Most customer experiences aren’t memorable according to Howard Lax, head of customer strategies, Americas, Kantar TNS. But, there is one element that makes them memorable: emotions.
“Whether positive or negative, the key to making an experience memorable is the emotional hook,” Lax said during Thursday’s Loyalty360 webinar titled, The Amnesiac Customer and the Importance of Emotions, which was presented by Kantar TNS. “Meeting those (customer) expectations doesn’t create an emotional experience. Exceeding those expectations creates an emotional experience.”
“Customer experience matters, not because there has been some sudden realization, rather customer experience matters because those experiences affect customer relationships and customer loyalty.”
Not every experience matters, Lax said.
“Experiences shape relationships and relationships drive business outcomes,” he said. “Every experience is an opportunity and a risk. To have an impact, experiences must be memorable. We choose between memories or experiences. Memories are the missing link.”
Consider the following statistic from Lax: Most experiences aren’t memorable (75 percent leave no lasting impression; 25 percent may become memories).
“It’s the experiences that create memories that are important,” he said.
Most customer interactions are ‘yawners,’ Lax described.
“We have an ‘Amnesiac Customer,’” he said. “They forget far more than they remember. Negative emotional customer experiences are often far more enduring.”
To illustrate his point about how emotional connections are the key to creating a memorable customer experience, Lax borrowed the following quote from Maya Angelou:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
While most customer experiences are “eminently forgettable,” Lax noted, preference is another key factor in the equation.
“Preference is the differentiator, a feeling a customer has for a brand,” he explained. “Performance is critical, but preference better explains business outcomes. Preference is the emotional link.”
When Lax discussed a case study about how customers felt about car repairs, in most cases the notable differentiating factor was “simply the human touch in the repair shop.”
What makes a customer experience memorable? Emotional customer engagement is deemed the ultimate consumer connection because it evokes deep memories attached to a brand or experience that are often indelibly linked to customer loyalty.
Experiences stimulate feelings when the interaction “connects” with an individual, Lax said. The key is to humanize the experience for the customer.
“The difficult part is evoking a positive emotion,” he said. “It is easier to generate positive feelings when there is an in-person contact and a physical experience. People mirror those around them. It may sound hokey, but a warm smile typically elicits a smile in return. Upbeat people actually will make customers feel better. A physical experience permits marketers to try to stimulate the senses, which, in turn, can elicit an emotional response. How something looks, tastes, feels, smells, or sounds can be a powerful, albeit subtle, stimulus for making people feel.”
The bigger challenge is to humanize interactions when there is no personal contact or physical interaction of any type because fewer senses can be engaged.
“The challenges lie first and foremost in recognizing the importance of the emotional dimension of customer interactions,” Lax said. “The reality is that most companies have any number of competitors with comparable, excellent goods and services. The key is in translating this performance into preference over those competitors, taking the rational assessment and generating an emotional bond.”
A quality emotional experience is one where the customer comes away feeling good.
“While emotions are universal in one sense, they are immensely personal in another,” Lax said. “Emotional imprinting is key, as emotions create memorable experiences and drive preference. Preference trumps performance. Only memorable experiences matter. Positive emotional experiences boost preference.”