Business Solver, he notes:

"People are afraid that being empathetic will make them a pushover. Yet, 82% of CEOs believe empathy contributes to a company's financial performance." (10:49)

Furthermore, Rob cites a striking statistic: businesses that fail to incorporate empathy into their customer experience lose approximately $300 million annually. This figure underscores the substantial financial ramifications of neglecting empathetic strategies.

The Financial Impact of Lacking Empathy

Rob illustrates the economic consequences of insufficient empathy with real-world examples. He recounts how Starbucks experienced stagnant merchandise sales during a Black Friday but transformed the situation by integrating empathetic insights. By understanding customers' challenges in gifting coffee mugs, Starbucks redesigned their packaging to be more gift-friendly, resulting in a $150 million increase in gift card sales the following year (07:44).

Empathy Influences Buyer Behavior

Through compelling case studies, Rob demonstrates how empathy directly shapes buyer behavior:

• Dove's Real Beauty Campaign: By empathizing with women's perceptions of beauty, Dove launched a campaign that significantly boosted their brand value from $2.5 billion to $4 billion over ten years (07:44).

• Noom's Subscriber Growth: Understanding the motivations of health and wellness decision-makers allowed Noom to tailor their offerings, leading to increased subscriptions (07:44).

• Cargill and General Mills: Both companies leveraged empathy to enhance product offerings and streamline customer interactions, resulting in substantial revenue gains (07:44).

The Five Steps to Empathy

Rob outlines a structured approach to cultivating empathy within marketing practices, encapsulated in the Five Steps to Empathy:

1. Dismantle Your Judgment: Overcome preconceived notions to connect authentically with customers. "Spending time with your customers and leaving your judgment at the door is essential." (08:41)

2. Ask Good Questions: Utilize open-ended inquiries to gain deeper insights. Rob advises avoiding leading questions and instead focusing on exploratory ones like, "Tell me more about that." (08:41)

3. Actively Listen: Engage fully in conversations, paying close attention to understand the customer's perspective. "If you listen long enough, you will be able to understand, you will be able to have empathy." (09:04)

4. Integrate into Understanding: Absorb and consider the information without overshadowing your own perspective. "Empathy is another data point. Be curious and open to different ways of viewing the world." (10:07)

5. Use Solution Imagination: Apply the insights gained to develop meaningful solutions that resonate with customers. "Show people that you understand where they're coming from. I can see your point of view." (10:39)

Tools and Techniques to Develop Empathy

Rob recommends practical strategies for marketers to enhance their empathy skills:

• Engage with Insights Teams: Collaborate with research departments to gain comprehensive customer insights.

• Adopt Open-Ended Questions: Shift from closed, leading questions to open inquiries that encourage detailed responses.

• Active Listening Practices: Cultivate the habit of fully focusing on the speaker without distractions.

He also promotes his book, "Tell Me More about Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time," as a resource for further developing empathetic marketing techniques (10:07).

The Future of Empathy in Marketing

Looking ahead, Rob anticipates that empathy will become even more integral to marketing strategies, especially as AI continues to advance. He remarks:

"Even as AI is coming up in the world, the human element, the human touch is still needed. Empathy is one of the most human things that we can do." (10:49)

Rob underscores that empathy not only fosters customer loyalty but also enhances brand memorability. He cites that 86% of customers view empathy as the primary driver of their loyalty (10:49).

Advice for Marketers Hesitant to Embrace Empathy

Rob offers compelling advice to marketers who may be reluctant to integrate empathy into their strategies:

1. Recognize the Financial Impact: Acknowledge the potential loss of up to $300 million annually by neglecting empathy. "What are you leaving on the table?" (12:00)

2. Self-Awareness of Hesitations: Identify and understand the internal barriers preventing the adoption of empathetic practices.

3. Courage to Implement Empathy: Embrace the challenge of being empathetic, knowing that it leads to more engaged employees and successful sales outcomes. "Having the courage to do it." (12:00)

Conclusion

Rob Volpe concludes the episode by reaffirming the transformative power of empathy in marketing. He encourages marketers to view empathy as a superpower that enhances communication, collaboration, and customer relationships. By practicing the five steps to empathy, businesses can unlock significant financial gains and build enduring connections with their audiences.

"Empathy empowers the skills that we use to be successful as the people we are and that we hope to become." (12:33)

Rob’s session serves as a powerful reminder that, despite technological advancements, the essence of successful marketing lies in understanding and connecting with customers on a genuine, human level.

---

Notable Quotes:

• "Empathy is one of the most human things that we can do. It's what sets us apart and makes us unique as individuals and even as a species." — Rob Volpe (00:07)

• "When you have empathy, people are going to feel connected. If you can identify with them, then they're going to be more loyal to you." — Rob Volpe (06:51)

• "Spending time with your customers and leaving your judgment at the door is essential." — Rob Volpe (08:41)

• "Empathy is another data point. Be curious and open to different ways of viewing the world." — Rob Volpe (10:07)

• "Empathy empowers the skills that we use to be successful as the people we are and that we hope to become." — Rob Volpe (12:33)

---

Key Takeaways:

• Empathy bridges the gap between AI-driven strategies and the essential human connection in marketing.

