🌟 Key Learnings from CXM@MSU@ Roundtable on Emotional Intelligence - Sandra Thompson

In a world where emotions shape our every decision, understanding the intricacies of customer/donor experiences becomes paramount. By acknowledging the vast spectrum of emotions, considering context, and redefining empathy, we can create meaningful connections and foster genuine relationships.

Emotions Galore: Did you know we experience hundreds of emotions each day? Some are easily noticeable, while others may go unnoticed. The rich tapestry of our emotional lives is fascinating. How do you consider this when designing customer/donor experiences?

Beyond Good or Bad: "How was your experience today?" We commonly ask it, but it barely scratches the surface. Our emotions are as unique as our fingerprints, shaped by our experiences and the meaning we attach to them. Understanding this complexity is critical. The customer/donor experience encapsulates every interaction customers/donors have, from initial contact to attending an event and follow-up communication.

Context Matters: Emotions don't exist in isolation. The context in which we operate influences our emotional landscape. Considering the broader environment is crucial for a deeper understanding. How is the current context affecting our customers/donors?

Empathy Done Right: "Walk a mile in your customers' shoes." While it may sound like a good idea, it falls short of genuine empathy. We are not our customers, and assuming we know their experiences based solely on our own is lazy. Let's take a different approach.

Redefining empathy: When we strive to empathize, we often rely on language that compares our customers' experiences to ours. However, this approach is limited. To truly connect with our customers/donors, we must actively listen, seek to understand their unique perspectives and needs, and learn from their stories. It requires emotional intelligence.

FURTHER READINGS

The role of emotional marketing and UTAUT on donation intention through social media

Summary: Emotional marketing significantly influences people's donation intention through social media platforms.

The Interaction of Facial Expression and Donor-Recipient Eye Contact in Donation Intentions: Based on the Intensity of Emotion

Eye contact between a donor and a potential recipient may moderate the relative effectiveness of happy and sad facial expressions.

They ought to do it too: Understanding effects of social information on donation behavior and mood

Social information increases social pressure to donate a certain way and therefore decreases donors' moods.

Perceived human and material costs of disasters as drivers of donations

Relief appeals that emphasize the human cost of events are more successful at eliciting donations than appeals that emphasize the material cost of events.

Feeling or following? A field‐experiment comparing social norms‐based and emotions‐based motives encouraging pro‐environmental donations

Social norms-based interventions encouraging pro-environmental donations were tested in a field experiment.

Comparing the Effect of Rational and Emotional Appeals on Donation Behavior

A rational appeal can increase charitable donations.

Passion for the past: The effect of charity appeals and nostalgia on apparel donation intentions

Summary: Consumers reveal greater donation intentions toward other-benefit appeals than self-benefit appeals.

Donate Time or Money? The Determinants of Donation Intention in Online Crowdfunding

The dependent variable of time donations is significantly affected by social presence, trust, and perceived behavioral control.

Time or Money? The Influence of Warm and Competent Appeals on Donation Intentions

Warm advertising appeal conditions are more willing to donate time due to the mediating role played by social connectedness.

Choosing your charity: The importance of value congruence in two-stage donation choices

Different NPO values are relevant to donation decisions.

Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Biodiversity Conservation Videos on Charitable Donations Videos with charismatic lions increased the probability of donating.