This morning, Seth Godin had a great post on his blog about empathy. In his summary he noted that you don't have to wear pantyhose to be a brand manager for a pantyhose company and that's important to note. What we do have to do is understand our customers and understand their journey - the process they go through from educating themselves to engaging with your brand to ordering and finally becoming an advocate.
In the past, we used to say that if no satisfy your customer, they will love you for life and maybe tell a few people. But do something bad, and they will complain to 13 people. We know today, that people are most influenced not by tv ads, direct mail pieces or web banners, but by their friends, those they trust. And now, their ability to tell those friends has become exponential through social media.
Understanding your customer, walking in their shoes, and guiding them through their conversion paths is the differentiate yourself in this new Empathy Economy.
