Emotion in Lean Economic Times

When the economy is prosperous, people have money readily available to spend on emotion. When the economy is poor, customers are clearly careful about how they spend their money. Companies feel pressure to focus on cutting costs. It may seem that in lean times product emotions therefore become less important. In downturns, however, product emotions become even more critical to companies. When spending carefully, customers need additional incentive to buy, and seek greater value for the money. Product emotions are generally an efficient way to provide that value.

Which emotions are valued most can shift during lean times. Rather than pampering or bling or extravagance, customers may seek reassurance through comfort, stability, and attentiveness. Ironically, they often will pay additional margins to achieve these reassuring feelings even in economically lean times, because even when resources are scarce, customers are not seeking the cheapest product, but the best value.

Product emotions often play a hidden role in buying decisions, as customers may rationalize purchases on the basis of functional benefits, even though the underlying appeal may be emotional. A young lawyer may join a prestigious country club because of the thrill of being a member of that echelon (an emotional benefit), and she will justify the expense by reminding herself of the potential for meeting future clients there (a functional benefit). The iPhone user might appreciate the sleek design, fun apps, and the ability to surf the web while waiting in the car (feeling connected and contemporary), yet he rationalizes the purchase by telling everyone (including himself) about his ability to answer email while on the road.

Especially in lean economic times, companies must provide true functional benefits that provide long-term or future value. Yet providing tangible functional value isn’t enough to make the sale. Without the exclusivity of the club, the lawyer would not consider joining. If the iPhone did not provide emotional fulfillment, most consumers would not purchase it, regardless of its functionality. Without emotion, these purchases might never even happen.

Product emotions provide essential benefits even in lean economic times. Are they worth the extra costs to the producer? From a company’s viewpoint, costs are a major concern in downturns, as production expenses may become more constrained than during periods when sales are higher. Producing product emotions does not have to cost significant money, because emotions may be created through more careful attention to already existing features of the product.

In software, careful attention to usability (such as clear wording for menus), interaction (such as fewer clicks per task), and aesthetics (such as a contemporary and professional appearance) can greatly enhance a user’s experience yet cost little more to achieve. Similarly for physical products, attention to ergonomic details or styling need not cost any more to produce. Such benefits are valued by customers and cost little to realize, which can significantly boost profit margins.

From the company viewpoint, product emotions have the benefit of helping a firm’s product to stand out among competitors. If several products are available to meet functional needs, then the customer will focus on other characteristics of the product to select among the many. Appropriate emotion provides that differentiation. The result will be a hot product that meets both functional and deep emotional needs. To quote Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, “Innovation has nothing to do with downturns. A hot product will sell just as well in a recession as it will in a nonrecession.”3 A hot product is an emotional product. Google is one of many companies that understand emotion. Their customers have passion for the capabilities that Google gives them. If your customers are not passionate you haven’t reached a sufficient level of emotion.