You know that distinctive “thunk” when you close a Mercedes door? It didn’t happen by accident.

Teams of “psychoacoustics” engineers spent years (and millions of dollars) perfecting that sound. They knew something most product makers miss: our ears tell us more about quality than our eyes ever could.

Every time you hear that solid thunk, your brain whispers “precision German engineering.”

(My colleague Andreas, who is both German and an audio technician, would definitely concur.)

I’ve enjoyed helping clients develop their sonic identity. It’s intriguing how some brands invest heavily in engineering specific sounds, while others stumble into audio gold.

Remember The Home Depot’s “More saving. More doing.” jingle? For a decade, it was everywhere. When they switched to “How Doers Get More Done” in 2019, they kept the same sonic pattern. The words changed, but that distinctive rhythm stayed – it had become too valuable to lose.

(And don’t get me started on those orange buckets. Ever notice how you can’t walk past a stack without tapping out a quick bongo riff? Maybe that’s only me. 😁 )

In I Need That, I talk about how the dog brain processes sensory input far faster than our analytical tank brain.

Sound hits differently — it’s pure emotion, triggering memories and associations before we can think about them.

Look at what different brands have done with this:

• Harley Davidson tried to trademark their engine roar
• Nintendo spent months perfecting the Switch’s “click”
• Xbox made their startup sound deliberately long (7 seconds!) to feel more powerful
• Rice Krispies turned random cereal noises into trademarked characters
• The classic Windows 95 startup sound was composed by Brian Eno
• Apple’s “pod” products all share a family of sounds that trigger trust feelings

Some sounds are carefully engineered. Others just happen. But once customers connect with them, they become incredibly valuable assets.

My developer friends call this “sonic UX” — and they’re seeing huge engagement boosts from getting it right.

Action for today: Listen to your product. What sounds do customers associate with using it? Even if it’s a digital product, there may be a signature pattern of clicks and keystrokes, or an alert sound associated with a successful outcome.

If not, could there be?

Are you leveraging these acoustic touchpoints or leaving them to chance?

When’s the last time you really heard your product through your customers’ ears?

Laurier

P.S. The most expensive product sound ever engineered might be the distinctive growl of the BMW M5. They spent millions developing a system that enhances the engine note through the car’s audio system because modern engines were getting ‘too quiet’ for performance car buyers. Now EV makers are competing to synthesize the most realistic internal combustion engine sounds, to provide traditionalists with a treasured sense of power. 🏁