Profitability of Emotions

Built to Love: Creating Products That Captivate Customers is a 10-chapter book published in 2010 by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. and written by Peter Boatwright, Associate Professor of Marketing at the Tepper School of Business, and Jonathan Cagan, the George Tallman and Florence Barrett Ladd Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. The authors explain how and why evoking an emotional connection with the customer enables certain products to enjoy market success. They explore key concepts around high-emotion products and present research that proves the value of emotion in product success. Drawing on numerous real-world examples, including an extended case study of Navistar, they outline a model for creating high-emotion products in three phases: identify emotional opportunity, develop a product strategy, and transfer strategy into product features. They provide practical guidance and insight for managers. Chapter 2, Profitability of Emotions (8 pages), shows that creating product features that engender high emotion often costs little to implement, even for products that are strong revenue sources. The authors consider examples from McDonald's, Black and Decker, and Starbucks to illustrate how low-cost product features such as hamburger wrappers or a different brand name can evoke emotions. They also consider factors that are essential in identifying and developing the right product features, including workforce training and hiring appropriate staff.

• Profitability
• Strategic positioning
• Brand management
• Innovation
• Product development
• Consumer behavior
• Psychology and neuroscience