How to market with empathy 101: building deeper customer connections

You’ve probably spent countless hours brainstorming campaigns, perfecting your brand message, and digging into analytics—all to better connect with your audience. Still, the connection is not quite there yet. Why?

It could be for many reasons, but have you stepped back to consider how your audience truly feels about your brand voice and messaging? That’s where marketing with empathy comes in. By putting yourself in your customers' shoes, you can create messages that speak to them not just as buyers but as humans with unique needs and emotions.

In this article, you’ll explore how empathy in marketing helps you build loyalty, establish trust, drive better results, and much more.

In this post:

• What are the key benefits of using empathy in marketing?
• How does empathy enhance customer loyalty and build trust?
• How can you develop an empathetic marketing strategy?
• Real-world examples of successful empathetic marketing
• How to measure the success of your empathetic marketing efforts
• Common challenges of integrating empathy into your marketing
• What actions can you take right now to market empathy?

What are the key benefits of using empathy in marketing?

Empathy sets you apart. While AI can automate tasks, analyze massive datasets, and even spark content ideas, genuine understanding remains a distinctly human trait. Empathy helps you navigate beyond surface-level transactions, forging deeper bonds that can boost loyalty, trust, and long-term brand advocacy.

A good balance between automation, AI, and empathy can set you apart. Understanding your audience’s needs, challenges, and perspectives can lead to:

• Stronger customer engagement: People gravitate toward brands that “get” them. If customers feel heard, they’re more likely to interact, share, and remain loyal—turning your marketing messages into meaningful dialogues rather than one-sided broadcasts.
• Deeper customer loyalty: Once you show genuine understanding, you build emotional connections that outlast short-term promotions. This loyalty can lead to higher lifetime value (LTV) and repeat sales. Trust emerges when customers believe you prioritize their well-being and success.
  • Research shows that 68% of customers expect brands to demonstrate empathy and will spend more money with a brand that understands them and treats them like individuals. However, only 37% of customers said brands generally demonstrate empathy.
  • By empathizing with your audience, you actively validate their pain points and offer genuine ways to help—be it through product improvements, transparent communication about third-party cookies and privacy, or responsible data handling in line with a first-party data strategy.
• New customers and business growth: It's not only about loyalty and long-term brand advocacy. Understanding your customers' wants can help you win new customers and grow your business. Understanding what your customers want allows you to create messages that speak to them, which helps with customer acquisition..

Improved brand perception: Empathetic marketing positions you as a customer-centric organization. That “human touch” fosters positive sentiment, even in challenging times or competitive markets. Apart from marketing, the product can also build and develop features that solve customer problems.

Empathy bridges the gap in a climate where “hard metrics” often overshadow intangible factors. It reassures your audience that you’re attuned to their concerns, not just your sales targets.

How can you develop an empathetic marketing strategy?

Incorporating empathy isn’t just adding phrases like “we understand” into your copy. You need a structured, step-by-step process that walks you from gathering audience insights all the way to analyzing outcomes. Below is a practical framework you can follow:

Step 1: Gather audience insights with data

• Identify reliable data sources: Start by collecting first-party data and zero-party data from your CRM, email lists, and analytics tools. The goal here with collecting and blending data is to pinpoint fundamental needs and motivations—not just basic demographic info.
• Observe patterns and anomalies: Look for spikes or dips in engagement, seasonal behaviors, or regional preferences. For instance, if an ice cream brand notices higher sales in summer, ask why: is it purely weather-related, or could nostalgia, comfort, or family traditions be at play?
• Talk directly to customers: Numbers can only reveal so much. Conduct interviews or run focus groups. For example, if you market a collaboration tool, ask users about their day-to-day frustrations. Their real-life stories will guide your empathetic messaging.

Additional resources: If you’re juggling multiple data streams, check out our guide on managing too much marketing data for tips on staying organized.

Step 2: Develop targeted messaging

• Craft a core message: Based on your data insights, define the main challenge your product solves from the customer’s perspective. If you already have a core message in place, consider modifying it. Avoid pity or sympathy—focus on a genuine understanding of their situation.
• Use relatable language: Swap jargon for casual, clear language that resonates with how customers talk about their problems. If they describe daily reporting on Google spreadsheets as chaos, mirror their wording to show you understand their experience.
• Incorporate storytelling and emotion: Share narratives of people overcoming similar hurdles, highlighting real-world transformations. Show that you don’t just see the problem; you empathize with it—and have a solution that helps.

Step 3: Be where your target audiences are at

• Social media: You don’t have to be on every social media channel. But make sure you know where your target audiences are hanging out. Two-way conversations let you respond quickly, addressing concerns or positive feedback. Still, ensure you have the bandwidth to maintain authenticity rather than defaulting to generic responses.
• Email campaigns: Segment lists by customer type or pain point, then craft messages addressing each group’s challenges. For instance, first-time buyers might receive supportive onboarding content, while loyal customers get heartfelt appreciation offers.
• Video and content marketing: Platforms like YouTube or TikTok let you showcase empathy visually through facial expressions, heartfelt interviews, or behind-the-scenes peeks. Longer-form content (blog posts, podcasts) allows you to dive deeper into nuanced struggles and solutions.

Step 4: Implement, test, and iterate

• Run small experiments: Pilot a more empathetic tone in one channel—like an email sequence or a social media campaign—and gauge reactions. This helps you refine your approach before rolling it out widely.
• Track early indicators: Check engagement rates, click-throughs, or other micro-conversions that might signal if your empathetic message is resonating. High click-through but low conversion may mean your empathy is capturing attention but not driving action.
• Stay open to refinements: If your initial results fall short, revisit your data. Did you misunderstand a significant concern? Are you focusing on the wrong emotional trigger? Empathy requires continual adaptation—go back to the data, recheck your assumptions, and try again.

