Synopses & Reviews
When marketers use terms like “personality,” “character,” and “manner” to describe a brand, they’re more accurate than they know. Consumers everywhere describe their relationship with brands in the same deeply personal way -- we hate our banks, love our iPhones, think our cell phone carrier is out to get us, and so on. What's actually going on in our brains when we make these judgments? And what implication does it have for our branding strategy at work and our behavior as consumers?
According to Chris Malone, a former CMO and marketing consultant to Fortune 500 companies, and Susan T. Fiske, an award-winning Princeton professor of psychology, these valuations comes from two simultaneous snap judgments of "warmth" (what intentions others have towards us) and "competence" (how capable they are of carrying out those intentions). Psychologists have long known that warmth and competence establish our impression of people; Malone and Fiske teamed up to study 5,000 U.S. adults and 41 leading brands, including such icons as McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Tropicana, Hershey’s, and Mercedes, to find out if we do the same things with brands. Their research indicates that we see brands the same way we automatically perceive, judge, and behave toward one another.
Based on their research and rich with insight into the implications of their finding, THE HUMAN BRAND helps readers of all kinds to rethink the conventional wisdom about brands and corporations, loyalty and resentment; to articulate their deepest-seated responses to companies and act effectively on those responses; and to inspire companies and brand owners to embrace warmth and competence consciously--before the market forces them to. THE HUMAN BRAND includes answers to fascinating questions such as: Why do customers continue to give Tylenol a pass, despite recent missteps, and cut Toyota no slack at all? What is the real reason so many customers hate banks, oil companies, and airlines; and why have those companies failed to understand how deep that hostility goes? What is the fundamental human difference between Apple – the most valuable company in the world – and its rival Amazon? Why do customers rate the Hershey bar higher after being told of the good works of the company’s founder, though the product remains unchanged – and what does that mean for product and service companies of all kinds? Why do we respond so strongly to brands-in-the-flesh like entertainers, actors, and athletes? And why does building better brands require better people behind them?
Ultimately, THE HUMAN BRAND shows that successful brands and companies always put the best interests of the customers ahead of their own, and forge genuine relationships driven by worthy intentions toward customers. It is essential reading for revolutionizing how companies behave and making organizations more responsive to what people really value.
Review
Silver Medal Winner, Networking, 2014 Axiom Business Book Awards“Spotlights what it takes for companies and brands to earn and keep customer loyalty in the digital age.”
—Entrepreneur.com (selected as a “Best Business Book to Get Cozy With This Fall”)“This insightful book explains in simple terms why trust is at the heart of every healthy relationship—not just between people, but between companies and their customers. The Human Brand will cause you to completely rethink your current approach to customer relationships, and that’s a good thing.”
—Tom Long, chief executive officer, MillerCoors
“The Human Brand is a brilliant synthesis of psychological science and marketing wisdom. Engaging, insightful, and deeply original, this is an essential book for every business reader.”
—Daniel Gilbert, author, Stumbling on Happiness, and Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology, Harvard University
“The Human Brand is a must-read for those who want a truly evolved understanding of how to earn loyalty and create lasting relationships with customers. It's a timely look at how modern corporations hold onto customers—and how we drive them away.”
—Beth Comstock, chief marketing officer, General Electric
“Chris Malone has a unique talent for uncovering customer insights that challenge conventional wisdom and uncover new growth opportunities. In The Human Brand, he and Susan Fiskeoffer a new way to understand brands, deliver more memorable customer experiences, and drive profitable growth.”
—Ravi Saligram, president and chief executive officer, OfficeMax, Inc.
“Susan Fiske’s renowned work on warmth and competence explains how we unconsciously judge people and companies. The Human Brand is a must-read for anyone with an interest in why we make the choices we do.”
—Jennifer Aaker, coauthor, The Dragonfly Effect, and professor, Stanford University Graduate School of Business
“The Human Brand offers truly ground-breaking insights on the psychology of customer choice and loyalty, challenging us to rethink what really matters to our customers and what it takes to build strong and authentic relationships with them.”
—Ann Muhkerjee, chief marketing officer, Frito-Lay North America
“Today’s technology makes it appear as if marketing has become more complex. In fact, it hasn’t – especially for those brands who think and act like ‘the shop on the corner.’ People’s connection to what they buy, and who they buy it from, is what’s important. That’s been the same for generations. The challenge is in making large brands appear ‘small.’ The Human Brand cuts through the complexities of ‘marketing local’ in the digital age to tell the simple truth: connections are key.”
