Empathy vs. Sympathy

Empathy is a concept that plays a huge part in the marketing process. You need empathy to effectively communicate and build a relationship with a consumer. When this concept of empathy in marketing was first introduced to me the first thing I did was research the concept of empathy. I knew the general idea however, I figured a refresher wouldn't hurt. While looking up empathy, I came across the idea of empathy versus sympathy. I had always thought they were the same thing, and looking simply at the definitions I couldn't see much difference. However looking at the examples, was where I really found the difference between them. To give you a brief summary of the definitions, empathy is more understanding other's feelings where sympathy is more about acknowledging other's hardships and providing comfort or assistance. When looking at these definitions, they don't seem all that different, right? Understanding and acknowledging seem about the same, right? Well, when we take a look at examples we can fully understand how empathy is more useful in marketing and sympathy might be more useful in a caregiving profession such as a doctor or nurse.

For more on empathy vs. sympathy check out this link:

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Empathy_vs_Sympathy

My grandfather is a loving and generous man who within the past ten years has experienced a lot of change in his life. He spent a great majority of his life in Cleveland, Ohio but that changed when he was diagnosed with macular degeneration. With this change in his eyesight, he had to give up driving and ended up moving to my hometown in Eastern Montana so that my dad could be close and take care of him. This big move happened when I was in high school, so not only did I inherit a new car, but I also inherited my own adorable human to chauffeur around. After moving into his new apartment, the family started to notice he was having a very hard time hearing. Within a few weeks of a hearing test, my grandfather got a brand spankin' new pair of hearing aids.

My dad and grandfather at a Malta Mustang football game.
My grandpa loves listening to KMMR's broadcast of the game
with his trendy headphones.

For my grandfather having both his hearing and eyesight at about half effort, he faces a lot of challenges that I would never even think of. In the small town, he now lives in, watching high school sports is the big weeknight entertainment. Watching sports can be hard for my grandfather because of his eyesight. Lucky for him, the local radio station announces local games. My grandfather brings along his pocket radio and headphones to the games and listens to the commentary as he watches them. This is just one example of how my grandfather has adapted to life with eyesight difficulties.

My grandfather had a watch I have seen him wear my whole life, however when he began having symptoms of macular degeneration he couldn't see him watch face anymore. My parents went out and found him a watch that would tell him what time it was when he hit one of the buttons. This watch is an example empathy, my parents understood how frustrating it was for my grandfather to not be able to see his watch face and solved the problem. An example of sympathy is my grandfather's hearing aids. With the hearing aids, the batteries are much too small for my grandfather to change by himself. My dad acknowledges this and helps my grandfather change the batteries. 

If as marketers we really look into understanding the decisions and challenges of the lives of those around us we can make a huge difference in the world around us. I encourage everyone to have empathy for all those around you. Empathy is the difference between my grandfather needing someone to come change his hearing aid batteries and a new design where the hearing aids charge when put into their case at night. Empathy is the difference between my grandfather knowing the time himself, or having to ask someone. Empathy is the difference between a successful marketing campaign and a total flop.