Understanding emotions is not simple, but once you grasp the basics, you can actually determine what to do with them and identify opportunities to connect with your audience in meaningful ways.

1. Tapping into
customer emotions
Presented by Marco Gervasio
Copyright © 2016 Marco Gervasio for SEQUENTIAL. All rights reserved.

2. Heart over brain

3. So there it is, that very moment when it’s time for you to make a decision
about something.
You probably think that reason is influencing what you should do because
you are a smart rational person, but in reality, it is your heart that is taking
over your brain and affecting your behavior the most.
Whether you are buying a new home, selecting between job opportunities,
or picking a new shirt, you will first base your decision on how you feel
about it, then justify that decision with more logical thinking.
3
Making decisions

4. This is even truer in our day and age.
Customers are much more aware of what you need to deliver in order to
impact their lives positively. They not only seek value but also significance in
everything they acquire or interact with, something sincerely meaningful.
In a previous article I discuss what the creation of meaning involves. In
essence it’s about making sure you develop enough empathy towards your
audience, understand how they really feel, what they aspired to, and create a
momentous experience that supports the emotional drive during the
journey: a path to goal-achievement and contempt.
4
A new breed of customers

5. But what
emotions are
we talking
about exactly?

6. Primary emotions

7. Psychology experts have offered us plenty of studies in the last few decades
about the understanding of the emotional self, the shambolic and sometimes
unpredictable pool of sentiments (and their correlated responses) that makes
us the opposite of robots. Anyone can identify basic emotions such as happy
or sad, but there are many more nuances and when combined, they
influence how we behave in a specific moment and over time. And this of
course applies to customers and clients. We will never stop being human
even in business situations, which means emotions also need to be taken
into account in a B2B context.
Understanding emotions is not simple, but once you grasp the basics you
can actually determine what to do with them and identify opportunities to
connect with your audience and support them efficiently.
7
Human at all time

8. A commonly used guide to
emotions is Plutchik's wheel which
structures 8 families of emotions.
The inner circle (rage, ecstacy, etc.)
is the most intense set of emotions
but the second circle (joy, sadness,
etc.) includes the most common
ones.
The outer circle presents variants
and less intense emotions within
the same family.
8
Emotions organized

9. 9

10. The Plutchik theory also
demonstrates how pairing primary
emotions from different families
can define new ones.
Here are a few examples:
10
Human at all time

11. But what perhaps matters the most is what to do with these emotions.
Plutchik also suggests some anticipated reactions from people when facing
certain situations. And that is of particular value when defining customer
journeys.
11
Human at all time

12. One good example of how emotion scales are used is by companies wanting
to optimize their customer service centers.
They will develop guidelines and training classes for the representatives so
they are equipped to deal with certain situations, particularly the more
negative types of emotions such as anger or fear.
An irritated and overwhelmed customer is not easy to handle after all.
12
Making decisions

13. But we all
react
differently to
situations,
now don’t we?

14. personalities

15. While understanding specific emotions is very useful, the way they are
combined in each of us is just as important. Personality refers to someone’s
amalgamation of emotions, thoughts, and traits, as well as the psychological
responses to situations.
Personality is basically a pattern of characteristics forming a distinct
behavior. And of course, scientists have spent a lot of time trying to
understanding what makes us so unique. it.
There are many sets of customer personalities out there, but the most
referred one is probably David Merrill and Roger Reid’s “Knowing About
Social Styles” theory in which 4 types of personalities are identified.
15
Personalities

16. You can actually use a quadrant to
define more precisely one’s
personality, for instance you may
be assertive in a given situation
but not dramatic about it.
Many experts or agencies provide
insights on how to deal with the 4
types of customers.
16
Personalities

17. They tend to adapt the characteristics to the industry they evolve in, but here
are some of the most common ones from my audit:
17
Personalities
The Driver – Director
Traits:
• Controls emotions
• Solves problem
• Quite stubborn
• Will take risk
• Etc.
How to deal with:
• Keep it straightforward
• Don’t get too personal
• Show the bottom line
• Etc.

18. They tend to adapt the characteristics to the industry they evolve in, but here
are some of the most common ones from my audit:
18
Personalities
The Expressive – Socializer
Traits:
• Social butterflies
• Impulsive
• Positive outlook
• Confident
• Etc.
How to deal with:
• Be friendly
• Feed their ego
• Stay in touch
• Etc.

19. They tend to adapt the characteristics to the industry they evolve in, but here
are some of the most common ones from my audit:
19
Personalities
The Amiable – Relater
Traits:
• Demonstrates empathy
• Very mature
• Trustworthy
• Patient
• Etc.
How to deal with:
• Be inclusive
• Ask for their opinion
• Be transparent
• Etc.

20. They tend to adapt the characteristics to the industry they evolve in, but here
are some of the most common ones from my audit:
20
Personalities
The Analytical – Thinker
Traits:
• Very organized
• Acts with precision
• Commonsense
• Cautious
• Etc.
How to deal with:
• Show facts
• Don’t skip details
• Be professional
• Etc.

