Empathetic Marketing: How To Connect With Your Customers with Michael Brenner, CEO

Most B2B teams don’t fail because they lack data, tools,
or automation.


They fail because buyers don’t trust them.


Modern buyers are highly informed, deeply skeptical, and allergic
to self-serving messaging. They can detect “we care about you”
theater in seconds.


Empathy isn’t a branding choice anymore. It’s the price
of entry.


In this conversation, I sat down with Michael Brenner, CEO
of
Marketing Insider Group, to unpack why empathy remains the most
underutilized advantage in B2B — and why most GTM systems quietly
erase it as companies scale.


Michael has led digital and content marketing at SAP and spent
the last decade helping teams move from “promote ourselves” to
“help the customer.”


Author’s note: This transcript is edited for clarity and
readability.
Quick Answer: Why Does Empathy Matter in B2B Marketing?

Empathy matters because buyers trust companies that
understand their context, pressures, and risks — not companies
that simply broadcast features.


In complex B2B sales, trust is built by helping buyers make
progress, not by persuading them harder.
Key Takeaways

Empathy is a GTM behavior, not a brand value

Automation often breaks empathy by stripping context

Helpful beats loud at every stage of the buyer journey

Organizations don’t “lose empathy” — systems quietly remove
it

Why This Conversation Still Matters

Most marketing teams aren’t struggling because they lack tools.


They’re struggling because they’ve lost the thread of the
customer as work moves from human conversation into systems,
dashboards, and handoffs.


Empathy breaks inside real GTM systems when meaning gets
dropped — during routing, scoring, automation, and
internal metrics.


If you want the broader framework behind this conversation, start
here:


What Empathy-Based Marketing Really Is (And Why Most B2B
Teams Miss It)

Human-Centered Marketing: How Empathy Beats Automation in B2B

The Empathy Paradox: Why Even Customer-Centric Marketers
Misunderstand Buyers

The Interview Brian: Can you tell us a little about your
background?

Michael: I’m excited to talk about empathy
because I think it’s a missing element in today’s landscape.


I’ve spent more than 20 years in sales, marketing, and leadership
roles. About ten years ago, I joined SAP as their first head of
digital marketing, then became VP of Global Content Marketing.


A lot of that work was about modernizing how SAP connected with
customers — not just digitally, but respectfully.


Today, I run Marketing Insider Group. I built it because I’ve
been inside corporate marketing teams. I understand the politics
and cultural friction that make change hard.


My focus now is helping marketers earn trust by being useful, not
loud.
Brian: What inspired you to write and speak more about empathy?

Michael: Executive conversations often go like
this: “We get digital. We get content. Now how do we make it
work?”


Even when ROI objections are removed, there’s still resistance.


There’s a natural instinct inside organizations to promote
themselves. And that instinct fights the thing that actually
works — putting the customer first.


Empathy is the missing element. And it’s missing in a lot of
corporate cultures and structures.
Brian: You’ve said empathy is counterintuitive. Why?

Michael: Businesses behave the way people do
socially — they put their best face forward.


It feels counterintuitive to believe you can sell more by talking
less about what you sell.


But the data keeps showing the same thing: the more you help
customers make progress, the more your business benefits.


Michael: “You can sell more stuff by not talking
about the stuff you sell.”
Brian: How do we overcome what you call “collective amnesia”?

Michael: Collective amnesia happens when we walk
into work and forget we’re real people marketing to real people.


Ad buyers may hate ads — yet still buy reach and frequency. That
disconnect fuels noise.


In a crowded market, the assumption becomes “the loudest wins.”
But shouting doesn’t create trust.
Brian: What do you wish marketers and sellers would do more?

Michael: Be helpful. That’s the secret.


We justify self-promotion by saying, “That’s just the game.”


But the best way to help your business is to help your customers.


Michael: “When you help your customers, that’s
the best way to help your business.”
Brian: Can you share an example of empathy breaking down?

Michael: Wells Fargo is a painful example.


I presented to their marketing team before the scandal broke. We
were discussing content and engagement as signals of customer
value.


A senior leader pushed back and said, “We buy reach and
frequency.”


That mindset treats marketing like broadcasting, not helping.


When the scandal became public, it felt less like a tactics
failure and more like a cultural one.


Values don’t exist unless organizations reward them.
Brian: What’s a positive example?

Michael: SAP.


Leadership didn’t just talk about empathy — they rewarded it.


Empathy became something people were recognized for internally,
and that showed up externally.
How SAP’s CEO Bill McDermott used empathy to build more powerful
teams
Brian: How can people “sell” empathy internally?

Michael: If you’re not the CEO, lead by
supporting customer-focused ideas — and the people behind them.


Ideas die without backing.


Empathy inside organizations often shows up through who gets
supported, promoted, and protected.
Brian: How can readers connect with you?

Michael: Visit
MarketingInsiderGroup.com.
You can also find me on LinkedIn and Twitter at
@BrennerMichael.
What to Take From This

Empathy isn’t a brand value. It’s a GTM
behavior.


It shows up in:


Whether your messaging reflects what buyers are trying to
solve — not what you’re trying to sell

Whether automation preserves context instead of flattening it

Whether you listen to real customer conversations and adjust
accordingly



If you want to turn empathy into operating discipline, start
here:


What Empathy-Based Marketing Really Is

Human-Centered Marketing

The Empathy Paradox

Bottom Line

Empathy isn’t about being nice.


It’s about earning trust in a market where buyers have every
reason to be skeptical.


If your GTM system strips empathy out at scale, buyers
feel it — and they opt out.


The companies that win aren’t louder.


They’re more helpful.
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