A journey shaped by a guitar

Here's a terrific example of how the C.F. Martin & Company, maker of sweet Martin guitars, builds long-term, sustainable word of mouth: Its factory in tiny Nazareth, Pennsylvania, also doubles as a museum and shrine. A Mecca for guitar lovers, as Pine and Gilmore might say.

It helps, certainly, that Martin make some of the world's best guitars, but it recognizes, too, the possibility of direct and indirect emotional connections that can be made through its products.

This NYT story provides several noteworthy examples how.