When you get home after working the 9 – 5 and discover a bunch of fliers on your doormat advertising local restaurants, I’m betting you grumble, pick these up, and put them in the bin. If that sounds like you, you’ve just seen a marketer fail to use emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to notice as well as manage your own emotions and do the same in others. In the case of our flier distributor, that person has failed to recognise your own feelings after coming back from work and hasn’t achieved a conversion as a result.

It’s not just limited to this example though. One study conducted by IBM and Econsultancy showed that just 35% of individuals felt their favourite companies sent them “usually relevant” messages.

Fortunately, emotional intelligence can change that. By understanding how your customers think and feel, you can better target these individuals and achieve greater results. Here’s three ways EI can make you a better marketer.

1. Selling value, not the product

Taking our pamphleteer as an example, starting with a sell generally isn’t the way to achieve a conversion. Instead, understanding the emotions of his or her customer basis will achieve better results.

For instance, people will search for food when they are hungry or planning a night out. Focusing on local SEO and helping to generate positive Google My Business reviews will go a long way to sell the company – not the food or the prices.

As a result, when a customer is looking for food at that time, that eatery’s marketing efforts will help them convert.

Understanding the customers frustration at receiving unwanted fliers at an inappropriate time and providing value at an appropriate time has good hallmarks of EI.

By bringing value and helping convince them of your worthiness, you will go a long way in convincing them that you’re the real deal.

Once that’s done, then focus on the sale.

2. Greater Empathy

We’ve all been there, a client complains or makes an unreasonable demand. First instinct is to grumble to your colleagues about that person before knuckling down and getting the job done. In few cases, we actually explore why the client is making that demand.
By using emotional intelligence and listening to what that client wants, you can better understand their point of view. Emphasise with them and maybe you can achieve better results – and prevent the negative incident from occurring again.

This also applies to you. Control your EI and you’re less likely to lose it in a meeting.

3. Become more productive and efficient

In the business world, it’s a common misconception that those who work the longest achieve the best results. This couldn’t be further from the truth. People more in touch with their EI recognise the effects of their emotions and can better control them. Consequently, they are able to better handle the effects of stress and recognise when it’s time to take a break. Ultimately, they are more productive and efficient over the long term and achieve better results.

However, there is more to this; decisions are often made with more empathy, marketers are better at motivating themselves and others, they can also move on from scenarios which trigger negative sentiment quicker.

This helps make them not just a better person – but a better colleague.

Understand EI and become a better marketer

Understanding emotional intelligence is critical to becoming a better marketer. Furthermore, by recognising the emotions of others, you’ll not only improve yourself but also have a greater understanding of your customers and colleagues. In turn, this makes for a much stronger business.

 

*This article was originally published on LinkedIn.