Empathy Map Template for User Research

One per distinct user type that your product serves. Most products have 2-4 key user types. Create a separate empathy map for each. If you are building a B2B product, you likely need at least two: one for the buyer and one for the daily user. They have very different Says, Thinks, Does, and Feels patterns.

A [user persona](/templates/user-persona-template) is a fictional archetype that combines demographics, goals, and behaviors into a narrative character. An empathy map is a structured capture of real observations about a user type. Personas are useful for aligning a large organization around a shared mental model. Empathy maps are useful for grounding a small team in actual user data before making product decisions. Many teams create empathy maps first and later synthesize them into personas.

Yes. For B2C, the user and buyer are typically the same person. For B2B, you often need separate empathy maps for the buyer (who evaluates and purchases) and the user (who uses the product daily). Their pain points, motivations, and behaviors are usually very different.

Update after every significant batch of customer research: quarterly at minimum, or after 5+ new interviews with the mapped user type. The map should reflect your current understanding, not a snapshot from six months ago. If your product has shipped major changes, the "Does" quadrant will need refreshing.

For in-person sessions: a whiteboard or large poster paper divided into four quadrants, with sticky notes. For remote sessions: Miro or FigJam with a pre-built empathy map template. The key is that every participant can add notes simultaneously. Turn-taking slows the exercise and biases toward the loudest voice. ---