It is true that “Emotions drive human life”. Everyone seems to chase what might bring them even the slightest of serotonin, and little do we all know emotions can play a significant role in how we perceive and react in the world.
In the words of Van Gorp and Adams in their book Design For Emotion: “We perceive personality in the things in our environment and then form relationships with those things based on the personalities we’ve given them.”
If that’s the case, we see that the power of emotion often subdues our decision-making choices. It means the emotions influence a particular action, whether it’s choosing a restaurant for the family dinner, investing in a specific brand, or going to a specific shop every time.
In each case, people feel attracted to what most appeals to them, precisely what sellers call “targeting emotions to drive conversions.”Still, how exactly do emotions influence buying decisions, and what tactics should you use as a seller to convert your viewers into regular customers?
This article covers everything about emotion-driven design, its benefits, and how you can target your audience’s emotions to drive more conversions.
The Relationship Between Emotion & Design
As said previously, emotions drive action. And if you plan to compel a viewer to take the action of buying from your e-commerce store, what would cause the trigger? It is the “content” of your website that would persuade your clients to consider your services.
Also known as emotional marketing, it is the act of identifying the emotions that affect your consumers’ purchasing decisions and then providing them with the content, message, and experience design they require to convert.
As said by Van Gorp and Adams, “some of the most successful products have been embraced because they’ve managed to satisfy the emotional needs that were most important for their context of use.”
Thus, we see that the relation between emotion and design in the digital world is simple. Because emotions drive decisions, alter concentration, memory, and produce meaning, design founded on emotions can significantly impact customer experience. The decisions of customers will be influenced, eventually giving you an increase in conversions.
Benefits of Emotion-Driven Design
If you learn to use it the right way, an emotion-driven design can take your business game to the next level. Targeting emotions to drive more conversions is precisely what you need to generate leads and get better at what you are already doing.
Following are some of the benefits that an emotion-driven design can give you:
● Better Customer Service
Targeting emotions is not just about making more sales; it also means thoroughly understanding your audience’s wants and taking action according to that. And when you start to think from your client’s perspective, you create a better relationship with them on an emotional level.
● Establishes Trust & Increases Credibility
You satisfy the emotional needs of your customers by providing them with what they are looking for. The happier the customers, the more are the chances of conversion! It binds you and your consumers in a trustful relationship and increases your credibility as a seller.
● Develops Your Creativity
No question if you plan on creating more user-oriented content, you would have to think like one. It also boosts your imagination and lets you think out of the box. Your content features originality, and eventually, you become experienced and proficient in your work.
● Increases Engagement, Revenue, & Purchasing Volume
As evident as it is, an emotional-driven web design would influence your customers’ buying decisions, resulting in more engagement. Your services will be shared more, and thus, your business will get an increase in revenue as well.
How to Target Emotions to Drive Conversions
Typically, the process to shape your services more emotionally driven requires the following steps:
1. Understanding Your Target Audience
Here you understand who precisely you are targeting. It includes what your services are about and who your ideal customer is. It is not always necessary to settle on a particular audience; in fact, your customers can be categorized into various classes. The more deeply you understand who you are selling your services, the better you understand their needs.
2. Researching and Analyzing the Typical Customer Behavior
Once you find your target audience, it is time to analyze their psyche. Why would they visit your store in the first place, what websites or pages do they visit, what would they look at in your store?
You can also ask your customers what and where they would like to see a change. It shows you exactly where you should put your triggers.
3. Understanding the Emotional Triggers
Once you figure out your target audience, it is time to find what can trigger their emotions. This means a thorough examination of your ideal customer’s emotional triggers, how it influences their buying decisions and their cognitive state.
You can focus on psychological triggers, memorable experiences, and shared events, anything that would make your viewers “feel” closer to what you have to offer.4. Experimenting, Testing, Analysing
The last step is to put your research to the test. You’ll learn through trial and error; analyze every step, and see what works best for you.
When analyzing your test results, you should consider the following points to understand whether or not the strategy is working for you:
- What was your emotional targeting methodology?
- What were your expectations from the strategy?
- How are the results against expectations?
Conclusion
Triggering emotions to drive conversions is a powerful yet smart strategy to increase your revenues and purchase volumes. It includes understanding the psyche, cognitive behavior, and emotional triggers of your target audience and shaping your services according to those triggers.
Emotional targeting can significantly impact the sales of your business, e-commerce store, or website as it allows customers to rely on the services they are provided with emotionally. At the same time, it also enhances your creativity level and lets you come up with original content.
