Healthy conversations are not "brand" conversations

I was talking to a prospective client the other day about brand conversations. And based on that discussion, I wanted to clarify one important point.

People don’t want to participate in “brand” conversations. Meaning they don’t want to talk to a faceless organization. Rather, people want to talk about and share their hopes, fears, dreams and realities. The stuff they care about. The stuff that’s really meaningful and relevant to their lives. With other people.

The truth is that most people don’t really care about our products. They care about how we make them feel, how we can help them achieve what they couldn’t on their own, in a way that others can’t. These are the things worth talking about.

Healthy conversations are not “brand” conversations. They’re conversations between people, about people. Filled with emotion. Love and hate. Sympathy and empathy. Real, genuine and free-flowing.

Hopefully, your brand can enable these conversations and thereby reflect its ability to add value to our lives. Remember the saying – Enough about me, let’s talk about you. What do you think of me? Not the hallmark of a healthy conversation.

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6 thoughts on “Healthy conversations are not "brand" conversations”

HI Eric,

I’ve enjoyed reading your blog, not only because our insights are similiar but because you go the extra mile to really article key points. And bring richness to the health “brands”.

I wanted to share with you one of my blog posts on “Empathy: Does Your Brand Have It?”

Here’s the link: http://www.womenswellth.com/blog/?p=175

Feel free to contact me – we both worked at Interbrand..I was recently with the health group as a freelance consultant.

Thanks again for an inspiring blog!

Kelley

Hi Eric:

The reality is that any conversation, or for that matter, any interaction has an influence on brand perception. Even the most casual or brief exchange can make a lasting impression on a brand (personal or corporate). Great post Eric, and thanks for sharing.