If you're a CX pro, UX or service designer, keep these 4 features of the human condition in mind and you can't go far wrong:

1. Our intrinsic motivators
We all want to be effective in life’s pursuits: to accomplish tasks, feel in control and establish truth — what's real and reliable. These basic drivers explain many common themes behind quality experiences: facilitating task completion, consistency, expectation setting, etc.

2. Costly signaling
Many experiences are impactful not because of the value they contribute to the customer's life per se, but what they cost the provider. Experiences that convey unusual thoughtfulness, effort or attention to detail will always be appreciated.

3. Pleasure
Our pleasures reflect what is evolutionarily advantageous - socializing, eating, etc. Unsurprisingly then, experiences that are physically, socially or intellectually gratifying are sought after.

4. Mood management
Daily habits are often strategies for balancing the two variables that underpin our mood - our energy and tension levels. As such, effortless and stress-free experiences are highly preferable.

Reference material:
Beyond Pleasure and Pain - Higgins
The Handicap Principle - Zahavi
The Pursuit of Pleasure - Tiger
The Origin of Everyday Moods - Thayer

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