3 Reasons Emotion Plays a Critical Role in CX Success

It may be difficult for some to understand the importance of emotion in the customer experience (CX), but when you consider that we walk away from almost every interaction with some sort of feeling, the idea makes much more sense. For example, noting a slight irritation in your waiter’s tone at a restaurant might make you feel more negatively about the establishment. You might even decide not to eat there again because you didn’t enjoy your experience. It’s the same with any interaction, customer service or personal alike. And if you are aware of the following reasons emotion plays such a critical role in CX success, you’ll be more likely to steer the experience in a positive direction.

Positive emotions create brand loyalty

Brand loyalty is all about emotion. It’s what keeps customers coming back and telling their friends about your business. It creates a sense of friendship they may feel with other brands. And in order for your customers to feel loyal to your brand, they need a few key elements.

For one thing, they need a sense of familiarity. You can develop familiarity by making your brand or company personal and approachable. Your customers should feel welcomed into your place of business like a good friend or part of the family. And this feeling should resonate across any channel they use to connect, including phone, chat, or in-person visits.

Brand loyalty also means showing your customers gratitude. And this usually comes in the form of giving them more than they expect. Free gifts, discounts, extra services, or even birthday cards go a long way toward showing your loyal customers you appreciate them.

Most importantly, a sense of belonging helps foster loyalty. If your customers feel they have a stake in what you’re creating, they’re more likely to engage positively. In the same way you breed familiarity, you should consistently make them feel like family by including them in every way you can.

Emotions create culture

Culture is one of those abstract terms we equate with how a company makes us feel. But what it really encompasses is the behaviors and beliefs that determine how employees relate to each other and their customers. Take Google, for example. Google’s employees work inside a building called the Googleplex. And stepping inside this structure feels more like going to a playground than to work. Their employees enjoy free meals, free haircuts, nap pods, swimming pools, gyms, video games, and on-site medical care.

All these perks may seem to only benefit the employees. But imagine how well they can interact with customers when they work for a company they love. Their own brand loyalty is relayed to their customers. And by extension, Google’s customers feel appreciated and respected.

Emotions drive profit

Many companies have spent valuable resources studying customer behavior. And time and time again, they come up with the same conclusion. “Emotional motivators drive consumer behavior.” For example, customers say they are inspired by a sense of well-being. In other words, they enjoy the feeling that they are achieving their goals without stress or conflict.

Customers also say they are motivated by feeling that they stand out in the crowd. If your company’s CX can make them feel special, you’re already a step ahead of your competition. These same customers feel inspired by security. They want to feel that your brand will offer them some form of this. This can be as simple as directing them to the right department each time they call, which can be achieved with a dependable automatic call distributor (acd) system.

Emotions are such an important part of CX because they determine how a customer relates to your company. Even one bad experience can turn away not just one customer, but everyone they have contact with. This is why it’s so important to ensure your company offers a personalized and thoughtful experience to each of your customers.