This document discusses how to emotionally engage customers through understanding their perspective and problems. It recommends identifying customer characteristics, understanding the problem they want to solve and how the company's solution helps, determining what motivates action, and creating a vision of improved life with the solution. Storytelling using customer emotions can help potential customers envision positive change. The goal is to transition from just creating products to solving problems and changing lives through a community relationship between companies and customers.

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

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. A conversations I had recently about
digital business…

4. Who are Lurkers?
Alias: information junkies
They gather information and know where to
access ideas.
We see them as prospective customers – but
are they?
Lurkers are typically not buyers

5. Content marketing creates lurker heaven.

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

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. Data through your customer’s digital footprint is one of
the easiest ways to definitively know your customer

10. Go beyond hopes and lurkers.
Add the magic of emotional engagement.
Shift how you see your customers to create
magic with them.

11. What we will talk about today
Topic #1
How prospects and
customers may be
viewing your
company, products,
and solutions
Topic #2
How you can use
this information to
motivate them to
engage with your
company
Topic #3
Tips and ideas for
activities that may
encourage them to
engage and take the
next step

12. Why people are not interacting with your company
Reason 1
They prefer the
competitor (including
a free option)
Reason 2
They don't understand
their problem
Reason 3
They don't understand
the solution you are
selling
Reason 4
Reprioritized the
problem’s urgency in
their life
Reason 5
Not ready to solve the
problem
Reason 6
Lost interest to solve
problem

13. “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

14. Why people are not interacting with your company
Reason 1
They prefer the
competitor (including
a free option)
Reason 2
They don't understand
their problem
Reason 3
They don't understand
the solution you are
selling
Reason 4
Reprioritized the
problem’s urgency in
their life
Reason 5
Not ready to solve the
problem
Reason 6
Lost interest to solve
problem

15. “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

16. Jef Raskin: intuitive or familiar?

17. Why people are not interacting with your company
Reason 1
They prefer the
competitor (including
a free option)
Reason 2
They don't understand
their problem
Reason 3
They don't understand
the solution you are
selling
Reason 4
Reprioritized the
problem’s urgency in
their life
Reason 5
Not ready to solve the
problem
Reason 6
Lost interest to solve
problem

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

19. 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.

20. 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

21. 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

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

23. SherryTurkle

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

25. Identify your customers
Buying Using Maintaining/Supporting
Buyer
Stakeholder/approver
Influencer
No voice
User
Buyer/approver (do not use)
Experiencer (experience
product but don’t use it)
Benefactor (enjoy the product
results)
No experience
Maintainer/supporter
Buyer/approver
Benefactor (enjoy the product
results; no support)
No support
Governance – setup rules around the purchase decision, use, support
Applies to B2B and B2C customers, depending on how large the
decision making group can be.

26. Demographic vs Psychographic Data
Demographic Psychographic/Ethnographic
Traditional Modern
Data describing statistics – income, gender, age,
geography
Data and insights regarding belief systems, values, and
thoughts that may drive actions
Describes superficial aspects of a target market Describes how a group may think and live
Physical nature of the person Inner life of the person
Identifies how gender, age, income, geography,
education can impact a group who makes a decision
Indicates how cultural trends, lifestyle factors,
attitudes and how social context influences product
selection and usage
Research conducted by surveys to learn about
preferences, descriptive facts
Understand people’s actions based on descriptions.
Research conducted at homes or offices to observe
behaviors and hear feedback in a non-directed way.
Understand people’s behavior on their terms.
Don’t learn how the person makes decisions. Learn possible thought processes behind a decision.

27. Why is psychographic/ethnographic data
more relevant?
Better able to
understand
motivations of your
buyers during
decisions
Understand what
messages will resonate
with their priorities
and value system
Better understand
their problems and
how to solve them

28. Data you can access
Not including IoT sensor data
Strategic Documentation
• Vision/mission, KPIs
• Market data, Personas
• Marketing/Sales Strategies
Ongoing programs
• Automated: web, social media, SEO, forums
• In-person: salespeople, in-store, phone, chat,
forums
• No start or end date
Campaign
• Goals and defined timeframe
• Automated and in-person results
• Annual: review 2-3 years of data/trends
• Review impact to ongoing programs
Bottom-line results
• Sales metrics and funnel
• Quarterly/annual department reports
• 3rd party reports

29. 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

30. 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.

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

32. 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?

33. 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

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

35. 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:

36. 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.

37. 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
+

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

39. 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

40. 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.

41. “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.”

42. 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.

43. 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.

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

45. Decisions are about change

46. 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.

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

48. 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

49. 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

50. 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?

51. 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.

52. 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.

53. 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
Create a sense of community

54. 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)

55. Communicate your brand authentically

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

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

58. Emotional connection and magic happens through
people.

60. Thank you and next steps
• New book: Revenue versus
Relationships coming early 2019!
• Learn more about your customers? 4 week
course about metrics coming early 2019.
• Setup a call to work with you and your company
to explore who your customers are and build a
better relationship with them.
• Community site at gearmark.nm.com to discuss
how to create relationships
Today’s offer: Free 30 minute consultation call.
Signup at: https://calendly.com/mfbrodie/30-
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