Consumer Emotions To Health Plans Differ Across Age Groups

April 24, 2017 Leave a comment

In a recent post, Temkin Group analyzed 10 emotions that consumers feel after completing a number of different interactions. We decided to dig deeper into one of those interactions, researching a health plan. We analyzed the emotional responses across different ages of consumers after that interaction and found that:

  • Consumers who are 44-years-old or younger tend to feel happy
  • Consumers who are 45-to-64 years old tend to feel frustrated
  • Consumers who are 65-years-old and older tend to feel relieved

As you can see in the chart below:

  • 18- to 24-year-olds: The most common emotion of the youngest consumers is happiness, and these young group are the happiest of any age level. They are also the most likely to feel appreciated (along with 35-to-44-year-olds) and angry.
  • 25- to 34-year-olds: This age group is also most likely to feel happy, but are also the group that is most likely to feel excited, worried, and confused.
  • 35- to 44-year-olds: This age group is also most likely to feel happy and is also the most likely (along with the youngsters) to feel appreciated.
  • 45- to 54-year-olds: This age group is by far the most likely to feel frustrated and is the most frustrated of any age group. They are also the most likely to feel disappointed.
  • 55- to 64-year-olds: This age group is most likely to feel frustrated and are also the age group that is least likely to feel happy or appreciated.
  • 65-years-old or older: The most common emotion of the oldest consumers is feeling relieved, and they are the most relieved of any consumers. They are also the most likely to feel confident. In addition, they are the least likely to feel angry, excited, confused, or frustrated.

Why is this important? Our research shows that emotion is the largest driver of customer loyalty. So companies must not only start talking about emotion, but they also need to develop unique approaches for dealing with different emotions across their customer segments.

The bottom line: It’s time to make customer emotion a top priority.

Filed under Customer experience, Emotion

About Bruce Temkin, CCXP
I'm an experience (XM) management catalyst; helping organizations improve results by engaging the hearts and minds of their employees, customers, and partners. I enjoy researching and speaking about these topics. I lead the Qualtrics XM Institute, which is the world's best job. We're igniting a global community of XM Professionals who are inspired and empowered to radically improve the human experience. To achieve this goal, my team focuses on thought leadership, training, and community building. My work is driven by a set of fundamental beliefs: 1) Everything starts and ends with human beings, so you need to understand how people think, feel, and behave; 2) XM is a discipline that needs to be woven throughout an organization's entire operating fabric; and 3) Building the XM discipline requires a combination of culture, competency, and technology.

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