• Cognitive empathy is crucial for understanding customers' perspectives and motivations without necessarily sharing their emotions.

• Common misconceptions about empathy, such as it being a sign of weakness, hinder its adoption despite significant financial benefits.

• Real-world examples like Starbucks and Dove illustrate how empathetic strategies can lead to substantial revenue growth and brand loyalty.

• The Five Steps to Empathy provide a structured approach for marketers to integrate empathy into their strategies effectively.

• Future marketing landscapes will increasingly rely on empathy to foster meaningful customer relationships and enhance brand memorability.

By embracing empathy, marketers can not only avoid significant financial losses but also build stronger, more loyal customer bases, positioning their brands for long-term success.

Transcript

[Rob Volpe]

For all the tension that's there, there's a growing awareness that, hey, the old ways aren't working.

[Claudia Tirico]

That's the old school tropes.

[Rob Volpe]

That's not working anymore. We need to be doing new things. Even as AI is coming up in the world, as you said earlier, the human element, the human touch is still needed. And empathy is one of the most human things that we can do. It's what sets us apart and makes us unique as individuals and even as a species.

[Kelly Lindenow]

The B2B Marketing Exchange brings together B2 marketing and sales practitioners from across the country to get the latest tools and tips they need to succeed.

[Claudia Tirico]

Now we're bringing the insights from this.

[Kelly Lindenow]

Stage to your ears. I'm Claudia Tirico.

[Rob Volpe]

And I'm Kelly Lindenow.

[Kelly Lindenow]

And this is the B2B Marketing Exchange podcast.

[Rob Volpe]

Hello everyone, and welcome Back to the B2BMX podcast. We've got a two for one special for you today. A session replay from a highly rated presentation at B2BMX east and a conversation with the speaker of that session all packed into one episode.

[Kelly Lindenow]

So because there is a critical gap.

[Rob Volpe]

Between artificial and human intelligence, the piece of the puzzle that fits that gap is empathy. And that's what we're going to talk about in today's episode. I sat down with rob volpe of Ignite360 an hour before he took the stage at B2B MX east to kind of get a sneak peek into his talk and really dive into what empathy is all about. So I really thought this conversation that we had prior to his getting on stage would be a great way to kick off the episode before we dive into the full presentation. Using real world examples, Rob will demystify empathy and clear up the misconceptions which can lead to mistakes in marketing strategy and messaging. The talk will explore the five steps to empathy, which can generate authentic connections to all the people who touch a brand, and that includes customers, distributors, and even employees. That leads to greater marketing effectiveness and improved business results. So let's get into the interview first and then obviously make sure to stick around for that full session replay right after. Let's roll that tape.

[Kelly Lindenow]

Hello. Hello, everyone. Welcome to the B2BMX podcast. If you hear some shuffling and maybe some clanking behind me, I am on the show floor at B2B MX east in Alpharetta, Georgia. Right now. I'm sitting here with actually one of our small. So I'm super, super excited to have this conversation. We're actually maybe an hour or two away from his presentation. We've got Rob Volpe, an empathy activist, which we'll learn more about in a second. He's also an author and the CEO of Ignite360. Rob, welcome, welcome, welcome. We just got out of a keynote. How are you doing? How's it going? Tell me a little bit about yourself and tell the audience about Ignite360 and what an empathy activist does.

[Rob Volpe]

All right, Claudia, thank you so much. It's so great to be. Amazing show, having a great time.

[Claudia Tirico]

We're in day two.

[Rob Volpe]

Some excellent keynotes this morning. And I love the theme that's going through. There's touches of empathy throughout a lot of people's conversations, and they're not even using the word, but it's there. And as they're talking about, you know, understanding what your buyer is needing, what their needs are, how do you connect with them? And I'll continue to talk about that a bit more. But you asked what an empathy activist is, and I hope all of us can think of ourselves as empathy activists. I think about empathy as this superpower. It's something that we all have the ability to use and do. We're born with it, but we don't always think to use it. And it's like a muscle. And if you don't use a muscle, what happens?

[Claudia Tirico]

It atrophies.

[Rob Volpe]

So as an activist, I am speaking at conferences and doing corporate events and trainings to help people tap into their empathy muscle. Build that muscle up and understand how to use it to success in the workplace.

[Kelly Lindenow]

Awesome. Very, very cool stuff. Obviously, your session today in just a couple hours, I think is titled the Missing Link in Marketing and How Empathy Influences Buyer Behavior. So obviously, if you have not caught on yet, everyone, we will be talking about empathy in marketing today. So how do you define empathy in the context of marketing?

[Rob Volpe]

So empathy gets confusing for people. There's different types of empathy. There's emotional empathy, which is feeling the feelings of somebody else as them, and then there's cognitive empathy. And cognitive empathy is taking on the perspective, understanding the point of view, where somebody else is coming from. And it's the cognitive empathy that we're.

[Claudia Tirico]

Going to focus on in my talk.

[Rob Volpe]

Today and that I often write about understanding where somebody else is coming from.

[Claudia Tirico]

Because that's what we need to be.

[Rob Volpe]

Using in the workplace.

[Kelly Lindenow]

Interesting. Yeah. And I can only imagine because obviously, AI, another huge topic this week. And lately you need that human element, so you need that empathy. AI doesn't have that empathy. Right. It's not a person with a heart, and they don't have that empathy. So it's really, really interesting. What are some common misconceptions about empathy that marketers should be aware of?