—Patrick Doyle, president and chief executive officer, Domino’s Pizza, Inc.
“How do we earn the lasting loyalty of others? Chris and Susan provide fundamental, yet powerful, insights into building relationships that matter. They challenge us to ‘come out from behind the curtain’ and lead with courage, conviction and heart. Never before has the humanization of brands and leadership been so vital to success.”
—Jay Gould, president and chief executive officer, American Standard Brands
“By re-focusing us on the primal foundations of survival, The Human Brand takes a major, comprehensive step towards understanding the real drivers of commercial success. If you care about what ignites, engages and sustains deep, strong relationships with your brand and company, read this book.”
—Susan Fournier, coauthor, Consumer-Brand Relationships, and professor, Boston University School of Management
“In all the noise and all the confusion, these insights on what really matters for corporations to maintain true customer loyalty make The Human Brand invaluable.”
—John Williams, president and chief executive officer, Domtar Corporation
“The insights detailed in The Human Brand have completely reshaped our thinking and approach to building lasting alumni relationships and financial support. Our resurgent alumni results in both areas are a testament to the timely and timeless value of warmth, competence and worthy intentions.”
—Daniel J. Curran, president, University of Dayton
“Malone and Fiske offer compelling new evidence on the dangers of excess focus on short-term shareholder value. Their anecdote-rich book is helpful for any business concerned with how to retain customer loyalty and trust in these complex times.”
—Noreena Hertz, author, The Silent Takeover and Eyes Wide Open, and professor, Duisenberg School of Finance
“The important insights in The Human Brand help explain why B Corporations are able to attract the best talent and the most evangelical customers, and why they deliver lasting benefits to our society and to shareholders.”
—Jay Coen Gilbert, cofounder, B Lab
Synopsis
An examination of why and how we engage with brands—or not—written by a social psychologist and a top brand strategistWhy do we love some brands and hate others? Why do we feel such a deep personal connection with the brands we do love and such powerful revulsion for those we loathe? What's actually happening in our brains when we make these complex but quick judgments? In The Human Brand, brand strategist Chris Malone collaborates with psychologist Susan Fiske to understand how we relate to brands, how we choose those we like or dislike, and what that information can teach the brands that vie for the affections of consumers.
Based on the latest research and rich with insight, The Human Brand helps marketers rethink the conventional wisdom about brands and brand loyalty, inspiring organizations to embrace their customers with warmth and competence now—before their competitors force them to. Ultimately, the book argues that today's most successful brands and companies are those that put the best interests of their customers ahead of their own short-term interest, forming genuine, long-lasting, and profitable relationships with customers.
- Includes the latest research and insight on how customers engage with brands
- Argues for a new paradigm for mutually rewarding brand-customer relationships based on the long-term best interests of customers
- Written by a collaborative author team of a leading social psychologist and top branding expert
For marketers and business leaders who want to change the way consumers relate to their brands, The Human Brand offers a valuable, practical look at what makes today's most popular brands so beloved.
Synopsis
Why we choose companies and brands in the same way that we unconsciously perceive, judge, and behave toward one anotherPeople everywhere describe their relationships with brands in a deeply personal way—we hate our banks, love our smartphones, and think the cable company is out to get us. What's actually going on in our brains when we make these judgments? Through original research, customer loyalty expert Chris Malone and top social psychologist Susan Fiske discovered that our perceptions arise from spontaneous judgments on warmth and competence, the same two factors that also determine our impressions of people. We see companies and brands the same way we automatically perceive, judge, and behave toward one another. As a result, to achieve sustained success, companies must forge genuine relationships with customers. And as customers, we have a right to expect relational accountability from the companies and brands we support.
- Applies the social psychology concepts of "warmth" (what intentions others have toward us) and "competence" (how capable they are of carrying out those intentions) to the way we perceive and relate to companies and brands
- Features in-depth analyses of companies such as Hershey's, Domino's, Lululemon, Zappos, Amazon, Chobani, Sprint, and more
- Draws from original research, evaluating over 45 companies over the course of 10 separate studies
The Human Brand is essential reading for understanding how and why we make the choices we do, as well as what it takes for companies and brands to earn and keep our loyalty in the digital age.
