THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE EMPATHY GAP

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

The Empathy Gap explains why we often underestimate how much a buyer's emotional state can influence their behavior and decisions. People — including your customers — suck at predicting how they'll feel and act in the future. Avoid asking customers to predict what they'll want (or buy) in the future when doing customer research and instead find the answer in their past behavior patterns. Factor in “hot” emotional states, like hunger or frustration, in advertising while also framing your product as the solution. Leverage buyers' rational emotional state to sell subscriptions by framing the purchase as a way to prevent a future “hot” emotional state.