What I Learned about Marketing from Toby

Toby is my daughter’s dog. Here’s what he taught me.

During a recent visit with my daughter it became obvious that our dog, Desi, was at the end of his days. The rest of the day was wrenching and when we got back to my daughter’s home my wife lay down and immediately passed out. Toby jumped up, lay down with his back against her side, and also fell asleep

That’s the lesson, pure and simple. Empathy. It comes from our core and is its own reward. It’s important to speak of empathy in the same breath as B2B marketing and sales because, B2B is and has always been personal. Empathy is a building block of the relationships we need that, in turn, build long-term success.

Psychology Today has a pretty specific definition of empathy that fits this like a glove, or perhaps a dog’s “thunder coat”:

Empathy is the ability to recognize, understand, and share the thoughts and feelings of another person, animal, or fictional character. Developing empathy is crucial for establishing relationships and behaving compassionately. It involves experiencing another person’s point of view, rather than just one’s own, and enables … helping behaviors that come from within.

Here are some hints that Toby has shared with me to up your EQ or, in this case, empathy quotient.

· Check your perspective. Are your mind and heart, are your ears, open or closed? Within this specific situation are you Irritable, ready to move on, thinking about what to say next?

· Uncheck the judgement box. Have you seen this video? Are you going back and reading the list of wrongs that render this person and situation foregone and foretold?

· Open yourself and communicate the understanding, in word and deed. Become part of their team.

Bottom line: empathy is a strong competitive differentiator. In fact, it may be what your customers value most.

Empathy is not coming from AI. You’re going to have to do this one yourself.