Introduction - Energizing the Marketplace
In the present day, competition among companies have shifted. It is not enough merely to provide a product, nor merely to provide a good product, nor merely to provide a good product at a low price. The firms that stand out from the rest have earned the devotion of their customers.
If customers are lukewarm about a brand - they find the product useful but not captivating, acceptable only for lack of a better alternative - then you do not have their loyalty. They buy your product out of necessity or habit, no because they feel an attachment of commitment, and they will leave when a better offer comes along.
For the companies that take and maintain a lead, customers stick to their brands, even if the market offers a better or cheaper alternative. In essence, the entirety of brand value - the amount a customer will pay for their preferred brand rather than a close substitute - is all about emotional attachment and preference. These brands have formed an emotional connection to their customer base. It is not merely that they have loyalty - they have enthusiasm and commitment. They are loved.
Most people have at least one product or service that they love, for which the enjoyment they derive from using it extends beyond the functional outcome. This enjoyment is real, and you may have difficulty explaining the source of this emotion. (EN: It occurs to me that much of the emotion is rationalized as logic - peek into any argument between PC and Macintosh fanboys, where the veneer of objectivity over emotional attachment is completely transparent.)
It's difficult to grasp, but emotional connections are not accidental or happenstance - a firm can deliberately design its brand to be captivating, and to earn the devotion of customers. Some do it completely by accident - but that doesn't mean it's always accidental. The firms that do it well often know exactly what they are doing: they are carefully and purposefully building brands that customers will love.
This book is essentially about emotions that arise and develop between customers and brands. Business and all its predilection for cold, hard facts has often pushed the idea of emotion aside: they cannot measure it, don't understand it, and are inept at it ... so it must be unimportant. But there are facts, analysis, statistics, and hard research that demonstrate it is quite the opposite.
"Emotion is fundamental to all that is human," including the practical decisions we make in everyday life. We do not quantify whether we feel satisfaction or enjoyment from using a product, but we do, and when we tell others about the things we own, we speak in emotional terms.
Emotions guide decisions related to all products - it's not just cosmetics and snacks, but industrial gas lines, engineering software, manufacturing supplies, business services, and all manner of products. The examples in this book will be taken not only from consumer goods, but a full range of products (and services), business-to-business as well as consumer goods.
The author also pauses to distinguish the use of emotions from the abuse of them: many firms seek to use marketing to stir up temporary excitement and anticipation, ending in disappointment and even a feeling of betrayal. Manipulating and deceiving people for short-term gain is a far cry from fostering a long-term relationship - which requires sincerity and authenticity.
Supported versus Associated Emotions
The author suggests there are two paths firms use to evoke and sustain emotion: supported and associated.
A supported emption is evoked by the product itself, and experienced in the use of a product. When we speak of the sense of excitement and power in driving a sports car, this is created by the sensory perceptions experienced in connection to a physical object. We see the sleek design, hear the hum of the engine, feel the mechanical precision of the transmission, etc. Or supported emotions may come from physical elements that are not part of the product itself, but are experienced in close relation to the brand - the feel of the paper on which a contract is printed, the quality of sound in a bank lobby, the scent inside of a movie theater.
An associated emotion, meanwhile, has nothing to do with the product itself, but is created through associations in advertising. Advertising for tobacco may seek to associate feelings associated to being rugged and outdoorsy, or sophisticated and urbane, by means of images used in advertising.
Because associated emotions are largely imaginary, they are easier to fake - but they are much harder to sustain. Eventually, the customer is going to have contact with the brand, and in any disagreement, supported trumps associated. Moreover, associated emotions are not felt as strongly as supported ones - and the author asserts that associated emotions alone cannot create a sense of satisfaction or devotion.
Intended Audience
The authors mention their credentials (university professors who have done consulting work in innovation) and their motivation (it's a topic that should be of concern and they feel other authors have not addressed it in quite the way they wish), along with the standard claim that, while the authors are academics, it's meant as a guide for practitioners to develop a workable strategy.
Their intended audience: product managers, marketers, technologists, and people who saw this book while walking through an airport. (EN: Yes, they actually admitted that last bit.)