Empathy marketing during COVID-19 pandemic: decoding the impact and effectiveness on the brand image

[摘要] For brands, empathy can create a customer persona, which can help in effectively targeting their consumers. In terms of marketing, however, it means asking what customers truly value rather than what will sell. Moreover, by creating content that evokes empathy, consumers are more likely to take action – sharing, responding, and even prompting change within their communities. Nevertheless, why are brands suddenly realizing the power of empathy? This is because consumers today are not only interested in passively consuming content. Instead, they actively seek out content that prompts a change in themselves and the world around them. This need of the hour made the brand realize the power of effective communication and hence the rise of empathy as a useful marketing tool. The research used a qualitative approach to understand the effectiveness of Empathy marketing during the pandemic hit time. Focus Group Discussions were conducted to understand the importance and relevance of empathy-based communication. The findings established that this type of communication is useful and helps the consumer create a positive brand image and a recall, but this may not directly impact or lead to a purchase decision.

[学科分类] 环境科学（综合）

[关键词] Empathy;Perception;Brand image;Brand recall;Communication and marketing