the power of empathy in a big data world (presented to chicago interactive design & development...

"[bt] | Brand Therapy

The Power of Empathy in a Big Data World

Gaining Insights Though Empathy-Based Personas

Chicago Interactive Design & Development Meetup

February 13, 2014

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Esteban González

Founder and Lead Strategist of Brand Therapy.

We are an insights, strategy and ideas boutique devoted to creating healthy, sustainable brand relationships.

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Customers are king, right?

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Every organization knows it has to be “customer-centric” these days, right?

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Started with what we know about members

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They invest tons of time and resources gathering tons of information about them…

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Why does it often seem, though, that this is really how they see them?

I ♥ ur brand

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Personas have been a tool

Personas have been a valuable tool for developing a richer, more human picture of the customer…

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But we live in a time of big data, now don’t we…

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Personas have been a tool “Here’s a simple rule for the second machine age we’re in now: as the amount of data goes up, the importance of human judgment should go down…

The practical conclusion is that we should turn many of our decisions, predictions, diagnoses, and judgments—both the trivial and the consequential—over to the algorithms.”

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This is a little disconcerting, because a lot of what we do is about human judgment,

particularly of relationships…

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Especially this one…

People

Behaviors Attitudes

Brands

Positioning

Competition

Interests

Society

Culture

Purchasing Advocacy

Loyalty

Social Media

Core Beliefs Relationships

Affiliations

Family & Friends

Status

Marketplace

Communications

Values & Traits

Identity

Media Context

Channels

Partnerships

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A very smart guy once said,

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“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”

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Or, as we say…

Information ≠

Insight

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Our view…

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We think personas are about more than putting a human face on increasingly more data…

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The brand strategy

How can they do all this?

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They bring something very powerful into the equation…

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Empathy adds context. It’s a tool that allows us to separate what’s meaningful from what’s a nice fact, but not really an insight…

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Empathy lets us see ourselves and how we work in a different light…

1.  More like a team

2.  More human

3.  More in concert and complementary

4.  Less like silos

5.  Less about describing, more about creating

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The brand strategy

Our approach to Personas…

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The point isn’t to ignore the facts, but to entertain a different way of seeing them — and ultimately, of using them…

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So, even if we start with demographic or behavioral data like this…

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Or with complex crunching of social data like this…

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The key is how we process all the bits of information we have…

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Draw on our own empathy

  Historically, most CARA members are women

  Almost half of members are between 30 and 45 years of age

  Members most often cite they like the camaraderie and friendships, taking care of the lakefront, and personal motivation

  Frequent needs identified in surveys and our focus groups: better programs for a broader range of runners, from beginners to elites

  Most people identify “runner advocacy” as a key CARA activity, few, though, know what this is

  Marathon training accounts for only a quarter of members at any given time, but over half of members will participate in a program

  They are successful people: over 2/3 have incomes over $75k; 2/5 earn over $100k

  Just over half (54%) live in Chicago, and just under half (44%) live in the suburbs; members want more programs outside the city/north side

  Newer members made up the largest group of respondents to the 2011 membership survey

  Member running styles range; most report they run between 11 and 20 miles a week 28

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Patterns that can shift how we think about audiences…

Demographics Web transactions Retail purchases Social behavior

Emotional drivers behind preferences, connections, tastes, attitudes and values

Things we can measure

Things that speak to empathy

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We make a Model…

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We break down the traditional ways of describing customers and make it more like knowing an individual…

1.  Their ideas about status

2.  The things they trust

3.  Their comfort zones

4.  Their affinities for things

5.  How they act in groups

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My first reaction to challenges that cross my path is to…

Look for new options ahead Second-guess my previous decisions

When I walk to work or one of my favorite places, I…

Stick to the way I know Try a new way each time

I find groups like CARA attractive for their…

Fun, friendships, and camaraderie Expertise, resources, and benefits

I set personal and professional goals for myself…

To stay motivated, inspired To keep me ahead of others

When I think of volunteering, it’s more about…

A responsibility to give back A personal choice to give back

Working in groups, professionally or with friends, I tend to…

Get along to go along Be the squeaky wheel

My interests and passions are…

About mastering new things About sanity and balance

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1.  Build confidence in the data

2.  Trigger a personal connection

3.  Prompt emotional details beyond a simple story

4.  Surface subtle differences in experiences and attitudes

5.  Stimulate discussion

The point is to provoke…

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Collaborate, collaborate, and then collaborate some more…

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A diverse, cross-functional group of participants helps us not be beholden to titles or silos…

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Empathy is a personal experience…

It becomes transformational when it happens in a group working together.

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Motivations — the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way; the general desire or willingness of someone to do something

Aspirations — a hope or ambition of achieving something; the object of such an ambition; a goal

Fears — a feeling of anxiety concerning the outcome of something or the safety and well-being of someone

Frustrations — the feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of inability to change or achieve; the prevention of the progress, success, or fulfillment of something

We brainstorm about things like…

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The Results

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We give each persona a face and a name…

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In the end, though, it’s about more than a process or a deliverable…

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It’s about a focus group of “real” (imaginary) individuals…

Brenda Heidi Larry Beverly

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  Intense runner, 45   A “true believer”   Accomplished and

respected professional   High expectations of the

organization

  Competitive runner, 28, a transplant from NYC

  Very focused on herself   Consumer minded, benefits

are there for her   A new prospect

  A returning runner, 50   Runs for fitness, to

maintain his health   Management, hard worker

and provider   Easy, convenient “me” time

  Casual fitness runner, 34   Runs for fun, stay fit, to

connect with friends   Busy realtor, busy mom   Looking for a friendly and

smart running “mentor”

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That can lead us to understand the customer journey in new ways…

“I’ve been a runner forever

and all my friends know

me as a runner. I’m out there on the

lake year ‘round. Just like a crazy person…”

“I need to see CARA is about running as a life choice,

and I need it to be a

buttoned-up leader

affecting greater

change. I get excited by the

Roads Scholars,

runner diversity, etc.

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“I learned about CARA a long time ago. It had quite a

reputation and was a big part

of running history in

Chicago…”

“I need to see there’s

something for every person and a path for growth. From just enjoying running more

to making running better

for everyone…”

I can run on my own. I

need CARA to have matured

like I have: there are

serious issues impacting

Chicagoans’ running life.

CARA should tackle

those…”

“I became more involved when I needed

more challenge: my PRs, races,

training for the marathon — and I loved

how they were a watchdog for

the lakefront…”

“I needed the excitement of being part of a

kind of movement, and I was a

true believer. I needed that

sense of mission…”

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Help us validate and refine the ways we speak to them…

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All of this is possible when Empathy is baked into the process…

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Absorb data and look for patterns

Make research user-friendly

Collaborate, provoke and conspire

Dive into what’s available. Get your hands dirty with guerrilla ethnography.

Take what you know and turn it sideways. Find dimensions that make human sense.

With human truths, everyone can contribute. Be ready for the baggage to surface.

Start with stories that ring true

Derail data-think. Empathy comes from people seeing things in familiar terms.

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“Empathy will be like literacy was in the 1300s. Without it, one will be marginalized and unable to

function professionally."

Bill Drayton, social entrepreneur, founder of Ashoka

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“The single tool that does the best job at spreading empathy throughout a business is the Persona."

Peter Merholz, Harvard Business Review

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With Empathy, the relationship feels a little more two-way…

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Thinking creatively becomes like having a conversation…

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Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity

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It changes the game.

[bt] "Thank You

[bt] | Brand Therapy

Esteban González esteban@brandtherapy.us 914.414.7104 Chicago, IL

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