Empathy Map

Effective marketing requires a strong understanding of your customer. In order to do that, you must gain empathy for your target market to understand what it is they want and need. It is important to recognize their stage of life, their environment, and to consider their thoughts and feelings. I am doing this observation of empathy in order to understand someone at a different life stage than me. I am hoping to grow in the ability to observe a person and understand what things are most important to them.

 

My specimen, Brian, is someone I met recently that has become a role model for me. Brian is a 26 year old male beginning his navigation through the working world. He graduated from a large university and worked in a large company for a couple years before realizing he was ready to start his own business. He left his “safe” job and chased his passion of technology. Brian has a good amount of savings from his last job, but is making sure to save where he can while building his business and reputation.

 

 

 

Brian works from home. He conducts no business in his house other than through his computer, so a professional atmosphere is not a major concern outside of his workspace. Work is in cyber world and social life is in the physical world. Time is spent in the area of Dallas where many other young professionals live. He likes to go out and experience new things with his friends like traveling, concerts, and just interacting with all people.

 

 

 

 

The life of a young entrepreneur is fast paced and exciting. Brian has a high level of energy and is very outgoing. His entrepreneurial spirit is always chasing adventure and looking for new experiences. People’s perception of him is right in line with who he is, for the most part. With a normal day consisting of computer work and friends, Brian is usually dressed casually, but clean and professional. He seems youthful in spirit, but mature at heart. When you first meet him, he only wants to hear about you and is genuinely interested in you as a person. He may be a new friend, but feels like an old friend very quickly. Brian is eager to know and help anyone he can.

 

 

Brian seeks input from important people in his life. He has a close friend group from college that has a large influence on his life. All of his friends work, and many of them are married. He is not married yet, but may feel some subconscious pressure to move that direction from the amount of marriage talks he hears from close friends. A young professional his age is trying to balance home life, work life, and love life. The pursuit of a partner is probably a thought that lingers at the front of his mind.

 

Chasing dreams is an act of courage. There is a great deal of risk that comes with pioneering your way into an industry rather than walking a path laid out by a company. Brian is chasing his dream of technology and learning to be flexible while learning his trade and customers every day. He worries that he will not be able to meet his customers’ expectations and occasionally the stability of his field. He also has the task of building a reputation and acquiring new business. The choice to be in Dallas over California is also a hurdle. There is a high concentration of technology developers out in California where he could be more competitive, but wants to be successful in Texas. Aside from professional concerns, Brian works to keep his personal life balanced. Working for yourself, from home can cause you to lose touch with personal relationships. A balance between working alone and time with people close to him is important to keep up emotional health. On some level, I assume he may also even fear never settling down. Regardless of what he actually wants, the“norm” is that he finds someone soon. I feel this may conflict with the world he loves to see and the experiences he likes to chase.

 

There are many ways to aid Brian in increasing his day to day efficiency. The things he is most interested are his family, friends, and the development of his career. Any ability to improve his ability to balance his life would be beneficial. He would like to grow his business, maintain important relationships, and find someone to settle down with. I think he will measure his success by all these dimensions of his life. Monetary success is by no means his utmost focus. He wants to do the things he loves and be with the people he loves. The only thing that could stand in his way of continuing in the direction he wants to go is losing his balance in life. Each aspect is so important that he would not be as happy if one started to take over another.