THE EMOTIONAL BANK ACCOUNT
“We all know what a financial bank account is. We make deposits into it and build up a reserve from which we can make withdrawals when we need to.

An Emotional Bank Account is a metaphor that describes the amount of trust that’s been built up in a relationship. “

Six Major Deposits [in the emotional bank account] 
Overview

* Understanding the individual
* Attending to the little things
* Keeping Commitments
* Clarifying Expectations
* Showing Personal Integrity
* Apologising Sincerely when you make a withdrawal

6 Emotional Deposits in the emotional Bank Account in Detail
Deposits 1 Understanding the individual 
Customer Avatar research

* Talk to real people!
* Understand alternatives ie your competitors
* Ask them to use rivals products and test your prototypes or own PL samples

Understand your product supplier:

* Business model
* Daily life
* Drivers
* China etc. - Cultural differences

* Direct no
* QC etc.

Other Suppliers

* What does a photographer need to do a good job?
* Ditto Graphic designer (logo, packaging etc.)
* Ditto industrial designer if you’re going custom product route

Business Partners/Stakeholders of all kinds

* What are their aims in life? In business?
* Do they align with yours?
* Joint aim of business?

* Eg create business to sell in 3 years? 5 Years?
* Global brand? etc.

Deposit 2 Attending to the little things
Customer service

* Followup in a brief respectful way
* Include nice extras in package
* Dealing with problems promptly
* Not being bureaucratic

Product Supplier relations

* Cultural niceties
* Educated
* Presents/birthdays etc.

Business Partners of all kinds

* Presents etc
* Meetings

* Be on time for meetings
* don't cancel last minute

* Language in emails

Deposit 3 - Keeping Commitments
Customer

* Make sure promises of your marketing are fulfilled in your product’s performance

Product Supplier

* Pay them on time
* Don’t move goalposts eg adding in QC or features AFTER ordering.

Other Suppliers

* Pay as agreed
* Give info as agreed

Business Partners of all kinds

* Task/project management

* Honouring Agreements on who does what
* Doing things in agreed timescales

Deposit 4 - Clarifying Expectations
Customer

* Eg sizes for clothes;
* function for technological products

Product Supplier

* HUGE - detailed specification
* QC expectations
* Timing expectations
* Financial arrangements

Other Suppliers

* What they provide eg photos
* What they WON’T provide

Business Partners of all kinds

* Long term goals
* defining roles:

* Who will do what
* who WON’T do what

* Amount of time each partner/team member will contribute
* balance with rest of life

* Weekend/evening work
* Financial commitments rest of life

* Financial commitments within business

* Who contributes what
* Approx pool of money available

* Now