Marketing Happiness

Jennifer Aaker, a Stanford marketing professor, teaches a graduate-level course called "Designing Happiness" that can only accept less than half of the students who sign up for it. She has worked with AOL, Adobe, Facebook and other companies to help them figure out how to use happiness to increase employee productivity and increase customer loyalty.

Her conclusion is that marketing happiness is one of the few ways companies can be authentic with employees and customers. According to an article in Fast Company Magazine (March 2011), her class has "... discovered that a meaningful experience (acquiring a new skill, volunteering, or spending time with family) often makes people happier than moments of pure pleasure."

Better than "pure pleasure?" Is that what your employees experience at your company? Do your customers come away from each interaction with your people saying it was "pure pleasure?"

THE BOTTOM LINE: The most important thing you can do as a leader to engage your employees is to make certain they feel like you value them as a member of your team and they are convinced they are doing meaningful work.