Apple. Google. Disney. These are some of the most admired and in many cases, loved brands in the world.  No doubt, many companies are envious of the connection these top brands have been able to make with their customers.  A strong connection between brands and consumer manifest in many ways from retention to word of mouth to premium pricing.

As companies focus in on creating more content and utility in their marketing, more organizations are beginning to realize the importance of creating an emotional connection. This is along the lines of meaningful vs. mechanical marketing I’ve often talked about.

I was reading a book recently that focuses in on exactly this topic: Loveworks: How the world’s top marketers make emotional connections to win in the marketplace by Brian Sheehan.  Brian agreed to do a guest post answering a pretty important question in today’s age of information overload: What makes a company loved?