Have you ever considered using a stakeholder empathy map? How much time and resources went into it? And how often do you think a product marketing team needs to refresh it? Thanks

Its always good practice to have a stakeholder map. The goal of this document (which I prefer to keep at at individual level) is to remind yourself of who should be included in decisions such as launches, campaigns, sales motions, pricing, web changes etc. Information you need in this could be:

• Name, title, relationship
• What should they expect from you
• What should you expect from them
• RACI for their involvement in key processes. E.g. R for pricing, or I for launches, etc

Create one of these within your first 30 days of starting a job or taking on a new role, and update every 6 months. It will take some time in the beginning, but its completely worth it.

Absolutely! While I haven't used a formal empathy map, I rely heavily on DACI charts (Driver, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) for every project. It's like an empathy map focused on action. I map stakeholders, their goals, preferred communication channels, and roles (decision-maker, influencer, etc.). Every product or launch demands a refresh to capture evolving dynamics.

I have never considered making an empathy map. Empathy mapping is a time-consuming task that often doesn't produce actionable insights. Empathy maps are also limited in scope and only help visualize a specific problem.

Instead, I recommend focusing on how you show up at work. This is a repost from another question, but thought it was still relevant here:

1. Be Empathetic - Everyone has their challenges inside the office and at home. Successful people take the time to understand what's driving their colleagues and show genuine compassion and kindness, even when their colleagues are not at their best. People are drawn to those who try to understand or manage the whole person.

2. Be Authentic - Your most significant asset is the trust your colleagues put in you. Authenticity is built by continually showing as the same person, following up on your promises, and always telling the truth no matter how hard the news or opinion may be.

3. Proactively Listen - We want to be heard in every facet of our lives. Proactively listening and responding to the presented information builds connections by showing you care about what your colleague is saying.

4. Assume Positive Intent - Address issues early and assume your colleague was trying their best with the information they have.

5. Stay neutral and don't gossip - It's easy to spiral when bad things happen in the office. Don't get caught up because 1) you may not know all the details 2) you may isolate someone and 3) whatever you say will come around. Besides, people like those who build people up instead of piling on and bringing people down.

I haven’t specifically used stakeholder empathy maps, but I’ve built them for customers and the concept could be valuable for internal alignment. Here’s how I think about it:

1. Why it’s useful: Empathy maps help distill what stakeholders think, feel, and need. For example, mapping out what sales leaders care about (e.g., faster deal velocity, competitive positioning) versus what product cares about (e.g., feature adoption, customer satisfaction) can highlight shared goals and potential tension points.

2. Time and resources: A simple version could take as little as a few hours of brainstorming with cross-functional teams. For deeper insights, you might spend a week conducting stakeholder interviews or analyzing previous feedback. If it feels too formal, an empathy map can also evolve naturally by jotting down what you learn in meetings and 1:1s.

3. When to refresh: In product marketing, priorities shift based on launches, campaigns, and company goals. I’d recommend revisiting it quarterly or when there’s a major organizational change, like a new strategic focus or leadership shift.

4. What I’ve learned from customer empathy maps: Doing this for customers has taught me how powerful it is to visualize motivations and pain points. Applying that lens to stakeholders could foster better collaboration and alignment. For example, a sales leader may “say” they need better pricing tools but actually “feel” frustrated by slow enablement resources. An empathy map could help unpack and address both layers.