Emotional Intelligence and the Customer

We start out with making people our customers. Ultimately, we want to make them our clients. Put very simply we look for long term relationships. Repeat sales with our existing clientele are less expensive and more stable than the search for new customers.

The act of purchase is a transaction and yet true engagement is not transactional, it is emotional. Yes, there are customers who go beyond just buying. They connect with you. They love you and want to be loved back. Personal values of people are closely linked with their brands and when brand values and company values resonate with people the connection built is deep. In the modern context, this has become especially important because people are spoiled for choice and they will opt for the company and product with who they have an emotional connect. Honesty and trust are very important factors and people connect with brands they know they can trust because the brands are honest. With this equation, quality is a given because honesty and trust is built on a bedrock of quality.

The most loved brands are the ones that sell the most. Apple, Nike, Amazon and Harley Davidson are brands that have actually become cult creators in a process aptly described by David Aaker as the culting of brands. Integration into the routine of the consumer is also something that is important for the brand. Consumers who are more emotional than others are twice more likely to say that their brands a part of their daily routine, depicting thereby the level of integration.

A personal touch is very important in making people bond. Personal notes, chocolates, freebies, all these make a big difference in the extent to which the connect happens. So, in a personal selling set up, how do we know what the state of the consumer is?

There is an interesting study carried out by Paul Ekman and cited by Daniel Kahneman on the subject of facial expressions. They have found that all happy emotions in humans are transparently reflected in their smile. Paul Ekman has actually carried out studies on 43 facial muscles over a period of 8 years. There was in this case, an experiment carried out where some pictures were shown that were easy to see and others that were not so easy and the corresponding expressions were tracked. Whenever there was cognitive ease, it produced a smile. This gives the inference, in a marketing context that people like products to be easily visible. Hence the time tested and proven principle that “eye level is buy level”. Yes, people do put on fake smiles too, and yet that is really not an issue. Genuine smiles reach the eyes and smiling with lips and eyes stimulate parts of the brain that merely smiling with the eyes cannot achieve. This triggers involuntary muscles and we see a true smile or what is called a Duchenne Smile characterised by higher cheeks, altered cheek contours and lowered eyebrows. A broader smile pushes up the cheeks, gathers the skin under the eye, makes the eye aperture narrower producing even crow’s feet wrinkles all without involvement of the muscle that orbits the eye.

Moods affect buying decisions. Therefore, shopping environments that encourage happy moods lower inhibitions and prompt people to lower their guard. System 1 thinking that is more spontaneous, creative and intuitive dominates System 2 thinking which is more measured, analytical and cautious

Emotions and feelings make a big difference in buying decisions, and sights and sounds, lighting and visual merchandising all have a great impact as they produce a mood that is favourable to buying. Emotional, cognitive and physiological responses are greatly influenced by service settings which underscores the need to keep them ambient.

Ease of shopping has acquired significant importance. 54% of consumers are willing to switch their brands if their favorite brand is not available. Consumers 55 years of age or more are much less attached to their brands than are their younger counterparts.

How high is the level of engagement that needs to be built? Just like the two way, deep and loving relationship of an engaged couple. And how is that to be done? Through delivering three D’s as per Gensler.

Deliver

A company must deliver on the basics of its brand promise. Whether the promises relate to prices, to availability or service, they must be followed through and honoured

Declare

All consumers like it when a company makes a statement about what it stands for and sticks to that stand. There are more chances of attracting than losing consumers with this strategy

Delight

The world has today gone beyond customer satisfaction and what all companies aim at is customer delight. This is done by vastly exceeding customer expectations and providing a really good shopping experience

In Conclusion

Whereas people do apply logic and analysis to their buying decisions, emotions do play a major role. Companies that are business savvy will always leverage their Emotional Intelligence to the maximum to drive sales. As consumer choice exponentially goes up, this is imperative