If you’re my age, you might remember when the song was first released by B.J. Thomas in 1969 or covered by Blue Suede in 1974. Or your first exposure to the song might have been when it was part of Chris Pratt’s mixtape in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Either way, it’s a classic. And it has a giant application in your organization.

In The Soft Edge, Rich Karlgaard explains that customers interact with organizations on three levels – function, form, and feeling.

Function is the most rudimentary level. You purchase an oil change for your car, and you get an oil change—new filter, new oil. You get the service. You pay the bill. Very transactional. As long as there’s an equitable trade, you’re satisfied with the transaction. Clearly if you get less than what you expected, you’re going to feel jilted. You might ask to speak to a manager, leave a one-star online review, or, most likely, never return. But if the transaction works, you might come back. Not a disappointment but nothing special either.

Form is the next level of engagement. Was the item you purchased not only functional but beautiful or especially easy to use? You not only got a good diagnosis and treatment in the medical office, but beyond that, the waiting room was bright, cheerful, and comfortable, check-in was easy, and you found easy-to-understand, informative materials to read. This level of engagement made the transaction easy and even pleasurable. Next time you need this product or service, you’re likely to return because both the product and the delivery were great.

Feeling, the last level of engagement, is difficult to find, but it cements customers to the company that provides it, and it even forges personal bonds between the customer and representative of the company. It imbues the transaction with meaning. The customer connects with the company over shared values, and the customer feels validated for choosing this company to provide the product or service. Simon Sinek might call this “finding customers that share your ‘why,’” or Seth Godin might call it “finding your tribe.” Whatever it is, it’s a connection that turns customers into brand ambassadors. It’s the company you tell your friends about. It might be the great meal delivered by a friendly, attentive server. It might be the doctor who delivered bad news but sat there unhurried in the treatment room until your last question was answered, even though you knew other patients were waiting. When customers connect on function, form, and feeling, the bond with a business is strong, loyalty is high, and it can drive premium pricing because the relationship has moved beyond transactional to the customer’s desire to repeat that feeling.

Recently, in the same week, our car was run into by a deer (we didn’t hit the deer, the deer hit us) and was caught in a hailstorm. Because it was going to be two deductibles (for two loss events), we decided to pay for the repair ourselves. We took the car to the body shop we’ve used for the last 15 years. We had to wait a month to get in. It’s a small shop that does excellent work, reasonably priced. Every time we’ve used this shop, the experience has been amazing. The owner has communicated clearly, fought to get us fair pricing from other vendors, been transparent about the process, and has expressed his appreciation for our business. In our conversations, we’ve bonded over KC Chiefs football, family, and more. When I picked up the car this weekend, I paid more than the invoice. I included an extra $100 because, as an advocate for small business owners, it means something to me to see someone doing it the right way. And as crazy as it might sound, as much of a hassle as it is to have a car in the shop, I always look forward to doing business with this guy. I want to repeat the feeling – I want to feel appreciated. I want to feel validated for trusting my car to a true craftsman. I want to feel the excitement of being invited again into the story of a successful small business. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve recommended this shop to friends, family, and acquaintances – that probably contributed to the month wait time. He told me yesterday, he’s filled his pipeline for 15 years with only referrals.

So, what’s the takeaway? Delivering on function is the price of admission – no extra brownie points there. If you don’t successfully provide the baseline product or service, you’ve failed. Delivering on form is a huge leap ahead. It will most likely give you the opportunity to do business again – and the mechanics of delivering on form are fairly straightforward – make it easy, make it beautiful, make it frictionless. Delivering on feeling requires putting yourself in the customer’s shoes. What will make them feel smarter (they were wise to pick you as a vendor because your product is demonstrably better and your support makes them insulated from trouble in the future)? What will infuse the transaction with meaning (maybe they’re positively impacting the community or contributing to a cause that both you and they value)? What will make them feel connected (their opinions matter, their continued patronage is appreciated, or their patronage makes them part of a community that shares important interests)?

FYI, here’s what my clients feel –

• Not alone – It’s tough being the boss. Everyone looks to you for answers but often times you don’t have anyone to use as a sounding board when you have questions. My clients do.

• Deliberate – We work together to tame the “tyranny of the urgent.” Often, business leaders spend their day being dragged from one raging fire to another. We build priorities, people, policies, and processes so that days are more ordered, customers are served with excellence, and employees are empowered to do business just like you would do it. My clients take time off without fear that the business will implode and feel the joy they envisioned when they originally pondered business ownership.

• Confident – It’s no fun wondering if you’ve missed something that’s going to come back and bite you. My clients know that we’ve taken a hard look at the disciplines essential for a healthy, growing business. Certainly no one can see around every corner, but my clients know they’re working inside a framework that helps them ride herd on the activities that are essential for success.

• Ahead of the curve – No one will care more or know more about your business than you, but it’s good to get an outside perspective – one that will see blind spots, respectfully challenge the status quo, and leverage ideas from other industries,