Empathy, but make it a Product Strategy

What does empathy have to do with your brand’s product strategy?

Empathy (quite rightly) gets a lot of cred as a leadership value. We know that it’s a game-changer for organizations.

But, what happens when you apply the same principle to your design process?

I often meet with brands who are engaging in A LOT of research: competitive knowledge, market trends, ai-driven forecasting, product tech, etc. All useful data points, of course!

But, 9 times out of 10, apparel teams are missing one crucial component:

Understanding their customer.

Before you research competitors, TikTok trends, pop culture or denim rises - the number one piece of ongoing research to invest in is:

Talking to your customer.

Why?

This research will change your customer from someone you talk about in sales meetings into a living, breathing human that you know on a first-name basis.

It empowers you to put yourself in your customer’s shoes - allowing you to build empathy WITH them and FOR them.

When you understand your customer’s (present and *future*) daily lives, values, aspirations, pain points, and fears - you can uncover true product needs. The ones that aren’t affected by changing tastes and trends (or the economy).

You can create products that truly improve their lives - making them feel seen and understood - building trust and loyalty in a crowded marketplace.

Want to learn more?

Download Moonshot’s new report that explores the best examples of empathy-powered fashion and how it drives growth & loyalty for brands.