Where Does Emotion Play a Part in the Customer Experience?

The journey a customer takes with your company is very emotional. Emotion plays a key role in the customer experience and you should take it into consideration when mapping and planning your customer experience. 

Why Emotions Are Important 

The reason emotion is important is that it's a vital part of decision-making. We live in a complex world with many things to consider. In order to make a purchase decision rationally, you would need to carry out a detailed cost-benefit analysis of everything. 

Most people don't do this and instead make decisions based on emotions, which provide a kind of shortcut. Often, a purchase decision is made because it just feels right. 

Emotions also play a key role in motivation. How does a customer know when the time is right to finally make a purchase? For most of us, what drives us to act is the emotion we feel about a purchase decision. 

Emotions Come from the Customer Experience 

When making purchase decisions, the emotions used are based on everything that has transpired between the customer and the business. In other words, these emotions are shaped by the total customer experience.  

In other words, the sum total of how a customer feels about your business, which is a direct result of what happens at each touch point, is very important. 

Emotions Also Create the Customer Experience 

The fulfilment of these emotional expectations is also important for the customer experience. The customer expects to feel a certain way at different stages of the journey. After purchase, for example, they want to feel fulfilled and confident that they made the right purchase.  

Subtle changes can have an emotional impact on your customers. In Paco Underhill's book "Why We Buy," there is a case where the feel of the carpet in a department store affected customer buying behavior. Small things like this can work on a subconscious level. 
 
Different Emotions for Different People
 
Which specific emotions drive decision making in your customers varies from person to person, or in this case, from target market to target market.  

Exactly which emotions are most critical depends on many things, including the type of products or services you're offering. The need for peace of mind is important for people buying software security packages. Meanwhile, feelings of excitement and self-expression may be more important for car buyers.  

The key is to conduct research in order to discover which emotions are important in the experience for your customers. Throughout the experience you offer your customers, you should look for these emotions and identify them. This is part of maximizing the experience.  
 
About The Author   
  
Pat Simes  is a Business Strategist, blogger and Founder of Innovative Business Solutions and Innovate Academy. She currently resides in the Midwest and is committed to inspiring and empowering entrepreneurs to transform their vision to reality.