Why Being “Connected” Isn’t Enough and What Businesses Must Do to Build Loyalty That Lasts

We live in the most connected era in history. The average American checks their phone 96 times a day. Employees are always online. Customers are constantly reachable. Data, messages, and personalization flow without friction. And yet, engagement is collapsing.

In Stickology: How to Build Unbreakable Connections with Employees and Customers for Life, released today, Stephen Baer explores a critical paradox facing modern organizations. Connection has never been easier, but engagement has never been harder.

Stephen Baer is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Engagency, where he helps organizations build meaningful engagement. With 30 years of experience in behavioral science, he has held leadership roles at The Game Agency, Atari, and General Electric, where he was a Six Sigma Black Belt and recipient of the Global Marketing Excellence Award. He has served on the boards of ELB Learning and LTEN, contributed to the Forbes Human Resources Council, and is also the author of two children’s books.

Stickology is written for executives, managers, founders, marketers, and HR leaders grappling with disengaged employees, declining loyalty, rising acquisition costs, and eroding trust. It is also for any organization that suspects its people are showing up but no longer fully bought in.

In the book, Baer introduces practical frameworks leaders can use to close the growing gap between access and attachment. He shows how organizations can move beyond perks, slogans, and surface-level personalization to build cultures of belonging, trust, purpose, and shared identity, internally with employees and externally with customers.

Drawing on real-world case studies from Life is Good vs. SHEIN, Chick-fil-A vs. Subway, and Lyft vs. Uber, Stickology reveals why connectivity alone does not create loyalty, trust, or advocacy. Baer argues that engagement is not a metric or a campaign, but a form of emotional investment, and that organizations must deliberately design the human infrastructure that makes people want to stay, care, and commit.

Recent Praise for Stickology: 

“Stickology offers practical, case-based models on how brands successfully align values, culture, and strategy to engage employees and customers in lasting, meaningful ways.”

-Tom Reno, Chief Operating and Financial Officer, New York Public Radio

“I thoroughly enjoyed Stickology and couldn’t agree more that engagement is a vital, measurable driver of performance, and a critical factor in building a loyal, enthusiastic, and enduring client base.”

- Jared DiPalma, Chief Financial Officer, Dow Jones

“Stickology offers a smart, balanced look at what truly drives lasting engagement—from both the employee and customer perspective. The customer experience will never exceed the employee experience—and this book brings that truth to life.”

- Rob Lauber, Former Chief Learning Officer, McDonald's

“This is a blueprint for CEOs, CCOs, and anyone in leadership or management to crack the code of organizational performance. Truly a must-read and incredibly relevant to the times we live in.”

-Gary Grates, Globally Recognized Authority on Organizational Communications and Change Management

“Engagement isn’t about how often you reach people,” Baer explains. “It’s about whether the relationship is strong enough to survive when convenience, price, or novelty disappear.”

Blending research, comparative case studies, and actionable tools, Stickology provides a clear roadmap for building organizations that people not only interact with but also commit to.

For more information on Stephen Baer and Stickology: How to Build Unbreakable Connections with Employees and Customers for Life, visit his website.