[Rob Volpe]

One of the biggest things is the fact that people believe that they're going to be perceived as weak or that they're going to lose respect or that their decisions are going to be challenged. There's a great ongoing study called the State of Workplace Empathy from Business Solver, which is a tech enabled benefits company. They look at how perceptions, what gets in people's way and how to overcome that and what the outcomes are. So this is from the CEO level all the way down. And so we're fighting this social training and belief system that's actually inaccurate because at the same time as people are saying, well, I'm afraid that I'm not going to be respected. That same study has found that about 50% of employees feel that they'll be more productive, that they feel more connected and engaged with their job, that they're more likely to stay, that they're going to be better at what they do when they have empathy. Empathetic leadership when the organization has empathy. Another study in 2018, and this is the number, I'm gonna start with this number actually and ask the audience to hold onto it. And that's $300 million.

[Claudia Tirico]

Wow.

[Rob Volpe]

Study in 2018 found that when businesses or brands fail to be empathetic in their customer experience and what they're building out for their customers, they're losing about $300 million or more every year.

Wow.

It's a huge, huge number. Who doesn't want that? And this is just about understanding how to use empathy so that you can unlock and it's about the relationships that you're building in a sales role. If you're in a marketing role, you're trying to persuade, you're trying to communicate and the more you can infuse empathy and just helping people understand, hey, I get you. They're going to feel connected. If you can identify with them, then they're going to be more loyal to you.

[Kelly Lindenow]

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. And obviously buyers these days are very complex. So can you share some examples of how empathy has directly influenced buyer behavior?

[Rob Volpe]

Absolutely. I invite people to think about it from themselves as a consumer buying things and the relationship that they have. And example that I'll share, Starbucks back.

[Claudia Tirico]

10Ish years ago, 12 years ago, had.

[Rob Volpe]

A really horrible Black Friday. Merchandise sales fell totally flat. So they engaged Ignite360 which as you mentioned, it's a marketing research firm. So we go out and find out how people think and feel, whether it's B2B or B2C. We went in, we observed the shopper behavior, what was actually happening. And one of the things we were hearing as we were talking to people and observing, they weren't willing to buy coffee mugs with big handles because they were needing gifts for people. And how do you wrap a mug.

[Claudia Tirico]

That has like there's.

[Rob Volpe]

You have to then find a box or all those things. Starbucks, very easily. Then the next year started to introduce a collection where the mugs were presented within a box. So all you had to do is put the lid on the box, wrap it up, or just even gift the box on its own. They also took some of our insights and changed how they presented gift cards and created a broader array of gift cards. Made it easier. So again, customer experience made it easier for people to shop for gift cards and to select the right one. They publicly announced that they saw an increase of $150 million in gift card sales the next year when they implemented that, which was about a 16% growth. Again, $300 million, that was $150 million. With one pretty easy solve right there.

[Kelly Lindenow]

Very interesting. I know you're going to be talking about the five steps to empathy in your session, so can you briefly outline that without kind of giving too much away?

[Rob Volpe]

Absolutely.

[Claudia Tirico]

So the five steps to empathy are really the barrier.

[Rob Volpe]

It's overcoming the barriers that get in our way. And the first one is dismantling our judgment. Biggest one, it's the one that gets in everybody's way. Second one is about asking good questions. And then third, to actively listen, you need to be paying attention to what people have to say, then integrate into understanding and use solution imagination as the fifth step.

[Kelly Lindenow]

Very, very cool. I love that. Are there any tools or techniques that marketers could kind of start using to develop their empathy skills?

[Rob Volpe]

Well, self promotionally, I would say please pick up a copy of my book. Tell me more about that. Solving the empathy crisis one conversation at a time. But it's engaging with whoever is doing insights or research in your organization, bringing them in and giving them a seat at the table and working with them, because they can help you understand and connect with who your buyer is and even who your buyer's end user might be. So typically, a buyer isn't the final user of the solution. There's other people. And some of the examples I have from a B2B context are about when you understand the end user, then you're able to come in and create A more compelling case for, for the buyer as well. So start to do that work. Immerse yourself. You don't have to spend lots of money to just talk and listen and really be open to what people have to say. Think about what's motivating them. Not just from a, oh, I need to do my job. Everybody will.

[Claudia Tirico]

You know, if you think about a.

[Rob Volpe]

Buyer, they're wanting to a get a good deal. That's a very functional sort of thing. But they also might want to be the hero in their organ, you know, in their team, in their organization, show off that they got this win or that they've improved efficiency, whatever the dynamic of the situation is. So you want to learn what motivates them as individuals and then you can start to think about how you and your products and services can help them. And that's having empathy and that's applying the empathy in your communication and your persuasion and all the things that empathy can help us be better at.

[Kelly Lindenow]

I love it. I love it. Final few questions. Let's look into the future a little bit. Do you see the role of empathy evolving in the marketing landscape over the next few years?

