“You’ve Got to Be Kind” – Empathy and Authenticity in Marketing 

One of Kurt Vonnegut’s most famous quotes ends with: “You’ve got to be kind.” That’s true in just about everything in life, but it’s becoming more and more important in online marketing. Especially since the beginning of the pandemic, empathy in marketing has possibly never been more important. 

It’s natural to ask questions like: “what is empathy” and “how exactly would my business go about incorporating it into our marketing?”

Empathy: Key to Building Any Relationship 

The dictionary tells us that empathy is “the psychological identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.” That gets us a bit closer to understanding how empathy helps in marketing, but it doesn’t get us all the way there. 

The truth is that empathy in marketing is about the customer, not about the product or service. That’s why so many of the posts, blogs, and more that we make for ourselves (as well as for clients) aren’t about “hey, here’s this thing we offer” but rather “hey, here’s we can help right now.” 

Authenticity is important here. That’s not just something that we made up. It came from a study that said almost 90% of consumers say “authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and support.” That means only one in ten people don’t really worry much about authenticity. Maybe that one in ten is your customer base, but the odds are against that. 

If this all sounds a little bit confusing, it doesn’t have to be. Being authentic is simpler than you might think. Just ask yourself: “what are my customers worried about right now?” Then, speak to that. 

Authenticity Builds Empathy, Which Builds Trust, Which Builds a Connection 

When you put yourself in your customers’ shoes, so to speak, then you can better serve them with your products or services. The days of marketing where you go on and on about your product in post after post, blog after blog, are probably over with. They might have seemed out of touch before the pandemic, but now that approach can feel positively ancient. 

By being authentic, and speaking to your customers’ immediate needs in the here and now, you can build the sort of connection that will last through any pandemic or time period. 

As ever, we can help. During this time (and so many others) we’ve helped companies to better pivot to reach their customer base. Drawing upon our years of experience, we can do the same for your company, no matter what industry you might be in. 

We’re always glad to talk at (888) 477-9540.