THINK ABOUT IT: LET EMOJIS HELP YOU IDENTIFY EMOTIONS

The holiday season is upon us. As a child,?

I felt?excited?(an emotion).?

I felt?anxious?(an emotion) regarding whether Santa would bring me a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas.?

I felt?upset?(an emotion) because Santa scoffed at me when my grandmother and mom took my brothers and me to visit him at Macy’s, saying, "you'd shoot your eye out, kid." (Check the many emotions that Ralphie and his brother experience on their visit with Santa,?https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=scenes+from+The+Chrsitmas+Story#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:329534b8,vid:EIaYVohZJuY ?)?

I felt?awe, inspiration, and love?(emotions) for the gift of the baby in the manger that was present under our Christmas tree.

Now I'm an adult—a senior, no less. Yes, I continue to experience the same emotions I did as a child and many others.?

I feel?nostalgic?(an emotion) for those Christmases I experienced as a child with my family.?

I feel?regret?(an emotion), but as Frank Sinatra sang, "I’ve had a few but then too few to mention" for those times I was, and I’m not at my best.

I feel?joy?(an emotion) when I see the?joy?and uncontained?excitement?in my granddaughters when they see the gifts under the Christmas tree and in the stockings hanging from the mantel over the fireplace.

I feel?sad?(an emotion) when our family is separated and cannot celebrate together.

I feel profound?contentment?(an emotion) when we savor the experience together.

I feel?curious?and?cautiously optimistic?(an emotion) about what the New Year will bring.

Today and every day, I feel?grateful?(an emotion). I'm thankful for my wife and family, our health and well-being, our many friends, clients, challenges, and the abundant blessings we?enjoy?not just this holiday season but every day.

We all feel these emotions and others throughout our lives, if not daily. Our customers feel these same emotions regardless of whether they are consumers, health care practitioners, surgeons, purchasers, etc.—regardless of the sector, race, or, for that matter, part of the world they inhabit.

Democrats, Independents, and Republicans all experience emotions. They're unlikely to experience the same emotion for a given issue or policy. That's why we carefully select our target customers and customize our messaging.

Why do I bring this up? Because while we?feel?emotions, we often have difficulty expressing them in words and actions.

We know we need to connect with customers on an emotional level but, as I pointed out in a previous DISPATCHES article I wrote (https://bdn-intl.com/plumbing-the-depths-of-emotions )?we have an incomplete vocabulary for capturing and expressing emotions. We use and reinforce cliches such as “confidence" and "trust.”?

While my DISPATCHES article suggested a source for enhancing our emotional vocabulary, I felt?gob-smacked????(an emotion) when it dawned on me that there's a source we often use in emails and messages—Emojis???.?

Face emojis can help you find the?emotion?you want your target customers to feel.

Give it a try. You're already doing it with family, friends, and colleagues???. Now use it to identify the emotion you want your customers to feel???.?

Found this post informative or thought-provoking? Follow me at?https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/richarddczerniawski/ ?as I share my perspectives from 50 years of successful worldwide brand marketing experience each week.

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Give yourself and your colleagues the gift of Marketing Excellence:?Please purchase, gift, and read my most recent book, AVOIDING CRITICAL MARKETING ERRORS: How to Go from Dumb to Smart Marketing.?Learn more here:?https://bdn-intl.com/avoiding-critical-marketing-errors .

Peace and abundant blessings for the holiday season and New Year,

Richard D. Czerniawski 847-312-8822 [email protected]