We have the technology to reach massive audiences. But, this technology also gets in the way of connecting with those audiences. Potential customers know when the purpose is to help the salesperson rather than help them solve a problem or meet their needs. Empathy is critical to all sales. People make decisions using emotions, not just logic. 

From an article by Brian Carrol in Sales & Marketing, he explains that sending email after email through an automated system, most get deleted. To get the recipient to read them, you have to address their emotional side (needs, wants, desires). 

How do you get empathy? First, you have to shift your mindset to focus on the customers. Then, you can focus on various tactics to enlist empathy and develop a relationship with the customer.

To shift your mindset, don’t let your biases get in the way. 

Put customers at the center of your focus. Don’t treat them like sale leads, treat them like humans who have a problem, need, or opportunity. 

Analytics and machine learning are insightful and make us smarter, but customers are getting smarter also. They can tell the difference. And remember relationships don’t scale.

Also, you have to keep reminding yourself that you are not the target audience. Keep your biases in check, Have you done enough research on your clients to know what they think, what their mindset and preferences are?

Then, you can implement an empathy-based approach to your marketing. 

You have the answers, so listen carefully to the questions (why did they reply? what did they respond to?) and be sure to help them get a solution to their problem. The key is to listen.

Don’t use all your time telling them what you do, tell them what they want to hear, give them answers. This information also allows you to begin building a relationship with the customer.

In the book “The Passion Conversation,” the authors talk about how marketing problems are people problems and how marketing materials are communications tools can lead to word of mouth advertising, But, this approach takes more time than an automated response. 

But, relationships don’t scale, and if the information is not relevant, they will unsubscribe.