We all like to believe that we are rational beings who make considered, careful purchasing decisions. The truth is that rational and irrational thinking co-exist. Often we make decisions and choices fuelled by gut emotional response rather than logically thought out plan. How does this play into customer experience decisions? In several ways:
Customers Are Influenced By Subjective Perceptions: Learn Yours
Given that customers are influenced by emotional responses, it’s important to understand what gets your customers to feel an emotional response. As people, our emotions drive us to act out. For example, if you are at a supermarket and nearing the till in a long line, tiredness and impatience might cause you to impulse-purchase one of the many chocolates or items of candy displayed in close proximity. Learning the emotions your customers feel in various situations and the kinds of action this drives them towards will give you valuable information about how to position what it is you offer, as the supermarket does with its candy.
Most Consumers Don’t Understand What Truly Drives Their Purchasing Patterns
Most consumers like to think of themselves as rational agents who make logical, sensible purchases. Even though contemporary consumers are aware of how much they are marketed to, few are entirely immune to marketers’ methods. If you ask the average consumer about factors that play into their purchasing decisions, they will speak about issues such as value, convenience and product characteristics first before they speak about how a product purchase makes them feel.
What This Means: The Link Between Delayed Gratification And Energy
Even though we like to think we understand our purchasing patterns and what drives them, emotion and bias are factors. Impulse purchases, for example, tend to happen later in the day when online shoppers are tired and feeling worn out. Previously, it was thought that some people simply had an innate ability to resist temptation while others were weaker-willed. Given that tiredness and our emotions play into these decisions, it stands to reason that a tired or frustrated person might make decisions that are heavily affected by the degree of energy they have available. Simply put, delayed gratification is easier when you have the mental alertness and energy to truly think about the consequences or value of an impulse purchase. Savvy marketers can thus time offers or engagement strategies around the emotional high and low points in the consumer cycle.
Need insight into your customer experience and its emotional touchpoints? Speak to Interact today.