The document emphasizes the importance of emotional engagement in customer experiences, highlighting that customers are people first and should be understood beyond demographics. It outlines steps for understanding customers' needs, motivations, and how businesses can create solutions that resonate emotionally, ultimately aiming to foster deeper relationships. The text also discusses the role of community and communication in enhancing customer loyalty and the overall brand experience.

1. Emotional
engagement:
The magic ingredient
in any customer
experience
The Activity Book

2. Introductions:Why are we here?
What is your name?
Where do you work?
What you do?
Why did you decide to attend this webinar?
What do you hope to get out of this webinar today?

3. Sometimes we forget,
customers are people first.

4. Do we know who our customers are…
…or do we look at our
customers as we want
them to be?

5. Do you love your customers?
Or are you in love with your products?

6. 4Type of Emotional Expressions
Pity/Contempt Sympathy Empathy Compassion
So sad. I’m sorry you are sad
and going through a
difficult time.
I can feel your sadness
and understand why
you feel that way.
I can feel your sadness,
understand it, and
want to help you fix it.

7. Empathy:
“the act of coming to experience the world as you
think someone else does”

8. “The more empathetic managers were, the more they used their
personal preferences to predict what customers would want.
Another key finding that should get people’s attention is that the
more empathetic the managers were, the more they ignored the
market research on customers that we provided them.”
Johannes Hattula and his coresearchers Walter Herzog, Darren Dahl, and
Sven Reinecke Imperial College’s
“PuttingYourself in the Customer’s Shoes Doesn’t Work:An Interview with Johannes Hattula,” HBR
https://hbr.org/2015/03/putting-yourself-in-the-customers-shoes-doesnt-work

9. How do you motivate customers to take action?
Connect with them emotionally
Step 1
Identify
characteristics of
your customer
Step 2
Know the
problem that
they are trying to
solve
Step 3
Know how the
solution you are
offering will help
them
Step 4
Determine what
will motivate
them to take the
next step
Step 5
Create a picture
of what life could
be like with the
new solution

10. Step 1: Identify characteristics of your
customer
Step 1
Identify
characteristics of
your customer
Step 2
Know the
problem that
they are trying to
solve
Step 3
Know how the
solution you are
offering will help
them
Step 4
Determine what
will motivate
them to take the
next step
Step 5
Create a picture
of what life could
be like with the
new solution

11. A conversation is really an interaction between
two people or entities that builds a relationship.

12. Actions orWords or Both?
Which is more meaningful to the person and to you?

13. Discussion Questions &
Activities

14. Who your current customers?
Let’s start with demographics:
• Titles
• Types of companies
• Departments
• Other information?

15. Let’s describe them as people.
Do they have families?What are they like?
Describe their jobs: tasks and responsibilities
What do they do for fun?

16. What do you know about your customers
through metrics and analytics?
Do you have any reports to review to give you insights?
What else do you know based on behaviors in various mediums?

17. Why did they choose your product/solution?
What did they tell you about why they chose your solution?
Why do you think they chose your solution?

18. How do they see it helping them?
What was the motivation/intent to purchase?
What do they expect for a result?

19. How do you see it helping them?
How do you see their business improving from the solution?
What do you think they will gain from it?

20. Step 2: Know the problem that they are
trying to solve
Step 1
Identify
characteristics of
your customer
Step 2
Know the
problem that
they are trying to
solve
Step 3
Know how the
solution you are
offering will help
them
Step 4
Determine what
will motivate
them to take the
next step
Step 5
Create a picture
of what life could
be like with the
new solution

21. Customers don’t think in terms of problems
Products rarely solve new
problems. We solve problems
that have always existed in
some form.
People found other ways to
solve the problem or didn’t
see it as a problem.
As Jobs, Ford, and Raskin
said, people sometimes don’t
realize what life could be.
It’s the job of the company
to show them a new way –
and a need.