[Rob Volpe]

Absolutely. There's. For all the tension that's there, there's a growing awareness that, hey, the old ways aren't working. That's the old school tropes. That's not working anymore. We need to be doing new things. Even as AI is coming up in the world, as you said earlier, the human element, the human touch is still needed. And empathy is one of the most human things that we can do. It's what sets us apart and makes us unique as individuals. And even as I love it and.

[Kelly Lindenow]

It makes people remember the brand too, if they remember the empathetic human behind their engagement, they'll remember the brand. Right.

[Rob Volpe]

When I ask people and when I do trainings with leadership and I ask them to reflect on leaders that they hold up on a pedestal that they look up to. I never hear the titans of tech.

[Claudia Tirico]

That we have today.

[Rob Volpe]

What I hear is about the early manager or mentor that took the time to understand them, understand their needs and support them. And that is all fueled in empathy.

[Kelly Lindenow]

I love that. All right, final question. What advice would you give to marketers who are hesitant to kind of embrace empathy as a core element of their strategy?

[Rob Volpe]

Recognize, first of all, $300 million. So what are you leaving on the table? Having some self awareness about what it is that's holding you back? Where are your hesitations coming from as an organization and as an individ Third, to have the courage to do it. Successful businesses leverage empathy and put it to work and they end up with more engaged employees. That makes them more successful in their sales. That $300 million becomes in reach when you're using empathy. There's so many benefits to it.

[Kelly Lindenow]

I love it. Well, that's the mic drop moment and that's all the questions I have for you. Rob. Thank you so much for being here with me and good luck at your presentation later. I look forward to seeing seeing it. Any final words? Any final I'll give you your elevator pitch moment, whatever you want to say.

[Rob Volpe]

Elevator pitch moment, yes. If people want to learn more, please visit robvolpexpert. You can find out more about my book, other podcast and media appearances that I've done, thought leadership pieces and my book Tell Me More about Solving the Empathy Crisis. One Conversation is available everywhere books are sold and it won an award from the publishing industry as one of the best self help books of 2022.

[Kelly Lindenow]

Congratulations. That's awesome. We'll put all of that information in the show. Not you don't have to kind of speed write everything down. But again, Rob, thank you so much. Thank you for being at B2BMX.

[Claudia Tirico]

