Affected

CHAPTER 5 Designing affect: The Digital Affect Framework

Customers are better informed than ever before — expectations are high and loyalty is rare. How customers feel about a product, service or business can drastically alter their engagement with and behaviour toward a company and influence the likelihood of them being loyal.

This rapidly evolving landscape has left leaders at a loss, and what we are experiencing is likely the beginning of a tectonic shift in the way digital channels are designed, monitored and managed. Companies need new forms of knowledge and processes that allow them to create lasting engagements with their customers.

In this chapter, we present useful concepts for clarifying and refining the emotional meaning behind an organisation’s strategy, and its relationship to corresponding digital channels. Through examples we discuss the process and impact of ‘emotionally aware’ digital channel designs. We also make recommendations on how to select, design and maintain digital engagements based on your strategy as well as industry needs.

LOYALTY IS A RARITY

Consumers are no longer loyal. However, some customers may be loyal to the engagement experience (digital stimulus) that one particular brand offers over another. Consumers gravitate toward experiences that provide them with the emotional engagement they are searching for. Once the experiential elements of the engagement disappear, in many cases so does the emotional connection consumers have with the company ...