The passion conversation

This is a guest post from Spike Jones — Group Director of Engagement at WCG and co-author of the book Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable Word of Mouth Movements. See the original post this is adapted from and more like it on his blog.

Movements aren’t about the product conversation, they’re about the passion conversation.

It's Heart. Get it? GET IT?

It’s Heart. Get it? GET IT?

The word, “movement” has been bastardized by the marketing industry, but I believe this to be even more true with the word, “passion.”

Everyone these days is talking about the passion of their customers. They have to find it. To speak to it. To embrace it. But when you really sit down and have a conversation with that company, you come to realize that the vast majority of them are talking about finding people who are passionate about buying their product. And that’s where the whole thing falls apart.

The passion conversation is a widely misunderstood topic in marketing.

It’s not about your product or service. It’s about how that product or service connects someone to their passion. (We’ve talked about it before.) It’s about brands as enablers. So it’s not about the scissors. It’s about what people do with the scissors, like creating amazing works of art to pass down from generation to generation. It’s not about the car. It’s about how the car makes you feel when you drive it. Or how it becomes a supporting character in your life (like seeing it in the background of all those high school pictures).

It’s looking at passion from your customer’s standpoint. Not yours. Sure, some people will truly get excited about the widget you sell — and you should create programs specifically for them.

But for the greater population, you have to listen and search for that true passion. And then make sure you can help them connect to it.

The passion conversation is more important than ever, especially as a starting point for your efforts. It is the true north star that everything should be built around. And it will always stand the test of time.

About Spike Jones

Spike Jones is a results-proven communications professional, specializing in digital and offline word of mouth marketing. With more than 15 years of experience, the career path goes something like this: Baylor University; a decade at Brains on Fire; SVP of the Customer Experience team at Fleishman-Hillard; Group Director, Engagement at WCG; and now SVP, Managing Director SW Region at Edelman Digital. Spike is also a co-author of the book Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements.

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