EQ in Marketing

Another blog I read as a part of my secondary research is that of Oksana Tunikova. Tunikova is a Content Manager in Ukraine and writes blogs on different social skills such as EQ.

Her blog post, “The Hidden Link Between Emotional Intelligence and Marketing Manipulation” is about how our Emotional Intelligence is connected to marketing tactics. She writes that “The lower your EQ, the easier it is for marketers to make you buy what they sell, simply because you’re less mindful of your emotions” (Tunikova, 2018). In other words, if you are not attuned to your feelings, or have a low EQ, it is easier for marketers to manipulate your emotions into buying whatever it is they are selling. Some common emotions they may appeal to are fear of missing out (FOMO), envy, a desire to belong to a particular community, or even joy.

It is important to have a high EQ in order to avoid such advertising strategies. Once you have a high EQ, it’s easier to recognize the manipulation and consciously decide whether or not buying that particular item is good for you (instead of making an impulse decision based on emotions).

Tunikova’s list of suggestions on how to improve EQ include:

• Making it second nature to listen to your emotions
• Learning to listen to what your body is trying to say
• Asking yourself how you feel
• Learning to shift focus from yourself to others
• Noticing when your emotions are destructive and learning to manage them

By practicing all of these things, we can actively improve our Emotional Intelligence level. By doing this, we will gain the ability to make smarter consumer choices and recognize when we’re being manipulated- whether it be by a friend or by our favorite company. A little time and effort towards improving EQ is well worth the reward.

References

Tunikova, O. (2018, February 21). The hidden link between emotional intelligence and marketing manipulation [Web log post]. Retrieved March 4, 2018, from https://medium.com/@tunikova_k/the-hidden-link-between-emotional-intelligence-and-marketing-manipulation-2c19115840ca