Empathy conversations are one-on-one user interviews that reveal what your customers are really thinking, feeling, and experiencing. Essential for any human-centred marketing strategy.
While customer journey maps give us a structured view of the customer experience, empathy conversations bring the nuance.
They uncover the emotion, the workarounds, the frustrations, and sometimes even the brilliance that traditional data misses.
If you’re building a marketing strategy that truly puts the user first, this is where you start listening, not just observing.
What Are Empathy Conversations?
Empathy conversations are focused, informal interviews with users, usually one-on-one. The goal isn’t to validate an idea or pitch a product.
It’s to understand what the person is going through. What they’re trying to achieve. Where they’re getting stuck. And what they’ve hacked together just to get things done.
They’re especially useful when you’re building or refreshing a marketing strategy and need to reconnect with what matters most to your customers.
Why They Matter in Marketing Strategy
Empathy conversations give you something most strategies lack: real human context.
They help you:
- Go beyond demographics and discover true customer motivations
- Spot gaps in the experience that surveys or analytics don’t show
- Hear the actual language your audience uses – great for messaging
- Uncover edge cases and emotional triggers that shape decision-making
These insights don’t just improve your brand’s empathy, they sharpen your messaging, improve targeting, and inform better creative decisions.
How to Run an Empathy Conversation (Without Making It Weird)
You don’t need to be a researcher or therapist. You just need to listen well, ask with curiosity, and create space for the user to speak freely.
1. Map the experience ecosystem
Start by identifying everyone involved in the experience. Use your customer journey map as a guide. Include not only the primary customer but anyone influencing or supporting their decisions.
2. Talk to extreme users
Find the outliers – the people who love your service and those who struggle most. These folks often surface deeper needs, bigger frustrations, and creative workarounds worth paying attention to.
3. Plan your questions
Don’t wing it. Prepare open-ended prompts that invite storytelling:
- “Can you walk me through the last time you…?”
- “What’s the most frustrating part of that process?”
- “Have you found any clever ways to make it easier?”
4. Run the session with two people
One leads the conversation; the other takes notes. This keeps the flow natural and lets you focus fully on the person in front of you.
5. Debrief straight after
Don’t wait until tomorrow. Give yourselves 10–15 minutes right after the conversation to unpack key insights while it’s still fresh.
Pro Tips for Deeper Insights
- Look out for contradictions or “I just do it this way” moments. These are often clues to unmet needs.
- Always respect the person’s time and experience. This isn’t a sales call; it’s a moment of trust.
- Keep a running list of themes and surprises. You’ll likely revisit these as your strategy unfolds.
Final Thought
The strongest marketing strategies aren’t built in boardrooms. They’re built from listening closely and with care. Empathy conversations help you move past guesswork and step directly into your customer’s world. That’s where the real insight lives, and it’s how you build marketing that actually matters.
