In other blog posts we’ve talked about how to define your target audience and how design thinking can help your business innovate.

The first step of the design thinking process and the key to understanding your audience is to gain an empathetic understanding of your audience and the problem you are trying to solve.

Empathy, according to Google, is simply the ability to show, understand, and share the feelings of another. In business, empathy is crucial to form genuine relationships with your audience and connect with them on a deeper level than “buy my product.”

To create meaningful relationships and business innovations, you need to know your users and care about their lives.

As a business leader, it is your responsibility to understand they way your audience does things and why, their physical and emotional needs, how they think about the world, and what is meaningful to them.

Why should you empathize?
As a business, the problems you are trying to solve are rarely your own, they involve a group of a particular type of people. In order to design a solution for them, you must obtain empathy for who they are and what is important to them.

You want to “put yourself in your audience’s shoes.” What do they want and how can your business help provide them what they are searching for?

Ok, but how can you learn how to empathize with your audience?
There are three ways you can learn to empathize: observing, engaging, and watching and listening.

1. Observing.
Observing what people do and say will give you clues about what they think and feel. It is even more important to observe how people interact with their environment. By capturing these physical signs, you can begin to infer the meaning of those experiences to uncover new insights.

These insights give you direction to understand your audience and create innovative solutions or business strategies.

Observing is also crucial when you are conducting interviews. Some of the most powerful realizations come from noticing a disconnect between what someone says and what she does.

Take time to notice these hidden disconnects and explore them by reflecting on your business’ strategy and approach as well as asking for feedback from other members of your audience.

Only by finding these disconnects and fixing them will your business grow.

2. Engaging.
Engaging with people directly reveals a tremendous amount by the way they think and the values they hold.

Having a conversation with someone, whether it’s a formal interview or informal banter can be extremely helpful in obtaining insights that are revealed. The stories that people share and the actions they do while telling those stores are strong indicators of their deeply held beliefs and opinions.

Good designs are built on a strong understanding of these beliefs and values.

When you plan to talk to members of your audience, remember to prepare some questions but expect the conversation to deviate from them. Keep the conversation loose and relaxed.

Have more candid conversations with people than formal interviews.

Always remember to be genuinely engaged with who you are speaking to and to make sure they elaborate on their answers by asking them “why” or “how” to uncover a deeper meaning.

3. Watching and listening.
Watching and listening are both important to do in unison. By watching (observing) and listening (engaging), you are fully immersed in your audience’s shoes and only then able to empathize with them about their situation.

Don’t be afraid to ask your audience their process or the steps that they do when they are deciding between your business and another. Take a step back, watch and listen to what your target audience has to say.

Remember, their feedback might not be entirely nice. Do not get angry or defensive. It is important to hear this constructive feedback to learn where your business can be improved whether on the product or marketing side.

To wrap up, empathizing can help you understand your audience’s motives and behaviors. It allows you to establish a genuine relationship with them which will make them feel appreciated and more likely to come back to your business or recommend it to a friend.

To fully understand your audience, you could consult experts to find out more about certain behaviors or trends. You can then add that knowledge to the insights you made from your conversations and observations.

Empathizing with your audience takes time and should be done with patience and an open mind. Don’t expect to find any major insights right away. Have many conversations and we guarantee you will be surprised what you will discover.

Best of luck,

The Solomoto Team

P.S. What are the biggest struggles you are having with your current marketing strategy right now? Share them with us in *the comments below* or get in touch with one of our team members over Facebook or Twitter, and we will do our best to help!

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