Empathy and Sociological Imagination

Marketing begins with empathy which in turn begins with sociological imagination.  In order to empathize with someone, we need to be able to imagine what it’s like to be them – not just to be in their shoes, but to really be them.  What are their beliefs, their fears, and their culture.  Understanding where someone is coming from enables us to look beyond ourselves, to reach the other person, and to connect to that person. This imagination, this attempt to understand where someone else is coming from is called sociological imagination and can enable us to successfully interact with other people who are not from our own culture.  It is something that marketers the world over must do before they even think about selling a product, a service, or even themselves.  So, to bring this full circle, to successfully sell to another person, we must first be able to reach that person.  To successfully reach that person we must be able to imagine what it must be like to be that person – and that, my friend, is what empathy is all about.