Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)

How emotional experiences shape the customer lifecycle

Truly human experiences create loyal brand advocates

The research study, titled "Exploring the Value of Emotion-Driven Engagement," found that 70% of consumers expect a two-way relationship with brands, and are looking for organizations to adapt their offerings and communications based on what customers have told them. The study also found that emotional factors are the primary driver for brand loyalty and brand advocacy, with nearly 60% of respondents using emotional language, such as "love," "happy" and "adore," to describe their connections to their favorite brands. This research goes beyond just marketing interactions. It examines how emotions, contextual experiences and emotionally intelligent organizations impact the entire customer lifecycle, from online engagements and conversations with sales reps, to email newsletters and packaging.

"We've seen a shift in the consumer landscape in which brand loyalty is created from authentic, personal interactions rooted in the human experience. We embarked on this study to uncover what emotionally connects consumers to organizations and how business can build stronger, long-term customer relationships," said Anthony Stephan, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and US head of Deloitte Digital. "We found that building more emotionally intelligent platforms that leverage emotional data at scale will be one of the most important opportunities for companies to drive real business results."

Based on a survey of nearly 1,000 consumers, the research found that while shared values and rational considerations may bring customers to brands in the first place, it is emotional factors that move the needle to build loyal, raving customers. In fact, only 3% of respondents would recommend a company to a friend or colleague based on a brand's shared values.

"While a sense of connection manifests in different ways for various customer segments, the study found that the overwhelming majority of customers want organizations they do business with to understand not only their rational needs, but also their emotional triggers and influences," said report co-author Timothy Greulich, managing director, Deloitte Consulting LLP and experience management practice leader, Deloitte Digital. "As customers, we want businesses to understand our needs and experiences on an emotional level and interact with us as if the relationship is a personal friendship."

According to the study, consumers expect brands to listen and respond to their needs, but they also feel strongly about the types of information that brands should know about them and how that information should be used. It found:

Trust is the most important emotional factor that influences consumers' connections to a brand. Unfortunately, trust can be broken more easily than it can be established.

Trustworthiness (83%), integrity (79%) and honesty (77%) are the emotional factors that people feel most align with their favorite brands.

More than a third (35%) of consumers do not want their favorite brand to know their browsing history for similar products or services in order to serve relevant ads; but 66% of consumers expect brands to use their feedback to provide new products responsive to their wants and needs.

The survey's findings highlight the need for brands to take a more intentional and structured approach to understanding customer's emotions across their entire lifecycle, while also creating emotionally intelligent organizations and ecosystems that can contextually and automatically interact with customers at scale. Most organizations have a wealth of data to begin this process - it is gathering and using the data at the right time, in the right way and at scale that will distinguish tomorrow's beloved brands.

Visit http://www.deloittedigital.com/us/emotionresearch to download and read the full white paper on the research.

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)