Welcome to the missing link in marketing how to Empathy Influences Buyer Behavior. As I get started, I'd like you to hold this image in your mind. $300 million and that's a low end amount of revenue that brands can retain when they put empathy into to their customer experience. That's a huge number for any business. $300 million. I want you to hold onto that image. So I'm Rob Volpe. I am the founder of Ignite360, recently acquired by Digg Insights. We are an Insights strategy and training firm. A Little More About Me I am known for being an astute observer of life and a master storyteller. I live in San Francisco with my husband and our three cats. That's Domino, Barnabas and Solitaire. They often like to join me when I'm doing virtual calls. So if you're ever on a virtual call with me, expect to meet one of them. I'm also an empathy activist and I'm the author of Tell Me more about that Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. And that's part of what we're going to talk about today is empathy and how to actually use empathy to influence buyer behavior. And my book uses my stories and my misadventures, as I like to call it in marketing research. In times that I was challenged to be empathetic with other people when I was going into strangers homes for example. And that created a very engaging book story narration around the five steps to empathy won an award from the publishing industry as one of the best self help books of 2022 quick two slides about Ignite 360 and the work that we do. We focus on innovation, we focus on human journeys and then branding and communication. We do all of that with a lens of strategic thinking and empathy building, bringing all of that to life through dynamic storytelling that leads to that one big idea that's gonna drive business results forward. I'm very honored over the years to have worked with these brands repeatedly. Some really wonderful companies that have trusted us to help them build empathy with their customers as well as their consumers and their end users. Because ultimately. And that's the 360 in our name. The same person that's buying Cheerios is also buying Mac and cheese, is also the buyer that you're working with and that you might be selling to or marketing to. And so it's understanding who the human is, what's motivating their behavior. So enough about Ignite360 and myself. Today's conversation. We're going to spend some time talking about this missing link and the gap that exists. And then we're going to get into the five steps to empathy and then have some time for some Q and A. What today really is about though is a story about changing paradigms. The first paradigm that we're going to need to shift is recognizing what's referred to as a soft skill as the superpower that it really is. And the second paradigm shift is about how we view our customers. So I want to start with that soft skill, empathy. Who can give me a definition of empathy? I'm not going to judge you, just curious. Anybody, raise your hand, shout it out. Give me one definition of empathy. Yes sir. Exactly. Putting yourself in somebody else's shoes. Who can give me another definition of empathy? Yes. So understanding another person's feelings and how they're feeling. That is correct. Can I get a third definition per chance anyone? Venture a guess? Yeah. Listening to understand. Listening to understand. Absolutely. So there's actually multiple definitions of empathy. This leads to some of the confusion people have around empathy. But empathy is about conflicting connecting with another person's perspective or another person's feelings as if you were them. And that colloquial definition of to walk a mile in someone else's shoes as them. Recently at a workshop, somebody gave me this definition of empathy which I thought was Also really appropriate empathy is a tiny version of the other person sitting inside my brain that I can ask, hey, how would they think and feel about this particular topic? And that's a great representation of how empathy plays out as we're trying to have empathy and understand that other person. So good job. Thank you guys for participating. Now this is the thing. As I mentioned, two different types of empathy. There's feelings and there's perspective taking. Those show up in different parts of, of our brain because they are actually different things. And the neuroscientists have found two distinct forms of empathy. There's emotional empathy and cognitive empathy. Emotional empathy is feeling the feelings of somebody else. It's what we can do with the people that we're closest to that might be in our bubble or in maybe our family unit or our very close friends. We really can feel and connect with who they are. Cognitive empathy is about perspective taking. I can see where you're coming from. I can see your point of view. One is about feelings, the other is about perspective. It's more of a cognitive exercise. And the neuroscientists, as I mentioned, have found the parts in our brain that light up when we are experiencing those two things. So when we're dealing with customers or consumers, which do you think we're dealing with? Is this an emotional exercise or is this a cognitive exercise? Cognitive. Cognitive empathy is what we do. It's what enables us to understand other people, people that are different from us, that aren't growing up in the same household or space that we are, that have different lived experiences. Cognitive empathy is what you use. Cognitive empathy is what you use to interact with the people, cross functionally in your organization, or interact with the people that are outside of your organization that has a different culture and a different way of thinking and feeling. You may not understand their feelings, you may be able to connect with their feelings, but hopefully you can understand where they're coming from. Cognitive empathy is the thing to be thinking about. Another thing people get confused about is empathy and sympathy. They misconstrue sympathy for empathy and vice versa. And it's really as simple as understanding a three letter word and a four letter word. Sympathy is the ability to feel for a person where empathy is the ability to feel with somebody. When you're feeling for a person, a power dynamic can start to, to exist where you're feeling bad for somebody else and it's making that other, it can make that other person feel bad. Having an empathetic connection though, is at the even playing field. It's with somebody, so you're at the same place with them. Now, there are times when we need sympathy and we need to express sympathy in our life. But the more you can get into an empathetic space state where you can connect, express that you understand where somebody else is coming from, they're going to feel more supported, seen and heard by you. And at the end of the day, that's what we're all looking for. Now, I'd like you to think about a business that gets you. This can be in your work life, it can be in your personal life. So a business that you work with or a brand that gets you, that you return to time and again that you want to be associated with. How much money? I'm not going to ask you for this, but how much money do you spend with that business each year? I'll use Peloton as an example. I am like just totally in on Peloton. I have the bike and the row, I've got some of the gear because I feel like they get me. They understood, they identified with my need. As a busy market researcher, I didn't have time to get to the gym. And then certainly during the pandemic when I was stuck at home, they made it so much easier and they created a sense of community. So Peloton gets thousands of dollars from me, not just in the equipment, but now in an ongoing fashion with the subscription so that I have access wherever I am to all the different workouts. And if any of you are on Peloton, I am empathy activist. So please follow me and we can high five each other. But the same holds true in a business context as well. Companies that I work with that I feel like get me, I am more naturally inclined to give them more of my business because they're identifying with me. They connect with me. So I want you