Blog 1: Empathy Map

 While empathy is an essential tool to understanding one's consumers, it is often overlooked by companies and marketers. Empathy is also a trait that comes naturally to us, but can present a challenge when attempting to tap into its true potential. In order to practice and hone this skill of empathy I have chosen to explore the persona of my brother, through the structure of an Empathy Map (shown below). My brother is older and at a different life stage than I am, which translates into our differing needs, wants and values.

What does brother think and feel? Good question, often it can be hard to read the true thoughts of my older sibling (or any guy for that matter). My brother’s relationships are what really counts to him, especially when it comes to his friends. Brother has many friends that he tends to act as a ringleader for, whether planning parties, weekend trips, Halo Xbox tournaments, or just being there for them when they need someone to listen to and comfort them. Equally as important as friendships would be his relationship with his girlfriend of over a year. She lives in a different city, but they see each other most weekends. Hopefully as meaningful, but maybe with a lesser degree of enthusiasm, is his relationship with his family. Following his relationships what really counts to Brother at this time is his career, which also makes up one of his major preoccupations and source of worries. After graduating from the University of Texas with a degree in Petroleum Engineering and a minor in Arabic, Brother began working at Shell Oil Company in 2012. Being relatively new to the company, Brother works for long hours. Working hard at Shell and maintaining friendships takes up most, if not all, of his time in a given day. Also on my brother’s mind and heart is the desire to buy a house in the Heights neighborhood of Houston and move out of his Midtown apartment he lives in by himself. Beyond the present year future aspirations are to be successful in his career, travel the world, eventually settle down and perhaps make enough money to retire (relatively) young and start his own brewery. 

           

 

What does he see? Brother lives within a variety of environments: work, a sterile, professional office; home, a lonely, disorganized apartment; Austin, an escape and fun weekend home. As mentioned above his friends are very important to him. Those in Houston are a mix of childhood and college friends now trying (with different degrees of failing and succeeding) to discover and adjust to their new professional lives. Brother also has a large amount of friends who live else where such as Austin, Dallas and Chicago, which he enjoys visiting on weekend trips. Friends are intelligent, some athletic, some computer science athletes, most who live modest young professional lives with an attitude of working for the weekend. What does the market have to offer Brother and his friends? Technology definitely, but not any fad consumer product will do. They are all very knowledgeable consumers who need to be informed and impressed and aren’t easily swayed by popular trends. The most value the market can offer Brother is not a quality product but a quality experience: sporting events, travel, concerts, cooking classes and nights out on the town. While Brother is working a very respected and well paying job, he doesn’t yet have the financial responsibilities that come with families or mortgages, therefore he possesses a respectable amount of disposable income.  

 

What does he say and do? Brother can be very loud and friendly. Not afraid to be silly or make friends with strangers in public, whether at a bar or in an airport. He is very casual in appearance and demeanor. Prefers to wear cargo shorts, tshirts and flip flops, even against his sister’s fashion advice. Brother keeps a scruffy face and untamed hair. However, in a business environment Brother is professional and even scholarly. He’ll discuss the industry’s hottest topics and not be afraid to state an opinion in social or political debates, but never too aggressively or in an abrasive manner. At times he enjoys the debate too much and, in my personal opinion, can become annoying. It is important to note that Brother is kind hearted and can be very caring. He takes care of his friends and even at times his two little sisters. He is protective and comforting. 

What does Brother hear? Brother has lively conversations with his friends. He hears a mix of opinions on current events; funny stories resulting from drinking the past weekend, quips on interesting Reddit posts; recaps from that week’s sporting events; and many many references to movies, comedians, video games, television shows etc. In the office he hears talk about industry events, news, various small talk and business related reports and statistics. From his bosses, he hears mostly positive feedback: Brother does great work but should consider working on his slightly condescending tone. Brother also hears advice from his influencers. This includes career advice from his father and various older family members who have all achieved success in their professional lives. He hears financial and life decision advice from his mother. He hears lifestyle advice from his sisters, which he promptly ignores. And he hears lifestyle advice from his girlfriend, which he promptly takes into consideration.   

What are Brother’s pain points? What does he hope to gain? Brother fears living a boring life in an office. Brother wants to see the world, eat foreign food, and meet new people. Brother fears becoming a slave to his desk. He wants to have full experiences and lasting memories. Brother has trouble sleeping and that frustrates him. He needs better sleeping habits and to lower his stress levels. Brother sometimes has to deal with stupid or ignorant people and that frustrates him too. He needs patience when communicating with others. Brother sometimes has to do what his parents and his superiors say simply because they said it, and that’s frustrating to anyone. He desires to be successful in his personal and professional endeavors. Brother measures his professional success partially through the respect and pride shared by his father and other career influencers. Success is being able to live a full and comfortable life. Success is being able to retire from the day job with enough years left in life to start his own business brewing beer. Obstacles to his brewery dream are the expectations to hold a respectable job and make a respectable income for his future family.  Brother does desire to settle down and have a family, just not anytime in the near future.

I have to say creating this empathy map for my brother was a very insightful process. Often today marketers and businesses view individuals as different groups of consumers possessing like qualities within the group and differences between. Taking the time to sort through an individual and what they do and think and feel and fear and desire, provides a marketer with an outstanding amount of perspective on he or she as a consumer. While empathy is a trait we all possess, it can be difficult to tap into and easy to ignore. Practicing the skill will change our personal lives and businesses for the better.