22. “What they really need to home in on is the progress that the customer is
trying to make in a given circumstance—what the customer hopes to
accomplish.
This is what we’ve come to call the job to be done.”
-- Clayton M. Christensen,Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon, David S. Duncan
“Know Your Customers’ “Jobs to Be Done” HBR
https://hbr.org/2016/09/know-your-customers-jobs-to-be-done?referral=00060

23. “Some people say, 'Give the customers what they want.’ But that's not my
approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do.
I think Henry Ford once said,‘If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they
would have told me, 'A faster horse!’’ People don't know what they want until
you show it to them.That's why I never rely on market research. Our task is to
read things that are not yet on the page.”
– Steve Jobs

24. Jef Raskin: intuitive or familiar?

25. Marketers solve a problem the company sees…
…but what do your customers see?

26. Airplanes.
• Problem they solve: fast transportation for long distances
• Problem they create: how do you entertain100+ strangers in a
confined space for 1+ hours?
• What is the problem airplanes should really solve today?
• What is the problem that the customers see?

27. Discussion Questions &
Activities

28. Baseline Question:
State the problem you believe your company solves.

29. Looking at the mini-profiles we created for your
customers, what do you think they are really
looking for from you?
Why do customers ask to meet with you?
How do they describe their problem to you?

30. What problem do they see you solving, based on their perspective? Do
you have to adjust their views?

31. Why do your existing customers choose
you?
What’s the approach you use to solve your customer’s problem?
What’s missing from their original solution that they use today? How
about most solutions in your industry?
Which factor made your solution ideal for them?

32. What are you allowing them to do in their
life that they couldn’t do without you?
How is the problem you solve unique? (we may need to look at the
next section to get more information)
Do you see them having a bigger problem than they think they do? If so,
what do you see?

33. From the customer perspective, how is the
problem you solve different from a competitor?
We may get more insights when we discuss the solution.
How do your competitors see the problem in your space?
Is there a problem that your space created that your customer doesn’t
see? How are you solving that problem?

34. Step 3: Know how the solution you are
offering will help them
Step 1
Identify
characteristics of
your customer
Step 2
Know the
problem that
they are trying to
solve
Step 3
Know how the
solution you are
offering will help
them
Step 4
Determine what
will motivate
them to take the
next step
Step 5
Create a picture
of what life could
be like with the
new solution

35. To know who you are, know your
competitors
3Types of competitors:
Industry
competitors
Company
competitors
Payment
method
competitors

36. Why isn’t your customer solving the issue
now?
A solution may
already exist - and
customer is not
aware of it
Problem perceived as
too difficult to solve
and no one ever tried
it to make it simpler
Problem is not high
on the priority list
Some ideas:

37. Value, noun.
Worth or quality as measured by a standard of equivalence.
The material or monetary worth of something; the amount at which
something may be estimated in terms of a medium of exchange, as
money or goods, or some other similar standard.
Worth, noun.
Senses relating to monetary value.
The material or monetary value of something; the amount at which something
may be estimated in terms of a medium of exchange, such as money or goods.

38. Value &Worth - Investment and commitment
Cost &Time
Find and implement the
solution
Urgency &
Need for a solution
Priority to fix it
Speed to complete an action
Desire to accomplish a goal
+
Is directly
proportional to
Motivation
Emotions driving fixing the
problem
+

39. Stop persuading.
Find people who want help to transform how
they live or work.

40. Discussion Questions &
Activities

41. 3 Activities
• List your competitors
• Describe your solution
• Value &Worth

42. Activity 1: List competitors
Industry Company Payment Method
In this activity, list your competitors in each category.The more thorough and detailed of a list, the better.
It will help you consider how your solution is viewed by your customers.

43. Activity 2: Describe your solution
Your customers Industry analysts Your company
How does this group
describe your solution?
How does this group see
your solution as helping
your customers?

44. Activity 3: Value &Worth
Your company Competitor A Competitor B
What is the value you provide
customers?
How much does the product
cost?
What is the true product cost
(include installation, training,
etc.)?
Based on customer feedback,
how do you think they
perceive the product’s value?
Based on your experience,
where does the customer get
stuck understanding product
value?

45. Step 4: Determine what will motivate them
to take the next step
Step 1
Identify
characteristics of
your customer
Step 2
Know the
problem that
they are trying to
solve
Step 3
Know how the
solution you are
offering will help
them
Step 4
Determine what
will motivate
them to take the
next step
Step 5
Create a picture
of what life could
be like with the
new solution

46. Why do people make the decisions they do?
Emotions.
Feeling.
What makes someone
feel good.
Meaning.
Reason.
Choose what gives life
meaning and memories.
Self-interest.
Motivation.
Choose what’s best in
all aspects of life.

