Emotionally engaged customers are more likely to advocate for your brand and return for repeat purchases. To build these connections, a strong customer experience (CX) strategy must be intentional in fostering trust and loyalty.
As Aristotle observed centuries ago, human decisions are influenced heavily by emotion. This principle remains true today—brands that tap into emotional engagement don’t just drive transactions; they create lasting relationships.
With that in mind, let’s look at how to evaluate and improve your CX approach and ensure your customers feel valued, understood, and emotionally invested in your brand.
# What is a Customer Experience (CX) Strategy?
A customer experience strategy is a comprehensive plan to enhance every customer interaction with your brand. It encompasses all touchpoints across the customer journey, aiming to create positive, meaningful experiences that foster loyalty and satisfaction. A well-crafted CX strategy integrates customer feedback, market research, and business objectives to deliver consistent, exceptional service.
While customer experience as a term may not have existed in ancient times, philosophers and thinkers of centuries past still understood the impact of emotions on our experiences and decisions.
# Aristotle & Customer Experience
More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle outlined the three key modes of persuasion: ethos, logos, and pathos. While ethos comes from the credibility and ethics of the person or entity presenting an argument, logos focuses on the logic and reason used in persuasive rhetoric. Pathos, on the other hand, was centered around appealing to an audience's emotions and feelings.
These classical principles still shape how we design customer experiences today, especially when emotion is a key driver of loyalty and brand differentiation. Successful CX strategies don’t just inform or persuade; they create meaningful, emotional connections that turn customers into lifelong advocates.
Pathos is often a key differentiator between highly similar brands, products, and services competing for similar demographics. For example, Walmart and Target may seem alike on paper, but Walmart aims for the lowest prices while Target promotes a specific lifestyle and image that customers can fulfill by shopping there. Where Walmart focuses on frugality, Target emphasizes an emotional connection with its customers.
Given the assumption that your brand, product, or service doesn’t chiefly rely on an appeal to logic and reputation (as would likely be the case with technical equipment, logistics services, or manufacturing processes), appealing to your customer’s emotions and learning what makes them feel secure and cared for—and how to satisfy those feelings—is an excellent way to engage them. But how do you know if you’re even connecting with them in the first place? The following questions will help you think about where you are now and how to get where you want to be.
# 7 Questions You Can Ask to Improve Customer Experience
It’s time to leverage pathos to deliver more captivating customer experiences. Understanding your customers and refining your approach to their needs and desires paves the way for a successful customer experience strategy. Here are seven questions to help you evaluate and improve your strategy.
# 1. Do You Know Your Target Audience?
Aristotle was a renowned public speaker, and he knew the secret to reaching and affecting an audience: you have to know them. Crafting an effective customer experience strategy is fundamentally the same—if you’re looking to emotionally engage any group, you have to know what’s in their hearts and minds. To truly understand your customers, you need to delve into their demographics, behaviors, preferences, and pain points:
- Gather Data: Use surveys, interviews, and analytics to gather insights.
- Create Personas: Develop customer personas with details like age, interest, challenges, and buying behaviors.
- Tailor CX Strategy: Once you have a clear picture of your target audience, tailor your CX strategy to meet their specific needs and expectations. For example, busy professionals might value an efficient online shopping experience, while eco-conscious consumers may prioritize sustainability.
- Stay Future-Ready: Track industry trends and emerging tech that could impact your customer experience framework and continuously improve your CX strategy to remain relevant to your audience.
# 2. What Defines Your Brand — Identity or Product?
Placing your target audience at the center of your strategic efforts is crucial when you want to go to market with an offering that will resonate with them. The story of General Mills’ line of Betty Crocker cake mixes provides a successful example of a company that aims to genuinely understand the wants and needs of its customers.
Cake Mixes and the Homemaker’s Quest for Self-Actualization
General Mills first launched its Betty Crocker cake mixes in 1952 in response to the demand of homemakers who bemoaned the labor-intensive task of baking fresh, homemade cakes for their friends and families. Despite delivering on that promise, the cake mixes failed to gain much initial traction.
To find answers, General Mills hired psychological marketing researchers to provide an explanation for their mediocre sales. Through research, they learned “that baking a cake was an act of love on the [homemaker’s] part; a cake mix that only needed water cheapened that love."1 In response, General Mills released a new cake mix iteration, one that required adding eggs and oil. Doing so successfully provided an answer that didn’t trample the homemaker’s quest for self-actualization but rather subtly enhanced the experience in a way that still allowed personal ownership of the solution.
Here, we see the danger of assumptions when trying to please your customer base. You may think you’re making something easier for them—but it’s more important to understand what they actually want.
# 3. How Are You Communicating With Your Audience?
Any company can tell you about their water-repellant, luxuriously warm jacket that comes in seven different colors, plainly listing features like the durable nylon fabric and specialty zippers as items on a manifest. But the most successful companies will convince you that wearing their jacket will transform you into a wilderness expert who can tackle any snowy peak. Or maybe they’ll show that wearing their jacket will have you roasting marshmallows over a campfire with your friends and family, creating memories of the great outdoors that you’ll fondly reminisce about for years to come.
While technical details are important, assume at least three other companies are offering a similar product at a similar price point. To break away from the pack, tell the story of your brand, product, or service in a way that shows buyers your offering will fulfill the identity they fantasize about. Buyers want more than a jacket—they want a story where they can be the hero.
