In a recent post, I wrote about the importance of understanding the irrational tendencies of our prospects. It is the key to discovering meaningful ways to connect with those we hope to serve. In order to do this, we need to examine the motivations and emotions that drive those tendencies. Here are a few good tools to do just that.

1. Personas - by creating a persona of the person we hope to serve, we delve into what makes him and/or her tick. We begin to describe who they are and how they think. We document the things that give us insight into the emotionally-driven decisions they make. Here is a good overview and a free tool for you to use.

2. Empathy Map - an empathy map is tool that comes out of in human-centered design. It can help you and your stakeholders gain agreement on the behaviors and attitudes of prospects by examining what they say, what they think, what they feel, and what they do. Here is a more in-depth explanation along with some samples of different empathy maps.

3. Customer Journey Mapping - this tool helps you document the stages that prospects go through when making a decision. It's great for reminding us that a decision is not a binary choice in just one moment, but a series of decisions over time. Customer Journey Mapping can help us understand how to better serve our prospects no matter where they are in their journey. Check out this post for a deeper dive.

4. Thrust Story Framework - stories are ancient and enduring. And for good reason. Nothing connects with our emotions like a story. The Thrust Story Framework lays out a seven-stage method for connecting with your prospects by crafting the emotional story your brand tells. For more on the framework, check out this post.