to think about a business that doesn't get you. You can see where this is going. It's that business that maybe you walked away from the relationship, maybe you were supporting them at some point, but then you stepped back. Perhaps you never even gave it a try because there was something about the business that just felt too opposite. How much money do you spend with them in any year? And what do these businesses have in common? They offer something that the customer can identify with. The business that you're not spending money with. Somebody is somebody's connecting and identifying. They're identifying with their customer. And in order to win that business, they have to actually identify with their customer in order for the customer to Identify with them. It's a reciprocal relationship. Hence the Spiderman. All pointing at each other. They identify with each other and that creates that connection. I'm going to go through a few case studies of how using empathy in marketing to develop products services can play out. Remember, $300 million and that is actually attainable. Some of these examples are in a B2C context. Some of them are in a B2B context. Life is very fluid. I invite you to think about it as it may relate to the things that I'm talking about as it relates to your work, your role, and even your own experiences as well with brands. So here we go. Starbucks, this is back in, I think it was 2013. They reached out to us. They were having a really horrible, horrible. They had a very horrible Black Friday. So they called us on what is now Cyber Monday. I don't think it was called that back then. They had a really horrible Black Friday. Merchandise sales were tanking. They needed to understand what was wrong. Not so they could salvage that year. They recognized that merch sales were not going to hit numbers, but they needed to try to fix it for next year. So we went out into the stores, started to observe the customers, started to ask them questions. We got curious about what was going on. Does anybody have that coffee mug that's right there? Could you hold that up, please? Everybody see that coffee mug? Who would like to engage in a challenge of wrapping that coffee mug as a gift for somebody? Hard to do. There's a handle, it's round, it's cylindrically shaped. We heard that from a lot of people. People go into Starbucks to buy gifts for the secondary people in their lives. So not the immediate family typically, but that outer circle. I see some heads nodding. Your teachers, your service providers, colleagues, parents down the street. You want it to be easy. Starbucks wasn't making it easy. So what they did, based on those insights, that next year, that second photo, they came out with what they called the dot collection. All of their mugs and tumblers were then encased in boxes. So they were ready to go. Pull it off the shelf. The top of the box was actually attached underneath. They identified with the consumer, with the pain point that the consumer had, and they were able to fix it. So one of the things I've noticed here at this conference, how many times people have talked about identifying with the needs of your consumer or your customer. Pam talked about it yesterday. Identifying with the needs of your people. I heard it this morning from the keynotes. You want to understand and take the time to Understand. One of the other things that we helped Starbucks understand was the way people shop for gift cards. The customer experience. When you're buying a gift card for somebody, you don't want just like two options, you want to be able to choose to customize because maybe somebody's into music or reading. How about if there was a gift card that was related to that? They created a gift card station that ended up driving $150 million in sales. And they actually called that number out in their earnings report the following year. It was a 16% growth in gift card sales simply from that one action. They actually spent about 25,000 with us on that particular project. But identifying with the customer can yield huge rewards that helped them get halfway to that $300 million. And that's not the only thing Starbucks was doing that year. Another example, I did not work on this one, but is a real classic that everybody remembers, and the numbers are staggering. How do you think about beauty? Unilever, and in particular the Dove team, explored that and investigated it. How women perceived beauty as it related to themselves. And they recognized that it wasn't good that there were so many negative perceptions that were coming out. But by taking the time to understand the consumer and then start to identify with how women wanted to feel about themselves, they were able to create the real beauty campaign. And this has been going on for almost 20 years now. It has grown. Business that Dove as a brand has gone from 2.5 billion to 4 billion in 10 years, and that number is from about 2017. So that brand continues to grow. That campaign continues to grow. They identified with a huge market segment. They identified with their consumer, with their customer, and they're able to drive sales on a B2B perspective. Noom. How many have heard of Noom? Weight management lifestyle app? Yep. So a way to actually gain subscribers and customers for noom. They recognized they needed to get into the health and wellness plans of different organizations. So they engaged us to go out and talk to the people that make those decisions, both at insurance providers as well as at the corporate level. What is that decision journey? What are your motivators and your barriers? They're now currently able to go out. They have an understanding of the needs of these people. And it's not just about dollars and cents. Everybody has an emotional desire. They want to not only save their company money or get the best deal possible, but it's what does that enable? What is that enabling? Do they want to be the hero? Do they want to get the promotion? Are they just looking to Secure their role in their company by understanding that, by identifying with it, that changes the way that you can sell to that individual. So that that's where empathy plays such a huge role in B2B sales. And don't be afraid to get a little dirty or a little bloody. Cargill engaged us. So they make a lot of meat, they produce a lot of meat, and they sell it. They have buyers that they work with, but the products that they're actually selling get used by somebody else. So you have to sometimes identify with and understand the end user and what their needs are. In this case, the butcher, this is at a Harris Teeter. What's happening at the butcher counter at the local grocery store? What are the pain points there, the end user, what's the fix that you can create so that you can make a more compelling selling story to the buyer, to the customer that you're actually selling with. Similarly, General Mills, if any of you have ever bought yogurt in a yogurt parfait that you would get at various different convenient locations, there's yogurt in a plastic cup, there's some fruit stew in there, and then there's usually some granola. General Mills, who just is selling their yogurt business right now, but Yoplait is one of their brands, one of the biggest yogurt manufacturers in the United States. They again were selling to retailers, but it was really about the food service operators that they were selling to and what's happening behind the scenes. And one of the big pain points was, how do you get that yogurt cleanly in the cup with the fruit, with the parfait, with the granola on top and do it quickly. That takes time. So they created a parfait machine that's a value add that they were able to go to the buyer and say, hey, if you make this commitment, we're going to give you these parfait machines that you can easily pull a handle and out comes the yogurt, out comes some fruit stuff, out comes granola. All your team has to do is put the lid under it, pull a handle, put the cup under, pull the lid, pull the handle, put the lid on, maybe put a price tag on, and it's good to go. And that improves efficiency. They have made millions of dollars off of that invention from