Bad customer experiences can have a harmful effect on your brand, leading to lower brand trust and engagement. This is because bad experiences are not only remembered as experiences with a particular product but can also negatively impact any associated brand at the time of the experience.

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A Study of Mobile Stress

To demonstrate this, we at Neurons conducted a series of studies for Ericsson and Vodafone, testing the effects of mobile delays on customer responses. Using eye-tracking to measure visual attention to the content and EEG brain monitoring to measure emotional and cognitive brain responses, we intentionally created experiences with varying levels of delays on the phone. Participants were then asked to perform tasks on the phone, such as visiting a website or watching video content.

Our findings were striking. Firstly, we found that mobile delays led to a strong emotional and cognitive response comparable to watching a horror movie. Secondly, mobile delays also led to a bad subjective experience of the content on the website or video. But perhaps most surprisingly, we also found that brands that were associated with this bad experience – the phone, the brand in an ad, or the network provider – would take a hit on brand emotions and trust, as measured later.

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This study highlights the importance of brands not only being associated with positive and factual associations, but also working hard to minimize or eliminate negative brand-related experiences.

Customer disengagement not only affects the product experience in the moment, but is likely to have a strong negative effect on brand associations as well. By understanding the power of bad customer experiences and working to mitigate them, brands can foster greater trust and engagement with their customers.

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Designing a Winning Customer Experience

While it's clear that bad customer experiences can have a significant negative impact on a brand, it's important to remember that these experiences are often unintentional. Brands are rarely seeking to distract, disturb, confuse, or trick customers, but may do so inadvertently.

So, what can brands do to avoid these negative experiences and instead create positive interactions with their customers?

One solution is for brands to focus on enabling, engaging, and empowering customers' choice.

• Brands can empower customers to take control of their own experiences by providing them with the tools and information they need to make informed decisions. This includes providing clear and accurate product information, making it easy for customers to find what they're looking for, and responding quickly and efficiently to any customer inquiries or complaints.
• Brands can also engage customers by creating personalized and relevant experiences that align with their interests and needs. This can include targeted marketing and advertising campaigns, personalized product recommendations, and interactive customer service options.
• Finally, brands can enable customers by creating a seamless and streamlined customer journey that makes it easy for them to find what they're looking for and complete their desired actions. This can include streamlined checkout processes, easy-to-use mobile apps, and intuitive website navigation.

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Conclusion: The Importance of Creating Positive Customer Experiences

At Neurons, we understand the importance of enabling, engaging, and empowering customers. That's why we offer a range of services designed to help brands create positive customer experiences, including customer journey mapping, customer research, and customer experience design.

We help brands foster greater trust and engagement with their customers to offer better overall customer experiences and build more successful businesses.

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