Empathy map: what it is, how to create one, and step-by-step template

What is an empathy map

An empathy map is a visual tool that organises what you know (and what you need to discover) about your ideal customer across six key areas. It forces you to step out of your company perspective and think from the user's mind.

It was created by Dave Gray as part of the user-centred design methodology and has become a standard tool in design thinking, UX research, product development, and of course, conversion rate optimisation.

The premise is straightforward: if you deeply understand your user -- their motivations, frustrations, fears, and desires -- you can design experiences, messages, and offers that connect with them at a far more effective level than if you only work with demographic data.

The 6 quadrants of an empathy map

An empathy map is divided into six sections that surround the user:

1. What do they think and feel?

What is going on in the user's mind: their main concerns, aspirations, what keeps them up at night. This includes unexpressed fears, secret ambitions, and emotions that influence their decisions.

Guiding questions:

• What really worries them?
• What would make them feel successful?
• What fears do they have about the purchase decision?

2. What do they see?

The user's environment: what they see in their market, in their competition, on social media, in their professional circle. What they see influences their expectations and perception of value.

Guiding questions:

• What competitor offers do they see?
• What are their colleagues or competitors doing?
• What content do they regularly consume?

3. What do they hear?

External influences: what colleagues, their boss, friends, the media, and industry influencers tell them. These voices shape their opinions and decisions.

Guiding questions:

• What do the people who influence them say?
• What do their colleagues recommend?
• What narratives prevail in their industry?

4. What do they say and do?

Observable behaviour: how they behave publicly, what they say in meetings, how they interact with products similar to yours. There are often differences between what users say and what they actually do.

Guiding questions:

• How do they describe their problem to others?
• What actions do they take to solve it?
• What tools do they currently use?

5. Pains

The obstacles, frustrations, and risks the user perceives. Pains are the engine for seeking solutions: the greater the pain, the greater the urgency to resolve it.

Guiding questions:

• What frustrates them about current solutions?
• What risks do they perceive in switching?
• What prevents them from making a decision?

6. Gains

What the user expects to obtain, the results they consider a success, and the aspirations that motivate them. Gains tell you what to promise and how to communicate your value proposition.

Guiding questions:

• What outcome would they consider a success?
• How would they measure the value of a solution?
• What would make them recommend your product to others?

How to create an empathy map step by step

Step 1: Define the segment

An empathy map is created for a specific segment, not for "all customers." If you have several buyer personas, you need one map for each.

Step 2: Collect real data

Do not fill the map with assumptions. Use real sources:

Data source	What it provides	How to access
Customer interviews	Motivations, language, deep pains	5-10 interviews of 30 min
Support tickets	Recurring frustrations, real language	Review last 100 tickets
Reviews and testimonials	Perceived benefits, objections	Google, Trustpilot, G2
Session recordings	Real behaviour on the website	Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity
On-site surveys	Intent, barriers, satisfaction	Hotjar Surveys, Typeform
CRM data	Purchase patterns, sales cycle	HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive

Step 3: Fill in each quadrant

With the collected data, fill in each section of the map. Use verbatim customer quotes whenever possible: "I need something that works without having to call IT every time" is much more powerful than "Wants technological autonomy."

Step 4: Identify patterns and contradictions

Look for:

• Patterns: themes that repeat across multiple quadrants (for example, fear of change appears in "thinks and feels," in "pains," and in what they "hear" from colleagues).
• Contradictions: differences between what they say and what they do (says price does not matter, but always asks for discounts).

Step 5: Connect with concrete actions

The map is not an academic exercise. Each insight must translate into an action:

Map insight	CRO action
Fears making the wrong decision	Add money-back guarantee and data-backed testimonials
Does not understand technical jargon	Simplify the landing page copy
Compares 3-4 options before deciding	Create a comparison page vs. competitors
Their boss needs to approve the purchase	Offer a downloadable PDF with ROI for sharing
Says they want "something easy to use"	Highlight ease of implementation in the hero section

Empathy map vs. buyer persona

The empathy map and buyer persona are complementary, not interchangeable:

• Buyer persona: semi-fictional profile with demographics, job title, industry, goals, and challenges. It is descriptive.
• Empathy map: deep analysis of the user's emotional and cognitive experience. It is exploratory.

The buyer persona tells you who your customer is. The empathy map tells you what they feel, what drives them, and what holds them back. Use the buyer persona as a starting point and the empathy map as a tool for deeper understanding.

How the empathy map improves conversion

The empathy map directly impacts conversion because:

1. It improves copy: when you know exactly which words your customer uses to describe their problem, your copy connects instantly.
2. It prioritises objections: you identify the real barriers to purchase and can proactively address them on your landing page.
3. It optimises the value proposition: you understand which gains are most important and can highlight them in your hero section.
4. It reduces friction: you discover which process steps generate anxiety and can simplify them or add trust elements.
5. It personalises the experience: different segments have different pains. You can create specific landing page versions for each one.

Common mistakes when creating an empathy map

1. Filling it with assumptions

If the marketing team fills in the map in a meeting room without real data, the result reflects what the company believes the customer feels, not what they actually feel. Always start from data: interviews, reviews, recordings.

2. Making it too generic

"Wants to save time and money" applies to anyone on the planet. Useful insights are specific: "Spends 3 hours a week generating reports nobody reads, and that frustrates them because they could be with clients."

3. Not updating it

The empathy map has an expiry date. Your customers' needs, fears, and expectations change. Review it every 6-12 months or when there are significant changes in your market.

4. Not connecting it with actions

A nice map stuck on the office wall does not improve conversion. Each insight should become a testable improvement hypothesis for your website.

How to start today

1. Choose your most important customer segment (the one generating the most revenue).
2. Collect 5 interviews or review 50 recent support tickets.
3. Fill in the map with verbatim quotes and observed patterns.
4. Identify the 3 most recurring pains and 3 most desired gains.
5. Translate them into improvement hypotheses for your main landing page.

The empathy map is the bridge between quantitative data (analytics, heatmaps, conversion rates) and qualitative understanding of why users do what they do. Without that why, optimisation is blind.

To discover what frictions are preventing your visitors from becoming customers, start with a free audit at Scan&Boost.

If you want a professional analysis of your user experience and a data-driven optimisation plan, discover our CRO agency service.

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Adrià Vidal is the founder of Boost. +1,000 optimisation actions, +47.8% average conversion increase per client, +7.8M EUR in additional revenue generated.