21. While Merrill & Reid’s theory is very enlightening, I see it as a base. I think
each project is different and identifying specific personalities for each might
be more targeted. For instance in a recent user experience research project I
focused my efforts on one particular area of a digital platform redesign:
talent recruitment.
My investigation allowed me to discover that in this area of expertize
potential employees are often divided in 2 distinct categories: the passive
seeker and the active seeker. It was clear early on that both have specific
behavioral traits regarding career opportunities. They do not seek
information the same way and are interesting in different things (or at least
have different priorities).
21
Personalities

22. Here’s a summary of the top-level personalities I presented:
Active Seekers
They are typically in a situation where they need to find another job, either because they
are unhappy or just pursuing a better opportunity, or because the company may be
closing or outsourcing jobs (making the situation more urgent). Active seekers only
represent about 30% of the total workforce, but most jobs are filled with this group who is
proactively looking for new positions (and are more rational in their decision making).
They will work hard at their personal brand and will be easier to find on social networks
and recruitment websites. Because there is more of an urgency to find a new position,
they will get down to business quickly by looking at your job descriptions early in the
process. But it does not mean the talent you need is in this group. Many believe they are
not as qualified as the passive candidates (on average). Why? They may not hold jobs as
long and therefore have less experience. They may take any position and are less
committed. That being said, there can be strong professionals in this group but you just
need to filter the candidates properly.
22
Personalities

23. Here’s a summary of the top-level personalities I presented:
Passive Seekers
This group represents about 70% of the workforce and is often thought as too “difficult” to
approach (despite often including the most qualified candidates). These professionals are
obviously not looking for jobs, but it does not mean they are not interested in hearing
from you. Many are actually whiling to engage into a conversation with prospect
employers to see if there are opportunities. While you need a specific strategy on how to
reach them, if they do visit your digital properties or come across content published
elsewhere, you need to excite them. You have to connect with them on a more emotional
level because only a spark, a moment of revelation, could make them decide to start
considering new horizons.
23
Personalities

24. In the full analysis, what I presented my client with is not only an
understanding of the primary candidates but also how to handle them. But
this is just a first layer.
You need to take into account some of the other personality traits such as
outgoing versus shy, or nervous versus confident, which can apply to both
the passive or active seeker and do not necessarily define the qualification
level of a potential employee. A shy and less confident person may still be the
best match for your company but you need to know how to deal with them
(note: introverts are now considered important players due to their more
composed and analytical approach in life. Find the ideal moment or the best
way to collect their thoughts).
24
Personalities

25. So how else
can you use
emotions and
personalities?

26. How-to

27. Leveraging emotions and personalities can be done in many ways. These
obviously relate a lot to profiling exercises but also help model user
experience artifacts. Here are a couple examples and some tips:
Personas
Modeling archetypes is obviously the best way to translate the common characteristics of
an audience into specific sets of emotions and personalities. As I explain in another article,
a persona can only be called that way if it is brought to life during the development
process (through storytelling and role-playing). To help you do this, persona artifacts
should include a few elements related to the emotional state and overall attitude. I usually
include a single sentence that sum up the archetype’s state of mind (sometime as a quote).
The overall personality must shine through the background stories you will write and
specific emotions can be identified in particular stages of the journey.
27
How-to

28. Leveraging emotions and personalities can be done in many ways. These
obviously relate a lot to profiling exercises but also help model user
experience artifacts. Here are a couple examples and some tips:
Experience Cycle & Journey Map
Diagraming the path to goal-achievement is one of my favorite exercises. It represents
how an audience member is likely to evolve over time within a given experiential
platform. Because it is sequential and evolutionary, you can identify specific mindsets or
feelings when certain events occur or when certain tasks are performed. A good example
of that was a project I worked on not so long ago where the audience was not only young
but also going through a difficult experience. Kids were participating in a clinical trial and
it was clear that emotions were going to influence a lot how they were going to interact
with our retention program. To make our flows impactful we used an emotional cycle
related to patients going through such an experiment. It included a sequence of stages
from motivated to doubtful and even growing apathy.
28
How-to

29. Take-away

30. In a nutshell, it just about asking yourself: “How do they feel and what can I
do about it?” Think of customers or clients as human beings, understand
their perspective of a situation and act as a true friend or partner. Show that
you really care about them and want to make a difference in their lives,
whether it is personal or professional.
Here are some additional tips about the attitude YOU should have regarding
your audience:
• Get closer, don’t be afraid to speak to them
• Show that you care, be friendly
• Get them involved, value their ideas
• Make it easy for them, give them control
• Stay positive, make it inspiring
30
Take-away

31. Anecdote: I came across an interesting study from Frac.tl which identifies
the top drivers of viral content, and in the end, feeling “happy” was
confirmed as the overall motivation for social media sharing, as seen in this
list:
31
Take-away
• Amusement
• Interest
• Surprised
• Happiness
• Delight
• Pleasure
• Joy
• Hope
• Affection
• Excitement

32. Some books to consider:
32
Take-away

33. Tapping into
customer emotions
Copyright © 2015 Marco Gervasio for SEQUENTIAL. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2016 Marco Gervasio for SEQUENTIAL. All rights reserved.
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