I saw a documentary recently alleging a certain well-known pharmaceutical company has been testing new drugs on unsuspecting African communities. My reaction was: I will never buy another product from them. I am sure I was not alone in feeling this way.
I know the brand. I have used their quality products, with total satisfaction, over the years... But I have no love for the company! I do not "feel" their brand. I have no emotional connection with them.
And now, there is a negative emotional connection! There is now a reason NOT to choose products from them.
The high-bandwidth media today gives customers only a short period of time to make snap judgements about a company. The media tends to report negative things. If you do not build positive emotional connections with your customers, your company will be vulnerable to unwanted negative emotional connections arising from your mistakes and failures (and you cannot avoid these!). If there is love, customers will forgive your mistakes. Otherwise they will simply take their business elsewhere.