about 12 years ago. That they did. But it's about getting to know, not just remember Spider man, identifying with. It's not just the buyer, but also the end user as well. If there's opportunities there, and I Recognize there's a lot of different people in this room in different situations. So again, just continue to flex and think about how this applies in your situation. And if all of this is so simple, why aren't we doing it? Why isn't everybody doing this? And that's because it's not easy. We put customers and consumers under the microscope. We study their behavior. We don't treat them like humans. We're trying to understand. We run data through algorithms, looking for answers in the patterns that we might be seeing, seeing. But what's often missing is identifying with the customer and identifying with the customer's needs. That lack of empathy is costing businesses $300 million per year on average. And in that study, it was actually a range, and I took a low number in that range because it starts to get really staggering. But $300 million is being left on the table by businesses because they don't identify. So I want you to come back, I want you to remember that business that doesn't get you, the one that you walked away from, you are part of that 300 million loss in revenue that they have. Businesses that use empathy to identify with their consumers and with their customers are going to create those products and services, marketing and communication that's going to drive results. Nine out of 10 consumers want brands to show empathy through their behavior. By the way that you're behaving, you're showing up, you're communicating to them, whether it's an actual conversation or something that the organization is doing. And when brands aren't identifying with their customers, things go badly quickly. These are consumer based examples. However, we all probably heard about Bud Light's issues last year or Target's issues last June as they weren't fully identifying. They're massive, massive brands. They weren't identifying with all of their constituents and that got them in trouble. They weren't having empathy with all of their constituent bases. Somebody from Anheuser Busch just told me recently that the challenge they realized they had is that they did not identify with the changing definitions of masculinity. And so when they did that campaign with Dylan Mulvaney, innocently, always been a big supporter of the LGBTQ community. They didn't appreciate what was going to happen with other parts of their audience base that might be buying or still subscribing to other definitions or perspectives of masculinity. And that led to a lot of their issues that they had. 86% of customers say empathy is the biggest driver of loyalty. Think about those businesses that you connect with that get you that identify. You're loyal to them, most likely. Right. And the ones that don't get you, not as loyal to. Now, there are times when identifying with a consumer can go too far. So you've got to really practice, get your muscles strong. Some of you may remember this actually appeared seven years ago. Kylie Jenner did an ad for Pepsi and there was a protest and it seemed to be around Black Lives Matters. And all of a sudden she comes out as the white savior with a can of Pepsi to. To the police officer. That created a lot of controversy. It came up again in 2020 as an issue. They were over identifying in that case. Similarly, Dove and I just held Dove up as a huge example. Huge, huge business growth. They created a series of bottles going with the real beauty campaign. People want. They felt that women wanted to see themselves reflected in the product, and they created a series of bottles that reflected the most common shapes of women's body types. They pulled this within months because the blowback was so severe, they misunderstood what the consumer was looking for. You're not looking to have a bottle of shampoo remind you of your curves or your lack of curves. That's not how you want to be reflected. So you have to test these things. You've got to listen to the consumption. You've got to really have empathy with them. And this gets into sales as well. 97% of customers say empathy is the most important part of customer service, the most important element. 97% that is pretty much everybody. So if you're not understanding where somebody is coming from, and again, I invite you to think about your own experiences in customer service, whether it's on the business side or as a consumer. Those companies that don't get you, you end up frustrated. You're saying negative things to your colleagues or your friends about it. You're less likely to spend money with them. And if you don't identify with your consumer or your customer, the competition that will is never far away. Black Rifle Coffee Company grew up out of Salt Lake City, committed to supporting veterans as well as a pro gun and as they call it, a pro pro America. Anti Starbucks lifestyle. They're not as big as Starbucks, but they continue to grow. There is a consumer that identifies with them and will buy their products. Their beans and beverages are available in Walmarts and C stores around the country. You need to identify with your customers or be okay with who you're not going to identify with, and somebody else will go ahead and jump in there. So what can we do about it? Well, Maya Angelou said this. I love this quote. I think we all have empathy. We may not have the courage to display it. Remember what I said earlier. We are all born with the ability to have empathy. However, we may not have the courage to display it. And being empathetic is challenging. 42% of employees say they struggle to be empathetic. And the tension there starts at the top. This is all from Business Solver's State of Workplace Empathy study that came out this year. 55% of CEOs recognize it's their job to build a culture of empathy. However, 63%, so that's more say that they struggle to be empathetic themselves. How in the world are they going to build a culture of empathy when they're struggling themselves? And 69% of CEOs worry that being empathetic will make them a pushover. And yet there's one more not to all of this. 82% of CEOs believe empathy contributes to a company's financial performance. And I agree. And that challenge, the Data is reflecting CEOs. CEOs did not come out of the womb as CEOs as much as they may like to believe that they came up through the ranks. If they're not CEOs already in this room, there are future CEOs in this room. And we are all getting programmed and we are all learning and we are all having these seeds of doubt sewn into us about how to or not to use empathy. And so I'm here to encourage you to have that courage to be empathetic. Because empathy empowers the skills that we use to be successful as the people we are and that we hope to become. Empathy is not the end result. Empathy enables you to be a better communicator, collaborator, persuasion. Make decisions, build trust, reach forgiveness. That lets you be better at all the different roles that you play in your life, whether at work or at home. Now, there's five steps to empathy. This is what I talk about in my book, dismantling your judgment. Ask good questions, actively listen, integrate into understanding, and use solution, imagination. I'm going to quickly go into each one of those. The first one, dismantle your judgment. This is the hardest one. It gets in everybody's way. And these are judgments that we unknowingly possess that will come up and grab us. And I'm not talking about making a judgment. I'm not talking about making a decision. I'm talking about those times that we're casting aspersion, where we're having negative thoughts about somebody because we don't care for the way that they appear or they sound or something that they've done in the past. That's casting aspersion. We're being judgmental. That becomes a brick wall and will prevent you from being able to, to connect and have empathy. The things that we can do about it, self awareness, curiosity and grace. We're all human. We need to have grace with ourselves, but recognize when we've made a mistake or when we can do