Digital empathy: the key skill in the online world

Empathy is the ability to put yourself in the shoes of a person, to empathize with their perspective and feelings and to consciously reflect on what you feel. This intuition helps people to build a deeper connection with each other and to interact.

Digital empathy is the opposite of standard phrases and buzzword bingo. It is about consciously addressing the responsibility of a brand or a company in its interaction with users and potential customers, i.e. people. What it is not about is conditioning through quick rewards in the interaction.

The focus is on the question of how to attract the attention of users and potential customers today. The bestselling author Nir Eyal* ("How to control your attention and choose your life")** also explores this.

By digital empathy, I mean the cognitive and emotional ability to act in a reflective and socially responsible manner in the strategic use of digital media and technologies. In marketing in particular, this is the next evolutionary stage in which people are addressed as people and customer relationships are built on an emotionally stable and trusting basis.

Most companies are now faced with the challenge that they are not addressing a single person, but millions of people - their target group. In order to interact with them responsibly and offer emotionally successful experiences, they need to turn their digital strategy 180 degrees: Away from brand presentation or the setting of blanket, behavior-stimulating activation stimuli and towards a holistic experience instead.

It is not the product or the short-term improvement of key performance indicators that determine the marketing focus, but the needs of the persona.

Digital empathy is appreciative communication between companies and customers. Ideally, this extends across all channels and the entire customer journey. It takes into account the often unconscious motives of users - the emotional level - and the situation they are currently in - the cognitive level.

• Why are users interested in a company?

• What interests do they have?

• What values are important to them?

To understand the situation of users, companies need to know: When do they come into contact with the brand? On what occasion are the company's products or services of interest

Important: Digital empathy is not just about communication. Companies must align all touchpoints with the expectations and wishes of their customers - in other words, the entire digital experience.

Empathetic content reflects what is important in consumers' lives and empowers them. The ultimate goal of digital empathy is for the target group to develop a sense of belonging to the brand. This can only be achieved through empathy, sympathy, emotions, appreciation and, above all, authenticity. The demands and expectations of the target groups depend, among other things, on their age.

Covid has given digitalization a significant boost over the past two years. Many companies have changed their business model and moved large parts of their offering online. As a result, their media expertise is becoming increasingly important. Not only companies, but also the media themselves are suffering from a severe loss of trust on the part of consumers.***

This also applies to advertising content and advertising messages. Users are increasingly exposing clickbaiting, listicles and memes as predictable tactics aimed at superfluous engagement. They have developed a sense for authentic, likeable and trustworthy brands. More empathetic marketing helps companies stand out from this superfluous content - it is the differentiator in the online world.

At the same time, consumers have become accustomed to the digital customer journey. Today, our expectations are determined by the big players such as Amazon, Netflix and TikTok. These are the very companies that have taken Nir Eyal's writings to heart and have very successfully geared their products precisely to the fact that people consume them out of habit.

Of course, despite all the "user-friendliness" and empathic centering of people, the economic goal, which by definition justifies the existence of a company in the first place, must not be neglected. Digital empathy does not aim to turn interaction with target persons into a nice exchange at the bar. Rather, the focus here is on internalizing the concept of digital empathy and the associated holistic change and further development of the digital experience. This includes concentrating scarce resources on value-adding interactions and addressing customers in a targeted manner.

From this, companies build trusting and emotionally strong relationships with their customers and create the basis for a non-monetarily supported distribution of their offering. When customers trust a brand, they communicate this to those around them and thus act as multipliers.

We see that companies with whom we take the holistic approach of digital empathic marketing achieve significant efficiency gains in their marketing operations and considerably increase their economic results. This is based on an initial additional investment in research and a more complex concept.

Important: empathetic communication is not only a key skill for digital natives. The ever-growing group of silver agers also demands compassionate companies that listen. In addition to an empathetic approach and appreciative interaction, this means user-centered design and an empathetic UX. Silver agers already account for more than half of Germany's purchasing power. Companies should therefore consider the behaviors and needs of this target group. Younger people, on the other hand, have clear expectations - not only in terms of non-verbal, aesthetic communication, but also in terms of contemporary language. For example, gender-appropriate language is increasingly important for digital natives.

The basic prerequisites for digital empathy are empathy and the ability to put yourself in the shoes of your customers.

I see a clear mission here: we help our customers to understand and reach their customers. To do this, we first make it clear to them that they are real people. They are looking for information and moments that touch them emotionally. They have needs and tend to want to enter into a relationship.

The three core principles of cognition, compassion and emotion are at the heart of this.

Every person I address via digital channels has certain motives, values and inclinations. These are universally valid, but are individual. Furthermore, this person finds themselves in a certain situation, a surrounding moment. In each of these moments, the person addressed unconsciously evaluates incoming stimuli in relation to the potential change in their personal state. If a stimulus activates a motive that is important for the person in the situation, a need arises. The aim is to use a specific trigger to create a certain need that leads to an interaction. This can mean speaking a language that is not your own, but that of the target group.

