Empathy Map Template: Fill In the Updated Canvas Online

How to create an empathy map with this template

This template follows the empathy map canvas Dave Gray updated in 2017, the version that puts a goal at the top and numbers the blocks. Fill it in order and you'll be done in about twenty minutes.

1. Pick one person and one decision

   Done

   In block 1, write who you're looking at (not “our customers,” but someone specific, with an age and a situation). In block 2, what they need to do or decide. The whole map revolves around that decision.

2. Fill in what you can observe

   Done

   Blocks 3 to 6 are what they see, say, do and hear. Keep each item short and, whenever you can, quote interviews, reviews or customer emails word for word.

3. Finish on the inside

   Done

   Block 7 is what they think and feel, split into pains and gains. It comes last because you infer it from everything else.

4. Take it with you

   Done

   Copy it as text, save it as a one-page PDF or copy the prompt that turns it into ad angles. It's saved only in your browser.

Empathy map example, block by block

This is the example the template loads: Mike, who runs a landscaping company and needs a scheduling app.

Block	Guiding question	Example
1. Who	Who they are and their situation	Mike, 46, owns a 12-person landscaping company in Dallas
2. Need to do	The decision they face	Pick an app his crews will actually use
3. See	Their world and the market	Younger competitors booking jobs online
4. Say	What you've heard them say	“My guys won't use another app”
5. Do	What they do today	Runs the schedule on a whiteboard and group texts
6. Hear	What others tell them	A friend dropped his software after three months
7. Think and feel	What they won't say out loud	Worries he looks old-school
Pains	Fears and frustrations	Double-booked crews, invoices a week late
Gains	What they want	Getting paid the day the job is done

More empathy map examples: ecommerce, B2B and a local restaurant

Mike's map shows you the template; these three change the industry. They are made-up scenarios for this page, not real customers.

Business	Who and what they decide	Pain	What they say	Gain
Ecommerce running shoes	Dan, 28, buying his first serious pair	Sizes vary by brand and returns are a hassle	“I can't tell if they'll fit without trying them on”	The right fit the first time, with free returns
Local lunch spot	Ana, office worker with a 45-minute break	Waiting without knowing if there's a table	“If it's slow, I'm going somewhere else”	Eating well and getting back to her desk on time
Billing software for accountants	Raul, runs an 8-person accounting firm	Migrating data and clients noticing mistakes	“I can't afford a month of chaos”	Closing the quarter without overtime

Each row ends up as a different ad: the shoe store would tackle the fear of returns, the restaurant the rush, and the software the migration.

Empathy map questions to ask your customers, block by block

An empathy map is only as good as what goes in it, and the best material comes from short interviews. The rule from Rob Fitzpatrick's book The Mom Test applies here: ask about the last time something happened, not about what people might do someday.

Block	Question to ask
See	What other options did you look at before choosing?
Say	What did you tell a friend about this when you bought it?
Do	Walk me through the last time you bought one. What did you do first?
Hear	Who did you ask for advice, and what did they tell you?
Think and feel	What almost stopped you from buying?
Pains	What was the most annoying part of the process?
Gains	What would have made this an easy yes?

After five or six conversations, you will usually start hearing the same answers.

How to use a customer empathy map in marketing

Each block hands you a piece of the campaign. Pains are your hooks, gains are your promise, what they say and hear are the objections you need to answer, and what they see tells you who you're really up against. Once you have your angles, figure out what it'll cost to test them with the CPM calculator.

Empathy map vs. buyer persona

A buyer persona describes your typical customer: who they are, their goals, where they get information and what makes them buy. An empathy map zooms in on that person at one moment, facing one decision, and pulls out what they feel. They work best together, a habit borrowed from design thinking: build the profile first with the buyer persona template, then make an empathy map for each big decision. And if your goal is to turn that person into a contact, start with what a lead is in marketing and how to get more.

Frequently asked questions about empathy maps

01

What is an empathy map?

It's a one-page snapshot of what a specific person sees, says, does, hears, thinks and feels while facing a decision, plus their pains and the gains they want. It keeps your whole team talking about the same customer instead of a vague average. In marketing, you use it to write ads, landing pages and emails in the customer's own words, and to spot objections before they cost you sales.

02

What are the four main elements of an empathy map?

In the classic four-quadrant version, popularized by Nielsen Norman Group for UX work, they're Says, Thinks, Does and Feels, with the user in the middle. Dave Gray's updated canvas from 2017 goes further: it adds a goal at the top (who you're empathizing with and what they need to do), splits Sees and Hears into their own blocks and adds pains and gains. This template uses the updated version.

03

Is there an empathy map template in Canva or Miro?

Yes, both have visual templates, and they're great for workshops where several people post sticky notes at once. What they don't give you is the guiding questions, a filled-in example or a prompt that turns the map into ads. A good workflow: fill it in here, hit “Copy as text,” and paste each block into Miro or Canva if you need it to look polished for a client.

04

How is an empathy map used in UX?

UX teams fill one in right after user research, using real quotes and observations from interviews or usability tests. It helps the team agree on who they're designing for before they jump into personas, journey maps or wireframes. The rule that matters most: separate what you actually heard from what you assume, and treat every assumption as something to test in the next round of research.

05

How does an empathy map fit into design thinking?

It belongs to the first stage, empathize, before you define the problem. In design thinking, the team fills the map with what it observed and heard in interviews, then uses it to frame the challenge from the user’s point of view. A map full of guesses is a signal to talk to more people before building anything. In marketing, it plays the same role before you write an ad or a landing page.