Free Empathy Map Template
Start from a filled-in example, then map your own customer on the blank canvas. Says, thinks, does and feels, plus pains and gains, all filled from evidence: quotes from reviews, tickets and interviews. Then count how common each theme is and turn the top pains into actions.
What is in the pack
- Filled-in example first: a business traveller at a city hotel, built from 312 reviews and 8 interviews
- Blank empathy map canvas: says, thinks, does, feels, pains and gains
- Evidence log: every quote with its source and its place on the map; counts by part and by source
- Interview questions for each part of the map, with tips
- The canvas as a Word document, plus a printable PDF
Empathy map example: a business traveller at a city hotel
Illustrative example, not customer data. This is page 1 of the template; the blank canvas follows.
Persona: Business traveller staying one or two nights at a city hotel
Situation: Arrives late after a flight, works from the room, has an early meeting
Evidence: 312 reviews from business travellers last quarter, 8 guest interviews, 46 front-desk notes
Says
Their own words: quotes from reviews, tickets and interviews
- "The Wi-Fi kept dropping during my video call."
- "Check-in took 20 minutes after a red-eye flight."
- "The staff remembered my name. Small thing, big difference."
- "Breakfast queue at 7:30 meant I skipped it."
Thinks
What they think but may not say. Mark these as assumptions
- Will I make my 9:00 meeting?
- Is this worth the price for one night?
- I just need a quiet room and a desk that works.
Does
What they actually do, step by step
- Books on the phone the night before
- Arrives after 22:00 and wants to go straight up
- Works from the room until late
- Skips breakfast when there is a queue
- Writes the review on the way to the airport
Feels
Their mood at key moments, as the team reads it
- Tired and impatient at a late check-in
- Anxious when the Wi-Fi drops before a call
- Relieved when things just work
- Valued when staff recognise them
Pains
What gets in their way
- Waiting at check-in after a late arrival
- Wi-Fi that drops in the room
- Noise from the corridor or the street
- No time for breakfast before an early meeting
Gains
What success looks like for them
- Room key ready on arrival
- Wi-Fi good enough for video calls
- A quiet room with a proper desk
- Breakfast to take away from 6:30
How to create an empathy map in 6 steps
- 1Pick one persona and one situation: who they are and what they are trying to get done.
- 2Collect the evidence first: interviews, reviews, tickets and survey comments. Keep their exact words.
- 3Sort each piece into Says, Thinks, Does or Feels. Says are quotes; Thinks and Feels are what the team infers, so mark them as assumptions.
- 4List the pains and gains: what gets in their way, and what success looks like for them.
- 5Count how often each theme comes up, so the map shows what is common, not what was memorable.
- 6Turn the top pains into actions with an owner, and update the map when new feedback comes in.
How common is each theme?
| Theme in business travellers' reviews | Reviews | Share | Tone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff friendliness and recognition | 89 | 29% | Positive |
| Wi-Fi in the room | 74 | 24% | Negative |
| Check-in wait after a late arrival | 58 | 19% | Negative |
| Noise | 41 | 13% | Negative |
| Breakfast timing and queue | 36 | 12% | Mixed |
312 reviews from last quarter. A review can mention more than one theme.
From map to action
| Pain | Action | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi drops in the room | Upgrade the access points on the two business floors; test a video call in every room | IT manager | 31 Jan |
| Waiting at a late check-in | Pre-check-in link the day before; key ready at the desk after 22:00 | Front office manager | 15 Jan |
| No time for breakfast | Grab-and-go breakfast in the lobby from 6:30 | F&B manager | 15 Jan |
| Recognition works | Keep it: note returning guests' names and preferences at booking | Front office manager | Ongoing |
Empathy map questions to ask in interviews
| Part | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Says | Tell me about your last stay. What would you tell a colleague about it? |
| Thinks | What was on your mind when you arrived? What worried you? |
| Does | Walk me through your stay, from booking to checkout. What did you do at each step? |
| Feels | Which moment was the most frustrating? Which was the best? |
| Pains | What nearly made you book somewhere else? |
| Gains | What would make this the hotel you always book? |
Tips
- Ask about what happened last time, not about what they would do.
- Write down their words, not your summary.
- Five to eight interviews per persona usually show the main patterns; reviews and tickets show how common each one is.
- Keep Thinks and Feels as assumptions until the evidence supports them.
Empathy map, persona or customer journey map?
| Tool | What it shows | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Empathy map | What one type of customer says, thinks, does and feels in one situation | The team needs to understand the customer before designing a fix |
| Persona | Who the customer is: goals, context and behaviour | Several teams need one shared picture of a customer type |
| Customer journey map | What happens step by step across touchpoints, over time | You need to see where in the journey things go wrong |
Related guides and templates
Frequently asked questions
Is the empathy map template free?
Yes. The printable PDF downloads without an email. The Excel pack and the Word canvas are sent to your email for free.
What is an empathy map?
A one-page canvas that shows what one type of customer says, thinks, does and feels in a specific situation, plus their pains and gains. Teams use it to agree on who they are designing for before they decide what to change.
What are the four quadrants of an empathy map?
Says (their own words), Thinks (what they may not say out loud), Does (what they actually do) and Feels (their mood at key moments). Many teams add pains and gains underneath, as this template does.
What is the difference between an empathy map and a persona?
A persona describes who the customer is; an empathy map describes what they experience in one situation. Use the persona to pick who to map, and the empathy map to understand one moment in their journey.
Where does the evidence for an empathy map come from?
Interviews give you depth; reviews, support tickets and survey comments tell you how common each theme is. The example uses 8 interviews and 312 reviews. Mark anything in Thinks and Feels that the evidence does not back up as an assumption.
Is there a Word, Excel or Google Sheets version?
Yes. The pack has an Excel workbook with four sheets (example, blank canvas, evidence log, interview questions) and a Word version of the canvas. For Google Sheets, upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets; the dropdowns and counts carry over.
Why does Pivony care about empathy maps?
Pivony’s mission is to close the empathy gap between brands and their customers. Pivony reads all of your reviews, tickets and survey comments and groups them by topic, sentiment and root cause, so an empathy map can rest on every customer instead of a handful of interviews.
Build the map from every customer, not five interviews
Pivony groups all of your reviews, tickets and survey comments by topic, sentiment and root cause, so your empathy map rests on what customers actually say.
Get a free root cause audit