Synopsis
People everywhere describe their relationships with brands of all kinds in deeply personal wayswe hate our banks, love our smartphones, and think the cable company is out to get us. What's actually going on in our brains when we make these judgments?
Through their original research, customer loyalty expert Chris Malone and social psychologist Susan Fiske show that we relate to companies, brands, and even inanimate products in the same way that we naturally perceive, judge, and behave toward one another.
Early humans developed a kind of genius for making two specific kinds of quick judgments: What are the intentions of other people toward me? And how capable are they of carrying out those intentions? Social psychologists call these two categories of perception warmth and competence, and they drive most of our emotions and behavior toward other peopleand in today's modern world, toward businesses too. As a result, we become devoted to certain companies, brands, even products, but we also have high expectations for loyalty from them in return.
Having evaluated over 45 companies across 10 separate studies, Malone and Fiske offer in-depth analyses of companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Hershey's, Domino's, Lululemon, Zappos, Amazon, Chobani, and Sprint, showing how they manage to achieve success and sustain iteven recovering from major misstepsby forging genuine relationships with customers.
The Human Brand is essential reading for understanding how and why we make the choices we do, as well as what it takes for companies and brands to earn and keep our loyalty in the digital age.
Synopsis
Praise for
The Human Brand"This insightful book explains in simple terms why trust is at the heart of every healthy relationshipnot just between people, but between companies and their customers. The Human Brand will cause you to completely rethink your current approach to customer relationships, and that's a good thing."
Tom Long, chief executive officer, MillerCoors
"The Human Brand is a brilliant synthesis of psychological science and marketing wisdom. Engaging, insightful, and deeply original, this is an essential book for every business reader."
Daniel Gilbert, author, Stumbling on Happiness, and Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology, Harvard University
"The Human Brand is a must-read for those who want a truly evolved understanding of how to earn loyalty and create lasting relationships with customers. It's a timely look at how modern corporations hold onto customersand how we drive them away."
Beth Comstock, chief marketing officer, General Electric
"Chris Malone has a unique talent for uncovering customer insights that challenge conventional wisdom and uncover new growth opportunities. In The Human Brand, he and Susan Fiske offer a new way to understand brands, deliver more memorable customer experiences, and drive profitable growth."
Ravi Saligram, president and chief executive officer, OfficeMax, Inc.
"Susan Fiske's renowned work on warmth and competence explains how we unconsciously judge people and companies. The Human Brand is a must-read for anyone with an interest in why we make the choices we do."
Jennifer Aaker, coauthor, The Dragonfly Effect, and professor, Stanford University Graduate School of Business
"The Human Brand offers truly ground-breaking insights on the psychology of customer choice and loyalty, challenging us to rethink what really matters to our customers and what it takes to build strong and authentic relationships with them."
Ann Muhkerjee, chief marketing officer, Frito-Lay North America
About the Author
Chris Malone is founder and managing partner of Fidelum Partners, a research-based consulting and professional services firm that helps clients achieve sustained business growth and performance. He was chief marketing officer at Choice Hotels International and senior vice president of marketing at ARAMARK Corporation, and has held senior marketing and sales positions at Coca-Cola Company, the National Basketball Association, and Procter & Gamble. He lives in the Philadelphia area with his wife and three sons.
Susan T. Fiske is Eugene Higgins Professor, Psychology and Public Affairs, at Princeton University. She investigates social cognitionespecially groups' images and the emotions they createat cultural, interpersonal, and neuroscientific levels. She is author of over three hundred publications and winner of numerous scientific awards, including election to the National Academy of Science. She and her husband divide their time between Princeton and Vermont.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Back to the Future 1
Why our immediate future so strongly resembles our distant past
1 Warmth and Competence 19
The two timeless judgments that drive our behavior toward others
2 The Loyalty Test 39
Why we expect companies and brands to commit to us first
3 The Principle of Worthy Intentions 61
The simple and reliable way to demonstrate warmth and competence
4 The Price of Progress 85
How faceless commerce leads to a focus on discounts
5 Take Us to Your Leader 105
What we learn from the people behind the things we buy
6 Show Your True Colors 127
Why mistakes and crises are a golden loyalty opportunity
7 The Relationship Renaissance 151
Navigating the road ahead
Notes 169
About the Authors 185
Index 187