better. And the next time, make that commitment to try. So spend time with your customers and when you're doing that, leave your judgment at the door. If you've got a customer that's been a pain in the ass, try to have some empathy and understand where they're coming from. Ask good questions to see what you might be able to do to help them and identify with them. And so step two is asking good questions. And this is about asking open, broad questions rather than those closed, yes, no questions. They have their place. But if we're asking leading questions, and that's like in the courtroom dramas or the opposing counsels like, objection, leading the witness. Because the lawyer's asking whoever's on the witness stand questions to affirm their worldview. That's a leading question. You want to be asking open, exploratory questions. What does it mean to be successful on the job? Somebody could answer that in any number of ways. But if you said, is hitting your sales number the top thing to being successful on the job? You've just led them. I mean, a, that's a yes, no question. But you've also led them to what it is that you want them to say, where you want to really understand. There's a great exercise. I'll have a QR code at the very end that'll take you to my website. There's some activities that you can download. One of them is about taking the word why out of your vocabulary. Because why is something that we are all challenged with from the time that we're little through school into adulthood. And it puts us on the defensive. And you're not going to get the best information when you're using the word why, you want to ask why. But there's other ways to frame it. Using who, what, where, when, how. Tell me more about that. And building empathy does not take a huge lift. As I mentioned earlier, it can be quick, cost effective. There are ways to have easy engagements and interactions. If you have an insights team or a research team in your organization, partner with them. They can help you find ways to build this connection and identifying with them. Third step, actively listen. So this is about being focused and present in the conversation. We all listen, but when we choose to really pay attention, to follow the lead of the person that we're talking to, it will make all the difference. And if we listen long enough, we will be able to understand, we will be able to have empathy. And it always starts with you. You are responsible, you have the opportunity. It's just finding those microdoses of courage to make that connection and to listen. Step four, integrate into understanding. This is making room in your head. A lot of people think, oh well, if I have empathy, I have to give up my own perspective because I've got somebody else's perspective now. No, it's another data point. So you want to be curious, you want to make room in your head that there's different ways of viewing the world and to be curious and to be open to understanding that. Hershey's sales team wanted to get closer to again, end users, people that shop in dollar stores, people that go to truck stops. So we did some be the consumer exercises and trustees, trust me, if you challenge people that don't normally have to source lunch from a truck stop, it's very eye opening or $8 to spend on a meal at the dollar store, which is what the typical dollar store shopper actually spends. You start to understand really quickly what that consumer is going through. You start to identify with them. And Hershey was then able to go back and work with their clients, their customers, the buyers, to be more impactful with their products. The fifth step, use solution imagination. So this is where you start to bring all of this together. This is where you start to take what you're hearing, take what you're starting to understand and use it to further the conversation, to ask the next question. You want to show people that you understand where they're coming from. A really easy phrase to use is I can imagine how you feel. You want to be able to say, I can see your point of view. I also encourage you to find the language that's comfortable and right for you to use as well. Ultimately, the formula here is simply being able to say, I see you, I see you, the human, I see you, the context of whatever is going on. I see you with your needs. I see you, you within your day. Also in the download is this slide with words you can use to express empathy. This needs to feel authentic. It needs to come in language that is true and right for you. Please don't use mine unless that also fits for you. Find the words, the language that works for you, and start to apply that. So to sum it up, the application of empathy is an intellectual exercise. Think cognition. You're trying to see the point of view of somebody else. And customers want to be shopping and buying from brands that really identify with them. They get them. There's $300 million being left on the table, and there's five steps to get you there. This does, though, take continual practice to strengthen that muscle so that you're able to get there. Because when you do identify with your customer, they're gonna identify with you. And that is the real superpower of empathy. Thank you guys very much. That QR code takes you to my website. If you just scroll down, you'll find the download with some of the different activities. There's also other content there. Going deeper into the five steps could probably have a few minutes for questions before our next talk, or I will be here off to the side afterward. Thank you very much. Any questions? Sometimes they're skipping steps. Sometimes their judgment is getting in the way or they're thinking that they're not integrating into understanding. They're not understanding why somebody would feel that way. And so they'll be dismissive of it. So it takes everybody on a team to really be paying attention and being willing to speak up and share. Well, this is what I heard and how that came about. It's a great question. Tell me more about that. I'm not saying buy my book, but tell me more about that is. I learned that when I was moderating the power of that phrase and then just being comfortable with silence. People abhor a vacuum. They abhor silence, so they naturally want to fill it. So if you can get comfortable just saying, oh, tell me more about what it is that you like about, or tell me more about how you make your decisions. And then just be quiet. They will start to fill. And then if you marry that up with Dale Carnegie's how to Win Friends and Influence People. People like to talk about themselves and they hate silence. So they're going to fill the space and you'll have no issue. I'm sure some of the other marketers could give you some examples, but it sounds to me it's like you want to target and you might have different communications based on the size of your clients or what their needs are. And you may pick one first and test it out like, okay, let's try to really understand what their needs are. What's the value? Add that we could provide. What's the pain point that they have within our existing solution and how do we work with them on that. But I wouldn't think about if you're running small to large, I wouldn't necessarily think about all of them to start as one homogenous group. I probably want to break them up based on some whatever the commonalities are that they might have. Anyone else we've gone over, but thank you so much. I want to give room for the next speaker. Thank you guys. Have a great show.

[Rob Volpe]

That's a wrap on today's very special episode on Empathy. I hope Rob inspired you to use empathy as a strength in your marketing and branding strategies, which I'm sure will go a really, really long way. Thanks for tuning in, everyone. Don't forget to Register for the B2B Marketing Exchange west event coming up this February and use your special discount code which could be found in our show notes. As always, subscribe to the POD on your player of choice so you don't miss any new episode drops and find us on LinkedIn to share your thoughts and feedback. Have a great week everyone, and I will catch you next Wednesday.

[Kelly Lindenow]

Bye.