Even if you didn’t watch the Super Bowl, you probably checked out this year’s commercials. I certainly did.
I laughed out loud at Melissa McCarthy pratfalling her way through environmental causes in an ad for Kia’s Niro hybrid. And no matter what you thought of the controversial 84 Lumber commercial, it was hard not to be touched by the hopeful face of the little girl setting off on a long journey. Even Skittles got a chuckle out of me.
The ad agencies that concoct these commercials know the power of emotions, whether it’s humor or a tug at the heartstrings. They know that by evoking emotions, they can create an overall impression that persuades us to like a product or a brand. And they know that potential customers will remember that ad long after they’ve forgotten an instant rebate special.
Often, though, the emotional pull that we feel when we see ads doesn’t translate to our actual experience as customers. Anyone who’s ever been to a car dealership knows that the good feelings of car commercials are a far cry from the soul crushing process of actually test driving a vehicle and negotiating a purchase. This is because most business people leave their emotions on the doorstep when they go to work. No matter how emotionally appealing their ads are, in practice they treat customers as purely rational beings who purchase solely because of practical factors like price.
This is hogwash. Customers are not rational at all! None of us are, not even business executives. After helping hundreds of clients assess their customer experience through tools such as customer mirrors and behavioral journey mapping, I know that emotions drive over half of a customer’s experience. I also have some theories about why businesses tend to ignore emotions:
1. They’re stuck in a model that worked in the past. In the old days, you could compete on price, or quality. But with globalization and the rise of social media, the messages that get through are the ones that are memorable. And that makes the emotional aspects of the customer experience more important than ever.
2. Emotions are hard to define and measure. In my book, The DNA of Customer Experience: How Emotions Drive Value, I show how emotions can indeed be measured, and can lead to substantial gains.
3. A lot of corporate executives are “numbers people.” They like data and they think analytically. They are good at rational and logical analysis, but they aren’t comfortable with the more “squishy” quality of emotions. This leads to an over-emphasis on rational factors and a neglect of the customer’s emotional experience.
4. Most of the people in senior positions in organizations are men who are 50-60 years old. Without dumping on my gender, I’d say that men in general – especially men of my generation and older – aren’t comfortable with emotions. We were brought up with phrases like “don’t be a sissy” and “big boys don’t cry.” So when I go into a room with these gents and suggest that the company needs to focus on emotions – well, let’s just say that they’re not exactly enthusiastic.
5. Tough go-getters and sharp negotiators are revered in business. So are geeky visionaries like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. Business people generally do not look to psychologists, artists and people in more “emotional” professions as role models. This sends a message that trickles throughout the corporate culture: to get ahead, you must be shrewd and competitive, not “soft.”
6. People don’t know how to focus on emotions, and they confuse a true emotional focus with a rational focus that might produce a positive emotion. Price, for example. You might decide that to make your customers happy, you should lower the price on your patio sets. They’ll be thrilled to get such a good deal! But the problem is that the next time they need furniture, the folks who bought your patio set will go wherever they can get the best price. A true focus on emotion would mean designing a stress-free, enjoyable experience from start to finish, perhaps throwing in a memorable showroom visit that includes free lemonade and cookies.
Happily, I’m starting to see signs that businesses are beginning to pay more attention to customer emotions. Companies like Disney and Soul Cycle have already integrated emotions deeply into their customer experience. Even some shopping mall retailers have started to recognize that customers need an emotional reason to come to their store instead of buying online. But, like Melissa McCarthy on her quest to save the planet, we still have a long way to go.
Why do you think it’s so easy for companies to ignore the emotional side of the customer experience? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.
Read my latest book: The Intuitive Customer: 7 Imperatives for moving your customer experience to the next level to find out more about these ideas for business.
If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:
Why Management Ignores Customers – and 7 Ways to Fix It
Revealed: Shopping Malls Fight Back!
Revolutionary Thinking on Customer Loyalty
Colin Shaw is the founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy, one of the world’s leading Customer experience consultancy & training organizations. Colin is an international author of six bestselling books and an engaging keynote speaker.
Follow Colin Shaw on Twitter @ColinShaw_CX