To Gain Customer—and Employee—Loyalty, Go Beyond Good Enough

HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review

Business, Hbr, Business/entrepreneurship, Innovation, Strategy, Business/management, Management, Communication, Harvard, Entrepreneurship, Business/marketing, Leadership, Marketing, Finance, Economics, Teams

4.3 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Companies that spend their energy on incremental improvements to products, services, and even employee experience might just be spinning their wheels. Author Marcus Buckingham argues that data show that the only way to truly make an impact on performance is to make sure customers don't just like - but love - whatever you are selling them. He shares why extreme positive experiences are so important, companies that are getting it right, and how even the most basic products can inspire love and connection--with the right strategy. Buckingham is author of the HBR article "What Companies Can Learn from Their Biggest Fans" and the book Design Love In: How to Unleash the Most Powerful Force in Business.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Deal is not just another payroll platform. It's one your team might actually enjoy. H.R. IT and payroll
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0:18.6	On May 20th, join me at HBR's annual Leadership Summit with masterclasses, interviews with the CEOs of AT&T and Mattel, and an interactive case discussion led by Harvard Business School professor Kareem Likani.
0:31.3	For 25% off, be sure to grab your early bird ticket by April 14th.
0:36.0	To learn more, go to HBR.org slash leadership summit. See you there. I'm Adi Ignatius.
0:56.6	I'm Alison Beard, and this is the HBR Ideacast.
1:07.1	So, Alison, today's conversation is about customers.
1:10.5	We all know it is not enough simply to sell a product.
1:13.9	We need something more.
1:15.3	We need to delight our customers.
1:17.5	We want to create a habit.
1:19.4	We want to build a relationship.
1:20.8	You basically want people to love your product.
1:24.5	I get that, but it seems like a tall order for a lot of companies, right? You know,
1:29.0	it could work for food or fashion or technology, consumer products that people really get
1:34.1	passionate about. But how do other types of businesses inspire devotion or even, as you say,
1:40.4	love? Well, look, it isn't easy necessarily, but it is attainable, and it's definitely a
1:45.0	helpful goal. And there's steps you can take to generate these strong feelings from your customers,
1:49.8	and by the way, from your employees as well. That's the crux of our discussion this week with
1:54.3	Marcus Buckingham, a researcher and author of the new book, Design Love In, how to unleash
1:59.7	the most powerful force in business. He also wrote the new HBO article Design Love In, How to Unleash the Most Powerful Force in Business.
2:01.6	He also wrote the new HBO article,
	...

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