Think, Feel, Say, Do Framework

Description

The purpose of the Think, Say, Feel, Do Framework is to identify the desired outcome of a marketing initiative from the perspective of a customer. This framework relates to the Empathy Map originally created by Dave Gray. It can be used by marketers when planning a campaign or writing a creative brief to describe the ‘gap to be closed’ in a more relatable and human way. The categories of think, say, feel, and do cover different facets that both motivate and describe customer behaviour. This framework can help marketing teams to identify more granular customer-focused objectives and metrics, and develop more empathetic marketing solutions.

Question

How do we want our marketing initiative to impact our target customers?

Think, Feel, Say, Do Framework

Steps

  1. Define the scope of the marketing initiative that you are exploring and the profile of the customer you are targeting. If you have multiple target customer profiles, you will need to create multiple frameworks.

  2. Describe the current state of how your target customer thinks (impressions), feels (emotions), says (expressions), and does (actions) relative to your marketing initiative. Use valid customer research.

  3. In the row below, describe the change that you would like to see as a result of your marketing initiative. While some columns may be more relevant to what you are trying to accomplish, complete them all.

  4. Review the results through the lens of your marketing initiative. Revise any changes that are desirable but beyond the scope of your initiative. Highlight those changes that are the most important for you to achieve.

  5. Use the completed Think, Feel, Say, Do framework as an input to your marketing planning. Reflect the customer-focused changes you are trying to achieve in the success metrics of your creative brief.

Considerations

  • Use actual customer research such as customer interviews and surveys to eliminate bias or assumptions

  • When completing the framework, look for gaps or questions that require additional customer research

  • Use the Think, Feel, Say, Do framework in conjunction with empathy maps or customer personas, where available

References

Gray, D., Brown, S. & Macanufo, J. Gamestorming – A playbook for innovators, rulebreakers and changemakers. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc. 2013