Organizations are increasingly focusing on customer satisfaction. Logical, because in a hyper-competitive society you as a brand can no longer always distinguish yourself through quality products or services. Satisfaction factors, such as service and customer experience, are then powerful and important resources. The 'Customer Journey' is the new holy grail of marketing, which marketers and managers are currently focusing on. Rightly so, of course, but should a well-oiled customer journey be completely focused on satisfaction? Today we explore a concept that may transcend customer satisfaction; an emotional bond with your customer.

Emotion determines

Alan Zorfas and Daniel Leemon are two scientists who regularly publish for the Harvard Business Review. They indicate that organizations, both B2C and B2B, are currently mainly busy mapping out the perfect balance in the customer journey and analyzing customer behavior per step in the journey. Monitoring takes place in physical stores or offices, in online environments, on social media, during 1-on-1 conversations, in sales meetings, etc. The goal: knowing the perfect moment for a sale and offering an optimal experience .

However, Zorfas and Leemon indicate that their research shows that there is a level that transcends this customer journey satisfaction: the fundamental motivation of your customer. The fulfillment of his, often unexpressed, emotional wishes and needs. As a sales manager or marketer, this is the level at which you can make the most impact and best influence the success of your company.

Emotional motivation

When you ask a customer about their satisfaction, they will automatically mention a number of well-known concepts to assess their satisfaction. Speed ​​of service, quality, price, flexibility, you name it. And yet these do not appear to be the main drivers for your DMU. According to Zorfas, Leemon and their colleague Magids, the emotional motivators with the most influence are:

1. Being able to distinguish yourself from the crowd
2. Having confidence in the future
3. Meeting expectations in your life
4. The feeling of freedom
5. The feeling of excitement/fun/challenge
6. Feeling part of a group (with like-minded people)
7. Protecting and improving your environment
8. Being the person you would like to be
9. The feeling of security
10. The feeling of success

Tap into this emotion

The experiences you can offer a customer that also lead to satisfaction are of course crucial for being able to respond effectively to these emotional factors. However, realizing that your customer is looking for emotional security can significantly influence the decisions in your sales strategy. Perhaps it is no longer a weakness or threat that your organization's products do not have the most competitive price/quality ratio. Increasing the emotional bond between you, your organization and your customer can increase your success, especially within a B2B environment where relationships can be decisive. How? By shaping your actions based on the 10 main emotional motivations. For example in the following ways:

• Your DMU wants to distinguish itself from its environment and its colleagues. So you have to come up with solutions (services or products) that make it possible for your contact person to show themselves. There must be honor to be gained from your product or service.
• Your contacts are looking for challenges in their daily activities and in their lives. Give them that challenge by emphasizing innovations, new developments, complex issues and challenging cases.
• Your DMU would like to be part of a group. Preferably a group with success. So always include your customers in the success of your company. Make them part of your culture and success.

In addition to these examples, there are dozens of ways to translate your customer's emotional motivations into practical actions within your sales organization. Which emotions do you appeal to your customer?