Additional resources: Testing if your marketing efforts are progressing can be an extensive topic, and there are various ways to approach it. To learn more, check out our guide on incrementality testing for marketers.

Step 5: Analyze outcomes and share insights

• Measure quantitative and qualitative results: Look at metrics like CTR, conversion rates, and time on page. Combine these with qualitative feedback—via surveys, social listening, or user interviews—to validate whether you indeed addressed customers’ emotional needs.
• Communicate wins (and learnings) internally: Share your empathetic marketing successes and challenges with stakeholders. Show them how re-framing content around customer feelings led to stronger engagement or loyalty. Creating marketing reports justifies your approach and encourages a more empathetic culture across the organization.
• Scale and sustain: When you’ve found effective empathetic strategies, apply them to other campaigns or channels. Keep an eye on market changes, competitor moves, and seasonal factors. Empathy isn’t static; it evolves with your audience’s circumstances.

Real-world examples of successful empathetic marketing

By mastering empathy—whether through humor, vulnerability, or emotional solidarity—these brands deepened audience loyalty and set themselves apart from more transactional competitors. Here are some great examples:

• Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign challenged long-standing beauty norms by featuring “real people.” The brand used empathy to say, “We understand your everyday insecurities, and we celebrate you as you are.” This resonated strongly because the campaign didn’t offer pity (sympathy) but acknowledged real feelings about body image, reinforcing trust in Dove’s authenticity.
• Another notable mention is Dove’s “Beauty in the AI Age” campaign. As AI-powered filters and image editing become increasingly prevalent, Dove has taken a stand highlighting how AI can distort body perceptions and contribute to unrealistic beauty standards. By confronting these digital manipulations head-on, Dove compassionately addressed modern anxieties surrounding self-image—reinforcing the brand’s dedication to authentic, unaltered beauty.
• Supermetrics’ “Get Your Sheet Together” in LinkedIn effectively tapped into the chaos marketers face when juggling too many spreadsheets. Supermetrics automatically unifies all your data into Google Sheets or Excel so you can say goodbye to copy/paste. This post showed an understanding of the daily frustrations of data handling—offering a tongue-in-cheek solution that made marketers feel “seen” and relieved.

Tip: Many brands pivot their messaging during downturns or crises, as well as marketing in hard times. Instead of aggressively pushing products, empathetic brands address the emotional toll of economic uncertainty, offering resources or flexible payment plans that truly support customers.

How to measure the success of your empathetic marketing efforts

Measuring empathy can be tricky because it’s an emotion at its core. Nonetheless, you can track its impact through both quantitative and qualitative metrics. What type of quantitative data can you track?

• Engagement metrics: Look at CTR, likes, shares, or time spent on a page. A spike suggests your message resonates emotionally.
• Conversion metrics: Whether you aim for sign-ups or sales, empathy should support your business goals. A rise in conversion rates can indicate that your audience trusts your brand more.
• Customer loyalty indicators: Monitor repeat purchases, subscription renewal rates, or net promoter score (NPS). Higher loyalty often means your empathy-driven approach is working.

Now, what qualitative methods can measure empathy’s impact? Here are the main ones:

• Surveys and sentiment analysis: Collect direct feedback from customers. Ask if they feel heard or whether your communications address their genuine problems.
• Social listening: Scan social media platforms, forums, or review sites to see how people talk about your brand. Has the language shifted to more positive, appreciative tones?
• Interview insights: Follow up with a subset of customers to gather in-depth perspectives on how they perceive your brand’s empathy. This can yield insights that numbers alone might miss.

Common challenges of integrating empathy into your marketing

• Misreading data: Empathy requires nuance. If you rely solely on numbers without context or direct customer input, you risk crafting a campaign that misses the emotional mark.
• Falling into “sympathy” mode: Sympathy can sound condescending or pitying, whereas empathy focuses on shared understanding.
• Overcomplicating your message: In an attempt to be caring, you might muddy your original brand voice. Keep communications honest and straightforward.
• Inconsistency across channels: Ensure your empathetic stance is consistent. Don’t appear sincere and supportive in emails while sounding detached or salesy on social media.

What actions can you take right now to market empathy?

• Audit your current messaging: Review your website copy, social media posts, and email campaigns. Does your language resonate with the real challenges your audience faces? If not, revise it for clarity and authenticity.
• Incorporate empathy into strategy meetings: Dedicate a portion of every content or campaign planning session to discuss emotional motivators. Encourage your team to share real customer stories or feedback.
• Gather better first-party data: Implement a robust first-party data strategy to understand your audience’s behaviors and preferences more intimately. Then, pair these insights with empathetic narratives.
• Use surveys and polls: Ask your audience directly how they feel about your brand or product. This real-world feedback can help you refine campaigns to be more empathetic.
• Keep refining: Empathy isn’t static. Regularly check your performance metrics. If your messaging feels stale or out of touch, adapt it. Market trends, competitor moves, and seasonal shifts might change how your audience feels—and you need to meet them wherever they are.

Final thoughts

Empathy in marketing isn’t a passing fad. It’s a foundational principle that helps you connect with your audience. By understanding people’s challenges, behaviors, and aspirations—and reflecting that in your communications—you can forge more profound, meaningful relationships that translate into tangible business results.

So, as you plan your next campaign, pause and ask: “How does my audience feel?” Answer that question honestly, and let empathy guide your messaging, channel choices, and tone.

The payoff—stronger engagement, enduring loyalty, and a more authentic brand presence—will be well worth it.