Real empathy is your antidote to a pushy, salesy, manipulative marketing plan.
Empathy is the outworking of love and care for another person. And remember, customers are people. The list does NOT read: Plants, Animals, People, …oh yeah, and Customers.
If you finish reading the creation story referenced above, you’ll see no hesitation in Adam’s response to God’s provision. He is thrilled. He does not pause to see if strings are attached. He embraces. Real empathy is, by nature, genuine and attractive.
Think of empathy’s relationship to your marketing plan like this…
When your marketing plan is birthed out of empathy for your customer, you release a bloodhound. He will alert at any hint of disingenuous marketing tactics.
Empathy can spot when you cross the line from care to coercion.Empathy sniffs out when you shade the truth in hopes of one more sale.Empathy picks up on any trace of foul play you’re tempted to use to you ‘get ahead’.
Genuine empathy is a long marketing plan play. It’s not a quick fix tactic. Customers are understandably skeptical. But I promise you this…When you frame your marketing plan with empathy today, you can sleep easy tonight.
asdfBeauty With a Capital “B”
Second, empathy gives your marketing plan Beauty. Yes, Beauty with a capital “B”. And guys (literally), don’t confuse this with ‘pretty’ or ‘cutesy’. Otherwise, you’ll dismiss this point and miss out on the power of empathy. I’m talking about the virtue of Beauty. Not a trivial ‘outward attractive appearance’.
In the creation story, God—through the vehicle of empathy—sees what Adam needs and provides Eve. In so doing, God reveals the Beauty of His own character. Creator caring for creation. We could even say God’s empathy does not make Him beautiful. Rather, it reveals a quality already possessed. God is beautiful. In other words, God defines Beauty in the creation story, not the other way around.
The result? Adam is unequivocably drawn to God’s beauty. He does not take God’s gift, given through empathy, and run.
Likewise, empathy gives your marketing plan a captivating quality. When you see the world through the eyes of your customer, you are able to connect on a relational level. It moves your marketing beyond a business transaction. You reveal beauty. And we are all drawn to beauty.Compelling With a Capital “C”
Why does empathy work so well in a marketing plan? What makes it so compelling? Simple. It’s hardwired into creation. The Author of The Story setup the whole thing to run along the tracks of empathy. The minute you have relationships in the story, there is the need for empathy. Empathy is the gracious ability to see life through the perspective of another. Again, in the Bible story, empathy happens before the Fall. This builds a strong case for empathy. Empathy is likely here to stay…forever and ever. So use it to frame your marketing plan. (I parse the difference between framing your marketing plan with empathy and using empathy in your marketing plan in the next article.)
Bottom line: we should expect empathy to work. The world is tilted that way. There’s no point fighting it. There’s no need to venture down other dead ends in your marketing plan. Start here…and stay here.Your Bumper Sticker Marketing Plan Maxim
If we were to boil this all down and slap it on a bumper sticker, here’s what we’ve learned:Pursue genuine empathy in your marketing plan and people will pursue you.
asdf
The companion bumper sticker would read:Chase people with your unempathetic marketing plan and people will pass you by.
Yeah, I could’ve said customers instead of people. But empathy wouldn’t let me.
PS: Want to Grow in Your Empathy? I created a short PDF of how the gospel can help us grow in our empathy. Get your copy below.2018-11-25 08:05 Marketing