HubSpot Empathy Map Guide: Step-by-Step Tutorial

Understanding your customers at a deep emotional level is central to the HubSpot approach to customer experience. An empathy map is a simple, visual tool that helps your team see the world from the customer’s point of view so you can improve service, marketing, and product decisions.

This guide walks you through what an empathy map is, why it matters, and how to build one following the same principles used in the original HubSpot empathy map article.

What Is an Empathy Map in the HubSpot Framework?

An empathy map is a collaborative canvas that captures what a customer thinks, feels, says, and does in a specific situation. It translates scattered research into a clear snapshot of the customer’s inner and outer world.

In the HubSpot-style framework, an empathy map usually includes:

• Goal or scenario – the situation you are analyzing.
• Thinks – what is on the customer’s mind.
• Feels – emotions, worries, and motivations.
• Says – quotes, statements, and feedback.
• Does – actions, habits, and behaviors.
• Pains – obstacles, fears, and frustrations.
• Gains – desired wins and outcomes.

By organizing insights into these boxes, teams can quickly align on what really matters to customers.

Why Use a HubSpot-Style Empathy Map?

Following the empathy map method illustrated in HubSpot resources offers several advantages for growing teams.

• Customer-centric decisions – every feature, campaign, or process can be checked against real customer needs.
• Clearer personas – empathy maps deepen traditional personas with emotions and context.
• Stronger collaboration – support, sales, and marketing share one visual reference.
• Better messaging – copy and content reflect how customers actually speak and feel.
• Faster product discovery – pains and gains highlight what to build or improve next.

How to Prepare for a HubSpot Empathy Map Workshop

Before you create an empathy map, collect real customer insights. The original HubSpot article stresses grounding the map in data, not guesses.

1. Choose a Clear Customer Segment

Pick one primary persona or segment. Examples:

• New trial users evaluating your product.
• Long-term customers considering an upgrade.
• Leads who booked a demo but did not convert.

Each empathy map should focus on a single, well-defined group in a specific scenario.

2. Gather Customer Research

Use both qualitative and quantitative data. You can mirror the methods promoted by HubSpot in its service and research content.

• Customer interviews and user testing sessions.
• Call recordings and support tickets.
• Live chat and email transcripts.
• NPS and CSAT survey comments.
• Product usage or behavioral analytics.
• Reviews and social media comments.

Highlight sentences that reveal thoughts, feelings, frustrations, and goals. These will later be placed directly onto the map.

3. Select Tools and Templates

You can sketch an empathy map on a whiteboard, use sticky notes, or build it in a digital whiteboard tool. Many teams use a layout similar to the HubSpot example, with sections arranged around a central customer profile.

Step-by-Step: Building a HubSpot Empathy Map

Once your research is collected, invite a cross-functional group to a focused working session. Follow these practical steps.

Step 1: Define the Scenario and Customer

At the top of the empathy map, write a short description that combines the persona and the situation. For example:

• “Marketing manager testing a new automation tool during a 14-day trial.”
• “Customer success leader renewing an annual contract and considering alternatives.”

Agreeing on this context keeps every insight anchored to the same moment in the customer journey.

Step 2: Capture What the Customer Says

Start with direct quotes. Pull them from feedback and conversations, as shown in many HubSpot case studies.

• What exact words do customers use when they describe their problem?
• What do they say in sales calls or support chats?
• Which phrases repeat across interviews or surveys?

Write one quote per note and place it in the “Says” section.

Step 3: Map What the Customer Does

Next, list observable actions and behaviors.

• What steps do they take before, during, and after using your product?
• Which features do they try first or most often?
• How do they research options and make decisions?

Ground this section in real behavior data whenever possible.

Step 4: Explore What the Customer Thinks

Here you infer what is going through the customer’s mind. To align with best practices popularized by HubSpot, base your assumptions on evidence.

• What are they worried about but not saying out loud?
• What questions are they trying to answer?
• What beliefs or mental models shape their choices?

Use phrases like “I need to be sure that…” or “I’m not convinced that…” to phrase these internal thoughts.

Step 5: Capture What the Customer Feels

Now describe emotions: positive, negative, and mixed.

• Are they anxious about making a wrong choice?
• Excited by potential results?
• Frustrated by past tools or vendors?

Try to include intensity words such as “overwhelmed,” “relieved,” or “confident” for richer nuance.

Step 6: List Pains

Pains are the obstacles that stand between the customer and success.

• Time, budget, or knowledge constraints.
• Confusing setup or onboarding experiences.
• Lack of internal support or stakeholder buy-in.
• Previous negative experiences with similar tools.

These pains help support, product, and marketing teams prioritize what to fix first.

Step 7: List Gains

Gains are the outcomes the customer is hoping to achieve.

• Better results with less effort.
• Clarity, control, or peace of mind.
• Recognition from their boss or team.
• Reliable partners and consistent performance.

When you know these gains, you can position your solution more effectively.

Turning a HubSpot Empathy Map Into Action

Completing the map is only the beginning. The real value comes from how you apply it across your organization.

Align Internal Teams

Share the empathy map with marketing, sales, service, and product teams. Use it as a reference during:

• Campaign planning and content strategy meetings.
• Sales enablement and call script reviews.
• Product roadmap discussions and feature prioritization.
• Customer success playbook development.

This kind of shared understanding is a core theme in many HubSpot resources on customer alignment.

Improve Messaging and Content

Use real quotes and emotions from the empathy map to adjust your messaging.

• Headline ideas pulled from what customers actually say.
• FAQ sections based on their top questions and fears.
• Case studies that directly address key pains and gains.

The closer your language matches customer language, the more trustworthy and relevant your brand feels.

Refine Product and Service Experiences

Review each section of the empathy map and ask:

• Which pains can we remove or reduce quickly?
• Which gains can we highlight or accelerate?
• Where do our current processes increase frustration?

Turn these insights into specific improvements, such as clearer onboarding, better documentation, or feature enhancements.

Best Practices for Maintaining a HubSpot Empathy Map

Empathy maps are living documents. As your business grows, your understanding of the customer should evolve too.

• Update regularly – revisit maps after major launches or research projects.
• Validate with customers – share drafts in interviews to confirm assumptions.
• Version by journey stage – create different maps for awareness, consideration, and post-purchase stages.
• Connect to KPIs – link map insights to metrics like retention, NPS, or conversion rates.

Keep old versions so you can see how customer understanding has changed over time.

Next Steps and Helpful Resources

To deepen your practice, review the original guidance from HubSpot’s empathy map breakdown and apply it to your own personas.

If you want expert help implementing empathy-driven SEO, content strategy, and journey mapping, you can also explore consulting resources such as Consultevo for additional strategic support.

By building and maintaining an empathy map grounded in real customer research, your team can stay aligned, make smarter decisions, and deliver experiences that truly resonate.

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