Empathy as a Business Strategy
Alyssa Nolte
Predicting Your Customer's Next Move | Notorious Plant Killer | CEO of TruVue | Host of the Taking Back Monday Podcast
In the late 1980s, Nike was struggling to connect with female athletes. Despite dominating the sportswear market for men, they assumed they knew what women wanted—just smaller, pinker versions of their men’s products. It wasn’t until they started actually listening to female athletes and hearing what they truly needed that Nike turned things around. The brand shifted its focus to empowerment, launching campaigns like “If You Let Me Play” and creating products that addressed performance, not just style. The result? A massive surge in brand loyalty and revenue.
The lesson here is simple: empathy is a business strategy, not just a feel-good principle.
Listening Isn’t Empathy; Listening + Action Is
Companies can get caught in the “listening trap” where they send out surveys, hold customer roundtables, and gather feedback through every channel imaginable. But what good is all that data if it doesn’t lead to meaningful action? Collecting insights is only half the equation. The real value comes from showing customers and employees that their feedback leads to change. Empathy isn’t about hearing complaints—it’s about using that information to make tangible improvements. If you’re not acting on what you hear, you’re just checking boxes, not building trust.
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Why Empathy Is Your Secret Revenue Driver
When executed well, empathy isn’t just a soft skill; it’s a strategic asset that drives measurable business results. When you listen and act, you increase customer lifetime value, lower churn, and even boost cross-sell and upsell opportunities. Customers who feel understood are more likely to stay loyal, advocate for your brand, and spend more over time. For leaders, empathy translates directly into revenue growth and better employee engagement. The competitive edge comes from gathering insights and translating them into targeted, impactful strategies.
Scaling Empathy at Speed: The One-Way Door Dilemma
As companies grow, scaling empathy can feel like a luxury you can’t afford. But the key lies in operationalizing it without sacrificing speed. In our episode with Matt Sims, we explored the idea of one-way versus two-way doors. Empathy-driven initiatives should largely operate as two-way doors—actions you can take quickly and adjust if they don’t land right. This flexibility allows teams to move fast while still keeping a pulse on what matters most to customers and employees. The result? You maintain that personal connection while continuing to scale and innovate.
Putting Empathy Into Action
For me, it boils down to a simple truth: if you’re not prepared to act on what you hear, don’t bother asking in the first place. It’s easy to gather feedback and move on to the next shiny objective, but empathy isn’t a checkbox—it’s a commitment. For those of you in leadership, remember that empathy isn’t just about addressing pain points; it’s about driving growth and loyalty through action.
Helping Customer Success execs in B2B SaaS hit their revenue targets 🎯 | Grow from $10M to $100M ARR 🚀 | Build their brand as a leader that gets results, every time⚡
3moEmpathy is the key to connection, with your team and your customers. We don’t need empathy when we’re working with people who think like us, with similar experiences as us. But it’s the only way to connect with people in an increasingly diverse world. I didn’t always believe it. But now that I’ve seen it, I can’t unsee it.
Amen!
As an enabler of high performance, I respect people, optimise processes, boost efficiency, develop leadership, and nurture cultures of continuous improvement and excellence that drive sustainable success.
3moSpot on, Alyssa Nolte! Empathy isn’t just a soft skill, it’s paramount to success! When we actively listen to our people and take prompt, considered action based on what we've heard, empathy becomes a powerful catalyst for growth. Think about it in a different context: Would you stay in a relationship with someone who fails to show empathy? You’d likely leave, and seek out someone who does. So why should it be any different in the workplace? Treat empathy as a core strategic tool, not just a checkbox, and watch your culture and results soar.