What Does It Mean to Put Yourself in Your Customer’s Shoes?

It’s one of the most common pieces of marketing advice: put yourself in your customer’s shoes. But in healthcare marketing, especially in pharma, this goes far beyond writing a more empathetic subject line or tweaking your tone of voice. It means understanding the context your audience is in when they come across your message. And that context can change everything.

Why do pharma struggle to empathise?

Most pharma content is created with good intentions and strong evidence. But no matter how compelling the claims or how innovative the product, your message is only as effective as the moment it lands. If the timing, tone, or format doesn’t align with the day your customer is having, it won’t get through.

Healthcare professionals are not just decision-makers, who analyse data. They’re also people with overloaded schedules, multiple responsibilities, and limited attention. If your content shows up as one-sided, another sales pitch to dodge; it won’t land. But if it shows up with something they can use immediately, that’s a different story.

How can I put myself in the shoes of a healthcare professional?

Putting yourself in their shoes isn’t as hard as you might think. You’ve had that Monday morning where your inbox is already overwhelming and your day hasn’t even started. Or that Friday evening where the to-do list is still growing and you’re trying to split yourself between work and home. Start from that place, and imagine what kind of content you’d actually want to engage with. Not a cold call disguised as an email. Not a 30-minute video asking for time you don’t have. But something short, useful, and relevant.

Practicality builds trust. And trust begins when your message stops acting like a demand and starts feeling like a service. Instead of telling a doctor what they should care about, ask yourself what they already do care about, then shape your message around that.

You don’t need to dumb things down or strip away the science. It’s about being smart with how and when you deliver it. Because you really need to build connections and earn trust before trying to teach a professional about how they should treat their patients. The most powerful ideas and products in pharma won’t make an impact if they’re ignored at the inbox.

So whether you’re creating an email, a video, a live event or an internal resource, start with one simple question: “What does this person need, right now?” Answer that, give away the value for free, and you’ll move beyond attention-grabbing tactics and into something far more effective: genuine relevance.