47. “I began to think that the cold-bloodedness of Elliot’s reasoning
prevented him from assigning different values to different options,”
Damasio writes,“and made his decision-making landscape
hopelessly flat.”

48. Why do people make the decisions they do?
Emotions.
Feeling.
What makes someone
feel good.
Meaning.
Reason.
Choose what gives life
meaning and memories.
Self-interest.
Motivation.
Choose what’s best in
all aspects of life.

49. Is money a valid excuse not to buy?
People don’t buy because a solution costs too much.
People don’t buy because their problem is a lower priority.
They found another solution
(cheaper, simpler, easier).
It isn’t that much of a
problem, really.

50. Fear Factor
Fear based approaches will make a sale,
but it doesn’t solve a customer’s problem
or build a relationship.

51. Decisions are about change

52. Change is hard uncomfortable.
If your prospects or customers can’t convince themselves (or allow you
convince them) that the change is essential they simply won’t do it.

53. If all goes well…
…people change and make a purchase because of their fear of
the consequences of NOT purchasing.

54. Discussion Questions &
Activities

55. Consider a scenario...
Think about your customers, who they are, and what they are like.
List 3-5 priorities that they told you are competing with your
solution. They need to fund your solution plus how many others?
List the reasons you have heard from them regarding why your
solution may not be on the top of their priority list. Include the
reasons they told you directly. Include reasons that are implied or
assumed. Label each appropriately. Your solution is competing against
these reasons.

56. List 3-5 competing priorities you have heard
from your customers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

57. List reasons why your solution isn’t on the
top of their list.
•
•
•
•
•

58. Do you notice a trend?
Is there a trend emerging why some priorities may be ranked higher?
You may not know the true reason, but consider why you aren’t on the
top of their list.
Use this knowledge to help you construct messaging and materials to
help customers see why you belong on the top of their priority list. Or
at least you come in second.

59. Messaging ideas and approaches to be at the
top of their list.
•
•
•
•
•

60. Discover emotions, meaning, self-interest
Emotions
Recall what customers
have told you about
how they felt before
and after they
purchased your
solution.
List the emotions you
heard them discuss.
Meaning
What do you think is
the meaning of your
solution in their life?
Have they told you
that your product
changed their life and
gave them meaning?
If yes, list what they
said.
Self-interest
List the scenarios and
situations where
choosing your
solution would serve
their best interests.

61. Discover emotions
Recall what customers have told you about how they felt before and after
they purchased your solution.
List the emotions you heard them discuss.
•
•
•
•

62. Discover meaning
What do you think is the meaning of your solution in their life?
Have they told you that your product changed their life and gave them
meaning? If yes, list what they said.

63. Discover self-interest
List the scenarios and situations where choosing your solution would
serve their best interests.
•
•
•
•

64. Fear & Change 1
Consider why your customers may be afraid of change.
List the reasons customers shared with you.
Reasons why your customers are afraid of change

65. Fear & Change 2
Describe your customers’ past lives as you understand them and
compare to their life today with your solution.
Identify the benefits they experienced for moving to the new solution.
Customer past life Customer current life with your solution

66. Summarize
List ideas to reframe your solution so that you appeal to customer emotions,
overcome customer fears, and present them a positive future where they feel
good about their decision.
•
•
•
•

67. Step 5: Create a picture of what life could be
like with the new solution
Step 1
Identify
characteristics of
your customer
Step 2
Know the
problem that
they are trying to
solve
Step 3
Know how the
solution you are
offering will help
them
Step 4
Determine what
will motivate
them to take the
next step
Step 5
Create a picture
of what life could
be like with the
new solution

68. The solution: education and vision
Present your customers a vision of the potential that their
lives could be with your solution.
Customer stories are so successful for this reason.
• Explain the problem they had
• Describe the solution they selected
• Illustrate the new life they are living with this change

69. Add the emotional impact to the story
Encourage your customer to share the emotional impact of their story
Educate the customer about: Questions to answer about emotions
The problem What is the customer feeling about the problem?
How does the customer describe the problem?
The solution Why did they choose the solution they did?
What feelings drove them to select that solution?
How did they feel when the solution was implemented?
How does the customer describe the solution? (analyze word choices
and sentiments expressed)
Vision for the future with the solution How does the customer describe the new life?
What are the new feelings and emotions around the solution?