To achieve this, companies must present a clear image of their brand. The message to the target group should be specific and personal and address their problem. However, few companies know what their customers really want.

In my view, companies should be much more deliberate in their search for information. It's important to know how customers feel about your product. This also means that assumptions need to be put to the test much more often. In order to adapt the ads precisely to the needs of the target group, we also involve product and service managers in the design process.

My colleague and UX expert Stefan Trebbin always says: "To create an empathetic user experience, we look at what touchpoints there are with the brand. Where have people perhaps already come into contact with it beforehand? Is there a positive underlying mood? Do they like the company or do they have reservations?"

It is also essential that companies know where their customers are. It's no longer about interrupting people - it's about touching them.

Basically, anything that helps to understand the needs of users is a good thing.

But a rethink needs to take place here too. It is important that companies do not perceive their customers as mere sources of data. Communication must not be one-sided. Users give the company attention and data, and they expect something in return. This can be knowledge, offers or special benefits. For me, this is truly appreciative communication.

All of these changes take time. Digital empathy is therefore an entrepreneurial evolutionary process that must come from within.

At diva-e, the development into a digitally empathetic company is in full swing. We are very proud to have merged the expertise from different areas (design and UX, strategy and technology consulting, paid advertising and content, data analytics and solutions) into a central and overarching personae framework.

The alignment of all projects to the fulfillment of the hypotheses described here and underpinned with data on the human needs of the target customers is one of the strongest expressions of lived digital empathy. The framework also forms the binding basis for all subsequent campaign and media planning and implementation. This also includes all ad assets and content created for this purpose.

Stefan Trebbin's UX team has also developed a speed testing process in which employees from other departments test the pages created. For example, they are given the task of buying a specific product in the online store and are then asked to comment out loud on what they think and feel. It is the moment of truth when a person uses their own work for the first time. Empathizing with the user and the user experience are of central importance.

In order to arouse the emotions of the users, it is of course also necessary to choose sensitive motifs. My colleague Stephan Uebelhör, Expert Content Consultant at diva-e, always says: "I have to keep the user's interaction and reaction at the end of the content in mind at all times. Just like in a play - I want the audience to applaud at the end and not leave the auditorium beforehand." A good picture editor therefore always takes into account the empathic flows and changes that customers go through during their visit to the site. It's not about indiscriminate emotionalization, but about touching users in such a way that they are willing to make a transaction. Ideally, there is a persona or a clear target group definition here.

The real challenge is to transform the information about the target group into an appealing language. The aim here is not only to find the most important keywords, but also to allay readers' fears and make them feel comfortable. We can all learn a lot about AI-based creation of texts, images and videos right now. When used correctly, these are certainly valuable tools for a scalable approach or an unprecedented presentation of the message. But even the latest generation of artificial neural networks and AI-supported chatbots limit their results to purely descriptive information. Emotions, however, have a much deeper origin and a much more profound effect.

In addition to the basic structure of keywords, an emotional script is required. It is a kind of stage direction for the author. This calls for copywriters who are not afraid of literary writing. They must be able to communicate the desired emotional message in an objective and informative product description. And they must always reflect on themselves and be aware of the social responsibility of the medium they create. There is a fine line between trustworthy, emotionally supported communication and the manipulation of behavior.

The structure, in turn, takes into account the changing feelings of users as they read. The central question is: How can I use visual stimuli or methods to emphasize the right feelings at the right moment?

To do this, it is essential to always have the target group in mind. After all, psychological projection is the key to success in empathic marketing. Mood boards can help with this. They capture a persona and depict their emotional world.

The demands of consumers have changed. Players such as Netflix, Google and Apple are shaping the digital experience. People also expect this from other companies.

At the same time, users have become more critical when dealing with content. They recognize whether it's just about quick likes and short-term success. They want to know what they get out of it. Communication at eye level is therefore more important than ever before - the days of one-sided interaction are over.

The focus is not on the brand, but on the customer. For companies today, it is essential to address the needs and fears as well as the respective situations of the target group.

Ideally, the entire digital experience should be a positive customer experience. Digital empathy can be seen and experienced by people in every ad, design, content and support. It is a differentiating feature and key competence in the online world.

My conclusion for successful marketing in 2023: Digital success depends largely on entrepreneurial empathy and the strategic ability to empathize.

Sources:

* Nir Eyal: "Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products"

The book has been so widely used in the recent past that it can be seen as a key driver for the design of fast, success and reward-oriented transaction generation in the relationship with customers.

** Nir Eyal & Julie Li-Eyal: "Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life"

*** see Edelman Trust Barometer 2022, worldwide and DE

Then take a look at the following links and read our other articles in this edge issue:

Ted Talk "The price of shame | Monica Lewinsky"

Article "Digital Empathy Framework"