In today’s tech-savvy world, AI is the buzzword. It helps organizations finish tasks faster and more cost-efficiently. But here’s the catch; since AI is basically made up of coded software, everyone using AI can end up sounding the same.
Now, if you want to stand out in your industry, it’s time to add a human touch to your marketing game. Traditional or tech-based, it’s all about showcasing your unique personality!
Introducing Emotional Intelligence
In a world full of automation, emotional intelligence (EQ) is your secret weapon to shine brighter than your competitors. But what is it exactly? It’s all about recognizing and understanding human emotions, both in yourself and others.
Having a high EQ tests your ability to communicate with others. Trust us, it’s one of the top soft skills you need in business and marketing. So, get ready to understand yourself and connect with others like a pro!
Read More: Who Needs a Rebrand These Days? You Do!
The Need for an EQ-Centered Leader
To push your company toward success, you need to devote yourself to being an EQ-centered leader. Using emotional intelligence can help you maneuver away from selfish thoughts and go towards selfless and inclusive mindsets.
Using EQ-centered leadership can lead to many benefits in most, if not all, situations. Some examples are as follows:
1. Healthy Self-Expressions
When you understand your emotions, expressing yourself becomes a breeze. And guess what? It leads to better communication and a super-safe working environment.
Here’s a cool example: imagine a leader who’s unhappy with their tech team’s final output. Now, someone without emotional intelligence might blow up in frustration, scolding their team and making everyone feel down. Not cool, right?
But an EQ-savvy leader keeps their cool and holds a productive meeting with the team. No hurt feelings, no disrespect. Just solutions and growth!
2. Effective Conflict Resolution
An EQ-centered leader has empathy and can understand everyone involved in a situation. If you’re emotionally intelligent, you can exert time and effort in understanding all sides to an argument before deciding the best course of action for everyone to take.
Imagine you’re in a meeting with all of your team leaders and two specific individuals have been arguing non-stop. Their argument is starting to affect the meeting’s productivity. They’re also at a point where they’re displaying negative emotions like anger and annoyance. What do you do?
When a heated situation arises between two employees, an EQ-centered leader would step in like a pro. No judging, no drama. They simply bring the two together to cool down and share their sides. If needed, the leader even chats with them individually, just to make sure.
By listening and understanding both perspectives, our EQ champ makes an informed decision and voila! Issue resolved, employees happy, and the team’s harmony is back on track. Easy-peasy!
EQ and Automation
Great leaders know the importance of emotional intelligence. They’re pumped to see their team members grow in this area too. It’s all about making everyone feel seen and understood.
Does this mean you should forgo any AI-related innovations? Definitely not! According to research, artificial intelligence can actually help solve issues within organizations. McKinsey’s survey even saw generative AI has the potential to automate 60 to 70 percent of an employees’ time!¹
AI is a groundbreaking way to improve your company so instead of avoiding it for the sake of EQ, you can teach it to ‘care’. AI may be a program, but guess what? You can totally teach it to recognize emotions. Just feed it some programming magic and data, and voila! Your automation system becomes emotionally intelligent.
Here’s the trick: use interactions and visual cues to help AI respond like a pro when dealing with real people. Oh, and don’t forget context! Different situations call for different vibes. And while you’re at it, make sure to prioritize EQ-centric responses for your clients and customers. They’ll love the personalized touch from your super-smart automation system!
Read More: Ethics in Action – Ensuring Your Staffing Agency Practices Responsible AI
Emotional Intelligence as Key to Hiring and Retaining Top Talent
As an organization, having high EQ characteristics can bring many benefits. Specifically, it can be a key that leads to higher chances of securing and retaining top talent.
For both potential and current employees, a company that prioritizes EQ can create a good working environment and an overall positive employee experience.
Considerations When Creating EI-Centric Marketing and Recruitment Process
Discover how EI-driven strategies lead to better connections with clients and candidates, creating a winning formula for success.
When Marketing…
Emotional intelligence as a marketing cornerstone is one of the best strategies you can use. Consider the following tips to make your marketing tactics more EI-centric:
- Understand your target audience. You can do this by conducting research and surveys about their needs and preferences.
- When making marketing content, always think about your target market. Show empathy to make them feel seen and understood.
- Instead of a logical approach, consider emotional storytelling! Use realistic and relatable stories that can evoke people’s emotions.
- When choosing stories to tell, prioritize connecting with your audience. Include experiences and struggles that they can relate to best.
- Avoid manipulating your customers. Remember there is a line between connecting with your audience to using their emotions to manipulate their actions. The former focuses on building a relationship with them while the latter focuses only on making income.
Read More: Everything You Need to Know About Tailored Solutions and Productized Services
When Recruiting…
Your company’s recruitment process speaks volumes about who you are. According to a Glassdoor survey, 77 percent of employees care about your company culture when applying.² So, let’s make it EQ-tastic! Here are some tips to ace it:
- Create job descriptions with EQ. Instead of just writing down job requirements and descriptions, you could also include the values and commitment your company has. This would help them understand what you fight for and decide if it’s in line with their own perspectives.
- Always use emotionally intelligent language that highlights what the company upholds. For example, a company that provides flexible working hours can include this in their job post: “We understand the importance of work-life balance…”
- Give the same value to a soft skill the same way you give importance to a hard skill. Emphasize how having skills like collaboration, communication, empath, and such are important to succeed in the open position.
- Practice collaborative hiring decisions. This gives stakeholders the chance to voice their opinions and perspectives about the best candidate to hire. It also advocates for a more comprehensive evaluation process.
- Include an evaluation of your company’s EQ when conducting surveys for both candidates and employees. This would help guide you in further improving your organization’s EQ!
PRODUCE EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT BRANDING WITH ALLIED INSIGHT
As a full-stack marketing agency, Allied Insight is ready to invest our time and effort in helping you curate the best emotionally intelligent branding. Developing what you already have now can be a challenge. With our focus on development, accessibility, and impact, we’re sure to offer you fresh new perspectives and effective marketing solutions to help your business flourish!
We respect your time as we focus on your potential success beyond the marketing we deliver. Contact us today to expand your audience!
References
1 McKinsey & Company. “The Economic Potential of Generative AI: The Next Productivity Frontier.” Report. 14 June 2023. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-economic-potential-of-generative-ai-the-next-productivity-frontier
2 Glassdoor Team. “Mission Culture Survey.” Glassdoor, 10 Jul. 2019, www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/mission-culture-survey/.
