When Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, he had no intention of leaving the Catholic Church. Much like Luther, I don’t want to give the impression that I find no value in data. There is quite a bit of value in data. But, as with most things, it has its limitations and is not the divine source of truth that so many have come to believe.

Conventional thinking tells us that emotions are formed based on experience and facts. It’s actually the other way around: people look for experiences and facts that support their emotions. Thus, first imressions matter….they matter a lot…especially in digital marketing.

There is only one thing that drives action. All action comes from an emotional trigger. Why then do so many marketers avoid the matter?

George Lucas claims that his inspiration to write Star Wars was that he wanted to create a film that taught kids the difference between right and wrong. While the space opera might be a demonstration about good vs evil, there are insights into digital transformation, UX and design.

If you are designing digital experiences that are trying to pass the Turing Test, then your business is in trouble. Digital experiences need to make the user feel more human, not less. It should be a tool to provide more depth and context to your relationships with your customers, not the entire experience.

Humans find other with more symmetrical features to be more attractive. It’s in our DNA. If that is the case, how did Ciny Crawford’s asymmetrical mole make her a super model? The answer is an important lesson for anyone in marketing and user experience.

Despite what television shows and movies may depict, the FBI does not use torture to get to the truth. Instead agents use “radical empathy” to uncover information. So what can marketers learn from FBI interrogators?

In 2001, the transfer of an estate (inheritance) upon death was taxed at 55%, and $675,000 could be exempt. In 2017 the rate had changed to 40% and $5 million respectively. Did the American public suddenly feel sorry for the wealthiest 1% and the taxes that they had to pay? What changed? The answer is a valuable lesson for marketers who want to connect with their audience.

A lot of people hear the word “empathy” and immediately think of snowflakes and touchy-feely, soft-headed hoodoo. I get it. But there’s actually something methodical and tangibly productive involved that shouldn’t be relegated to vacuous pseudoscience.

The Force of Empathy vs An Empire of Data: Star Wars was not expected to be a big hit. Execs thought the summer blockbuster was going to be The Other Side of Midnight. That picture had all the makings of a money maker: big stars; a script adapted from a best selling book; big time director; blah blah blah. But I bet you don’t even remember the movie. What happened? One word: Data.

Despite technology that is light years ahead of what we have on Earth today, Star Wars is a story that occurs in the past (a long, long time ago). As such, it seems odd to think of Star Wars as not a futuristic movie, but actually a history lesson. Nevertheless, Star Wars can provide great insight into how people design, consume and feel about technology….even here in our lonely galaxy.