How to create an emotional connection with your business

Now is the time to consider how you can make a stronger connection with your customers. Think about what emotional connection you would like to create. You may need to do things differently. If you want your efforts to be meaningful and memorable, you must connect emotionally with people. Without that element being present in how you interact with customers, no amount of hard work will help boost your business. Become a business that provides the kind of service that doesn't just fill a need or an order, but inspires trust and motivates your customers to return and tell others about you and become an advocate for your brand. The future belongs to those who make emotional connections with their customers.

People don’t buy products - they buy better versions of themselves. When you’re trying to win customers you need to think beyond the features and benefits. Making an emotional connection allows you to capture both the heart and the mind of your customer. When we think about what we have in life, it’s usually about great memories. In a world bombarding and blasting us with messages competing for our money, time and attention, its real emotion that cuts through all the noise and remains with us. To get people to love iPhones so much, Apple doesn’t talk up its technical specifications, it tugs at the heartstrings by showing you the possibilities of what you can do.

For your business to become more close and personally meaningful you need to build closer emotional attachments by relating to peoples' sense of self. I have listed three important purchasing factors for you. These are an excellent predictor of actual purchasing behaviour. These factors are generally more reliable than what people say they would really do.

• Enticing - appeals to aesthetic needs and the senses. Any combination of sensory experiences are very favourable. Starbucks, for example, designs an experience that is pleasing overall to the senses. You walk in and smell freshly ground coffee, sit on comfortable chairs, hear soothing music, see tranquil colours, taste delicious flavoured foods. That overall experience is part of its brand and why people return to it.

• Enabling - appeals to functional needs. By creating a sense of being effective and getting things done, you tap right into customer's emotions about themselves. If a product helps you get things done, you’ll relish that autonomy and sense of control. That’s a pretty great feeling.

• Enriching - appeals to spiritual and self expression needs. This factor is the most abstract but perhaps also the most powerful. Brands that resonate with your values and reflect a sense of yourself and your aspirations feel inherently personal.

Ask yourself this question - what business are you really in? Don't' lose sight of what it means to connect emotionally with someone. It's not enough to just pick up the phone and call clients and talk about yourself or tell them all the great things that your product or service you can do. Connecting emotionally with someone starts with understanding that it's not all about you - it's about them. By making an emotional connection, you will redefine your customer expectations and you will challenge the norms of your industry.

Great businesses aspire to long term customer loyalty, retention, and satisfaction that generate a continuing revenue stream from their existing customers. Great brands achieve their goals by forging personal and meaningful bonds with customers. An emotional connection is the most powerful way to win over customers. People decide what brands to buy and what ones to stick with based on how they make them feel. That’s why brands aren’t in the business of selling products. They are in the business of forging close emotional ties with their customers.

Customer expectations are rising, creating more pressure for businesses to improve on their service delivery. You have the potential to create distinctive memorable experiences that will not only delight customers, but also increase referrals and sales. Create emotional affinity by creating value and meaning. When you strengthen emotional attachment with your customers by appealing to the senses, level up their awesomeness, and enrich their identity, you’ll start to win over their hearts. The Business Minder operates in ASEAN countries as a business consultant with clients in Bali Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.