Related Content: The Power of Customer Personalization
# 4. Are You Considering Human Behavior & Psychology?
As you can see from Aristotle’s teachings (or by observing a crowd at a football game), emotions drive people. Psychological factors like cognitive biases, social proof, and the need for social connection often influence their decisions. Incorporating these psychological principles can strengthen your customer experience strategy, helping you build stronger connections with your customers.
Here are three ways to integrate psychology into your CX approach:
- Create Moments of Value: Surprise and delight customers by providing unexpected value, such as personalized recommendations or exclusive content. These small gestures make customers feel appreciated, fostering a sense of loyalty.
- Leverage Social Proof: Highlight customer testimonials, reviews, and user-generated content to build trust and authenticity. People often look to others' experiences when making decisions, so social proof can help potential customers feel more confident in choosing your brand.
- Encourage Reciprocity: When you go above and beyond for your customers, they often feel a natural inclination to reciprocate. By offering exceptional service, special perks, or thoughtful follow-ups, you can build a loyal customer base that feels valued and willing to engage further with your brand.
# 5. How Strong Is Your First Impression?
First impressions play a decisive role in the long and often non-linear path to purchase. The candy coating of a sleek and shiny brand will ultimately crumble away to reveal hollow disappointment if there isn’t a fantastic experience to back it up.
First impressions are formed across multiple touchpoints—website visits, text messages, storefronts, emails, packaging, and customer service interactions. When these encounters are positive and consistent, they reinforce trust. However, a single negative experience can leave a lasting impact. Imagine a trendy new restaurant: the food and ambiance may be perfect, but if the service is poor, customers are likelier to share negative feedback about the experience than praise the food.
Similarly, a well-packaged product or great online branding can be overshadowed if a customer faces rude service, slow shipping, or a poorly designed e-commerce site. Each negative touchpoint increases the risk of losing customers to competitors who make their experience smoother and more fulfilling.
- Focus on Consistency: Ensure all touchpoints, from packaging to online presence, reflect your brand values.
- Avoid Pain Points: Address common issues proactively to ensure smooth, positive interactions.
A great experience gives the customer the sense that they matter as individuals, not just as contributors to the bottom line.
# 6. Are You Listening to Customer Feedback and Adjusting For Pain Points?
Unsurprisingly, it's your customers who know best about the quality of your customer experience—which is why corporations like Apple collect huge amounts of user feedback and use it to shape software updates and feature changes. Listening to feedback and adapting is one of the most important aspects of refining your CX framework. Taking a human-centered design approach means going beyond collecting feedback—it’s about deeply understanding customer needs and embedding those insights into every interaction. By designing with the customer in mind, businesses can create experiences that feel intuitive, relevant, and emotionally resonant.
Here’s how to leverage your customers’ opinions:
- Solicit Feedback Regularly: Use surveys, reviews, and direct interactions to solicit feedback.
- Analyze and Act: Identify trends in feedback to improve and take proactive steps to address pain points. This could include improving product features, enhancing customer services, or streamlining processes.
- Communicate Improvements: Let customers know when you’ve made changes based on their input, reinforcing their value to your brand.
Related Content: 5 Critical Elements of Effective Human-Centered Design
# 7. Are You Building Brand Loyalty?
Building brand loyalty requires a thoughtful approach that considers every stage of the customer journey. People are looking for a seamless and positive experience from the first interaction to post-purchase support. If they’re happy while interacting with your brand, they’ll associate these positive feelings with the brand as a whole.
Take the coffee business as an example. There are plenty of coffee shop choices in a heavily saturated market, yet Dutch Bros has cultivated a devoted customer base. Their easy-to-use app, cheerful drive-thru interactions, and consistently upbeat service create experiences that go beyond the product itself. Customers keep coming back not just for coffee but for a reliable moment of connection and positivity in their day.
- Personalize Experiences: Use data to tailor interactions
- Reward Loyalty: Offer rewards, exclusive offers, and updates on new services
- Align Values: Show that your brand values align with your customers’ beliefs, reinforcing an emotional connection.
By focusing on long-term relationships rather than short-term gains, you can cultivate a loyal customer base that will advocate for your brand and drive sustained success.
Related Content: How To Use AI for Marketing Personalization
# Crafting Emotional Connections: The Key to CX Success
Take a lesson from the past: use Aristotle’s pathos to build genuine, emotional connections with people, and turn them into dedicated followers for life. When brands move beyond mere transactions and focus on inspiring, delighting, and understanding their customers as people, they create experiences that linger long after the sale.
If you find that logic and reputation are not sufficiently engaging your audience, it’s time to seriously consider how you can connect to them through the heart. Remember, your target market is not simply customers, users, or clients—it’s people.
# Improve Customer Experience With a CX Strategy Consultant
Looking to take your customer experience strategy to the next level? Enlisting the help of a professional CX strategy consultant can make all the difference.
At Propeller, we specialize in delivering experiences that grow your impact along with your bottom line. Our consultants can put you in your customers’ shoes, help you design services that resonate on a deeper level, and tailor unique strategies that keep you ahead of the competition. Visit our Experience Design page to learn more and take the first step towards a more emotionally engaging customer journey.
Special thanks to Propeller Alum Beau Platte and Joy Castiglione for their help with developing content and concepts for this piece.
1. Susan Marks, Finding Betty Crocker: The Secret Life of America’s First Lady of Food (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007), 168.
2. Harry Brignull, “‘Just Add An Egg’—Usability, User Experience and Dramaturgy"
