At our latest agency book club, we discussed “Mean People Suck” by Michael Brenner, which highlights different ways we can infuse empathy into our work. Here are five key takeaways from our team. If you’re interested in reading the book, you can pick up a copy here.

1. Center your team around the customer. Traditional org charts encourage upward communication and separate departments into silos. Restructuring your organization as a bullseye with the customer at the center allows employees to better focus on the customer and their needs.
2. Be a champion leader. When managers champion the ideas of junior team members, it makes them feel more comfortable sharing, more feel valued and more satisfied with their jobs. Plus, you never know – a junior team member’s idea might just be the next big success for your business!
3. Build meaningful brands. Meaningful brands that share their purpose with their customers outperform other brands by more than 200%. The core purpose of these brands drives their decisions and actions, often resonating highly with their target as well as those beyond it.
4. Tell stories with empathy. Empathetic storytelling forges bonds that can increase business for your brand over time. Showing your target that you understand their pain point is much more likely to win them over than just promoting your product.
5. Find meaning in what you do. Loving what you do makes it easier to do it well. Your reason for being is a combination of these factors: What am I good at? What does the world need? What do I love? What are people willing to pay me to do?

Factoring empathy into your work can forge strong, loyal bonds with your audience and employees; while also shining a spotlight on your brand purpose.  Are you interested in infusing empathy and purpose into your brand strategy to meaningfully reach your target? Email Dana Arnold at darnold@hiebing.com to set up a call.