Passion...
According to Webster's Dictionary, passion means, "an intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction".
We all experience passion from time to time. Some of us more often and more intensely than others. Sometimes passion is a good thing; other times...not so good. It can cause us to act with emotion rather than logic or reason. It can lead to unimaginable achievement, or unmitigated failure. Whether good or bad, passion generates action.
We've all heard the phrase, "Love me or hate me, but spare me your indifference". In business, the worst reaction you want to your brand is indifference. It will be the death of you. So building passion for your product should be the first step in establishing brand loyalty.
According to a recent study by SAY Media, TRU and ComScore, brands, especially those using using social media, need to find "passionate voices" more than ever.
- Consumers who identify themselves as 'very interested' [or passionate] about a category follow at least 10 "voices" [brand advocates and brand devotees] in that category.
- 83% of these followers tell friends or family about products/brands they like
But how do you build that passion within your customers? That's a difficult question to answer because passion is driven by any number of personal and very subjective factors. Passion can come from consumer emphasis on cost, convenience, comfort, ease, taste, quality...the list goes on and on. However, the simple and all encompassing answer is "value", or more specifically, "significant value".
In order to provide significant value, businesses need to place greater emphasis on the consumer end of the demand chain. Identify how your customers define significant value. Don't just find out why they buy your product/service; find out why they LOVE your product/service (or what would result in them loving your product or service) and then give it to them in spades.
Social media is a great tool for identifying where the passion lies with your customers and who those "passionate voices" are. Your advocates are out there. How often do you converse with them? Find those voices, follow them, cultivate them and support their efforts to advocate on your behalf. Geo-social platforms like Foursquare or Places are great channels for rewarding your "passionate voices", but simple customer engagement is a passion builder as well. Let them know their voices are being heard. Loyalty isn't always established through rewards. It's just as often built through appreciation and trust. A combination can create a passionate voice that will never go silent.
What are you doing to generate passion?
We all experience passion from time to time. Some of us more often and more intensely than others. Sometimes passion is a good thing; other times...not so good. It can cause us to act with emotion rather than logic or reason. It can lead to unimaginable achievement, or unmitigated failure. Whether good or bad, passion generates action.
We've all heard the phrase, "Love me or hate me, but spare me your indifference". In business, the worst reaction you want to your brand is indifference. It will be the death of you. So building passion for your product should be the first step in establishing brand loyalty.
According to a recent study by SAY Media, TRU and ComScore, brands, especially those using using social media, need to find "passionate voices" more than ever.
- Consumers who identify themselves as 'very interested' [or passionate] about a category follow at least 10 "voices" [brand advocates and brand devotees] in that category.
- 83% of these followers tell friends or family about products/brands they like
But how do you build that passion within your customers? That's a difficult question to answer because passion is driven by any number of personal and very subjective factors. Passion can come from consumer emphasis on cost, convenience, comfort, ease, taste, quality...the list goes on and on. However, the simple and all encompassing answer is "value", or more specifically, "significant value".
In order to provide significant value, businesses need to place greater emphasis on the consumer end of the demand chain. Identify how your customers define significant value. Don't just find out why they buy your product/service; find out why they LOVE your product/service (or what would result in them loving your product or service) and then give it to them in spades.
Social media is a great tool for identifying where the passion lies with your customers and who those "passionate voices" are. Your advocates are out there. How often do you converse with them? Find those voices, follow them, cultivate them and support their efforts to advocate on your behalf. Geo-social platforms like Foursquare or Places are great channels for rewarding your "passionate voices", but simple customer engagement is a passion builder as well. Let them know their voices are being heard. Loyalty isn't always established through rewards. It's just as often built through appreciation and trust. A combination can create a passionate voice that will never go silent.
What are you doing to generate passion?
