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7 Outcomes of Empathy Training that Help Brand Teams Get Close to Customers

by Joanne Suh and Robin Valenzuela

Empathy training is essential as brands expand into new regions, explore personalization opportunities, and find new ways to optimize their digital offerings. To be successful, stakeholders bring a sense of empathy to all aspects of their work. Empathy training helps brand teams cultivate a skill set that leads to more meaningful research and data analysis, resulting in a clearer view of what customers truly want.

Seven benefits of empathy training.

Using a combination of learning modules with real-world application ensures that teams build several key empathy skills in a safe environment. The result is that all team members walk away with enhanced capability in the following areas:

1. Develop a sense of self-awareness.
Training and practice in small groups enables individual team members to understand their own emotional responses and experiences so they can address their work from a place of empathy.

2. Learn how to recognize bias and filters.
Understanding how preconceived notions or beliefs can impact personal viewpoints helps team members identify and mitigate them in their work.

3. Understand dynamics.
When teams learn how privilege and power impact their processes, they can develop a more effective approach.

 

team workshop

Empathy training helps brand teams cultivate a skill set that leads to more meaningful research and data analysis, resulting in a clearer view of what customers truly want.”


4. Acquire knowledge about new communities
.
Teams learn how to take additional steps before launching projects to learn about the social, cultural, economic, and political factors that shape the community they’re studying.

5. Conduct cross-cultural research.
Teams with advanced empathy skills create more accurate survey questions and demonstrate a deeper understanding of the needs and preferences of diverse customer segments.

6. Interact authentically with consumers.
Empathy skills become even more critical when teams conduct ethnographic research. Practicing empathy skills builds confidence so teams can conduct stronger interviews.

7. Perform better analysis.
Building empathy and awareness leads to more accurate analysis, ensuring insight integrity.

 

When teams work on empathy training together, they find new ways to approach their work using a common language and shared goals. These skills also improve analysis, leading to useful insights that, in turn, help brands create messaging and campaigns that resonate with customers.

 

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