More than you’d think, says Robbin Phillips, co-author of “The Passion Conversation”
Word-of-mouth marketing evangelists Brains on Fire just released a new book, “The Passion Conversation,” which says the customer-client relationship is all about love. Co-author Robbin Phillips talked with UBJ about how love fits into business and marketing today.
Love seems like such a non-business concept, so how do you get your clients to wrap their minds around that?
I think that once people allow themselves to get so close to their customers they realize there’s a lot there to love. When you think about it, listening is an act of love.
It’s such a weird time for marketers right now. So many people are in meetings where people are talking about stupid things like Facebook likes and Twitter strategies.
So those things aren’t…
It’s another tool, like the telephone or email. But we’re looking through the wrong end of the telescope, as my friend Ed Keller says. We need to figure out how these tools are going to help us get closer to people. One of my pet peeves is to hear people say, “We want to use our brand ambassadors to spread our message.” Well, that’s just crazy.
Why?
Because that is not the place to come at anything! If we were friends and my intention coming at you was, “I really need to get you to talk on my behalf and help me find more friends,” you would run from me every time you see me! But if we developed a genuine bond, I wouldn’t need to ask you to do that.
People do things for each other out of love. You can’t not use that word. It’s disruptive. That’s a good thing. We have to take off our marketer hat and put on our human being hat. But we’re born human, so we know how to do this.
But do you have to love your customers? Isn’t it enough to just really want to meet their needs?
Companies that don’t are missing something. The Great Recession shifted how we think about the work we do in the world. It’s got to have meaning. You let your customers into your life and you will be changed. You have to believe that this world is full of people that you want to get to know better.
Does this work across industries, products and services?
I think it works for anyone who feels that they have a nobler conversation to bring into the world, or perhaps they’re fighting some injustice. Most companies are started to right a wrong. Somehow that goes by the wayside as the work gets harder and the company grows.
It’s time to rethink this thing called marketing. It has always been something that we do at customers, but love and passion are usually shared. We weren’t put on this earth to find more Facebook fans. That’s the injustice I’m fighting [laughs].
That’s interesting at a time when everything across industries is moving to being driven by data.
We’re data people, too, but we look more for qualitative information, for the conversation that no one has noticed, a place where we can jump in. Then you can get credit for it as an organization, participate or benefit from it.
So what happens inside when companies start talking about loving people?
That’s the big opportunity. A complete cultural shift in thinking about what it is that you’re doing when you start understanding that people are using your products for a passion. The guys who make Liquid Wrench and Gunk are jumping into a conversation about tinkerers. It’s a product that’s been on the shelf for ages, yet people who use it are very passionate about what they’re doing with their products. It’s pretty interesting to watch. Each organization goes at its own pace.
What’s the biggest challenge in getting your clients down to that emotional level?
Some people don’t want to be realistic about their customers. The best brands respect who they serve and don’t delude themselves. That goes back to believing they’re great people you really want to know.