70. Use the emotions in their stories to change
your organization
Tell the product team how
you want users to feel when
they use the product so they
create such an experience.
Tell support how we are
relieving customer challenges
– and they should continue
helping.
Tell finance that to relieve
more customer challenges we
may want to offer more
payment options and
flexibility.
Tell HR about the changes so
they can hire employees who
want to help customers solve
their problems.
Create content to help
describe the problem in the
industry and highlight the
frustration the customer must
feel.
Create solution content
that supports feeling relief.

71. All of these actions this will inspire your customers and your team to
work towards a higher goal – and transition from just creating products
to creating solutions that change people’s lives.

72. Create a sense of community
Community is more than a support forum or social media.
Community is the relationship between your employees and customers
that’s established throughout the purchase process and beyond.
It’s a conversation through words and actions.
Examples:
Forums, contests, social media discussions, surveys, focus groups
Anything where they can share their ideas, thoughts, and input

73. Ways to measure community
Category Description
Engagement
• Demonstrate that you can hold a conversation with your customer and connect to them in
some way
• Build connections on social media: like, share, or comment
• Build relationships: click through a link to your site and keep interacting through chat or
phone
Loyalty
• Repeat buyers and visitors
• Track your customers end-to-end – who consistently read emails, click to articles, use the
product, provide great reviews and recommendations
• Loyal customers want to see your brand succeed
Accountability
• Includes product reviews that validate messaging about the problem you solve and how you
solve it
Brand and Reputation
• Net promoter score
• Leverage accountability for reputation
• Traditional brand recall metrics
PR Relationship
Metrics
• Guidelines for Measuring Relationships in Public Relations (1999)
• 4 factors that build a relationship (controlled mutuality, trust, satisfaction, commitment)

74. Communicate your brand authentically

75. Vision
Employees Customers
Relationship
Brand
Mission,
Plans,
Activities
Experience
Revenue

76. Magic of emotional engagement comes from your
company’s employees and their love for their
customers.

77. Emotional connection and magic happens through
people.

78. Discussion Questions &
Activities

79. Activities
Identify a list of
customers to interview
for success stories. Use
the template to gather
information from them.
• How do they picture
success?
• What was their shift in
emotions?
Brainstorm ways to
communicate that
success.
• Consider interactive
mediums like forums, social
media, events, contests.
How could you use
aspects of this success
to create a community?
• Which elements of the
product/company
experience could build ties
between customers?
• Which aspects of their
customer journeys are
points to unify them?

80. Identify a list of customers to interview for
success stories.
Use the template to gather information from them.
• How do they picture success?
• What was their shift in emotions?
Names

81. Brainstorm ways to communicate that
success.
Consider interactive mediums like forums, social media, events, contests.
•
•
•
•

82. How could you use aspects of this success to
create a community?
Which elements of the product/company experience could build ties
between customers?
Which aspects of their customer journeys are points to unify them?

83. Customer Interview Format (sample)
The problem.
Encourage the customer to
explain the problem they had in
their own words.
Outline the situation and the
challenges they were facing.Was
there an ultimate problem that
started the search for a solution?
Was a new problem identified?
What was the customer feeling
about the problem?
How does the customer
describe the problem?
The solution.
Have the customer describe the
solution they selected.
How do they describe what the
product does?
Why did they choose the solution
they did?
What feelings drove them to select
that solution?
How did they feel when the
solution was implemented?
How does the customer describe
the solution? (analyze word
choices and sentiments expressed)
Describe the vision.
Have the customer illustrate the
new life they are living after this
change.
How does the customer
describe the new life?
What are the new feelings and
emotions around the solution?

84. Customer Interview:The Problem
Encourage the customer to explain the problem they had in their own
words.
Outline the situation and the challenges they were facing.
• Was there an ultimate problem that started the search for a solution?
• Was a new problem identified?
• What was the customer feeling about the problem?
• How does the customer describe the problem?

85. Customer Interview:The Solution
Have the customer describe the solution they selected.
• How do they describe what the product does?
• Why did they choose the solution they did?
• What feelings drove them to select that solution?
• How did they feel when the solution was implemented?
• How does the customer describe the solution? (analyze word choices
and sentiments expressed)

86. Customer Interview: Describe the solution.
Have the customer illustrate the new life they are living after this
change.
• How does the customer describe the new life?
• What are the new feelings and emotions around the solution?

88. Thank you!