The Passion Conversation and Your School

As you think about your word of mouth marketing strategy, it is your goal to get your parents talking. Often, when we think about what we want them to talk about, we begin with the list of areas that stand out at our school and then try to get parents to regurgitate it to their friends.

And yet, it is not likely that your parents will rattle off your list, your contrived elevator speech or mission statement.

Instead, they will speak from the heart. They will speak from their experiences. And most importantly, they will speak from their passion.

This is exactly what Phillips, Cordell, Church and Moore say in their newest book, The Passion Conversation:

“It’s not about the product conversation; it’s about the passion conversation.”

Think about it.

Your parents are passionate about their children. And, if the education they are receiving at your school is a great experience and is making a difference in the life of their child, they will be passionate about your school and will share this with their friends.

That’s why I really enjoyed this relatively new book on word of mouth marketing.

“The passion conversation isn’t about getting people to talk about YOU, the brand. It’s about getting people to talk about themselves.”

That’s exactly what your parents do best—they talk about themselves, their experiences in life, what they are passionate about and their children.

These passionate stories of your parent’s experience at your school are the key to your word of mouth marketing effort. It is from the passion of their children that will drive your school’s word of mouth.

The following are some of my favorite quotes from this book:

“In a world where technology has made it possible to connect more deeply and stay engaged with your customers, the focus should not be on a product’s features and benefits. It’s not about facts and figures. It’s about understanding how a product (or an organization) fits into a person’s life—and understanding how it makes them feel. (p. 26).”

“Marketers do not decide what gets talked about—People do” (p. 26).

“The best word of mouth isn’t a marketing tactic. It isn’t a tweet, a status update, a viral video, or anything else you can find on a social media website. Nor is the best word of mouth a publicity stunt or something a company does to get some buzz for a day. The best word of mouth is how a company does business every single day.”   (p. 30).

“If you understand why people talk, you have a far greater chance of sparking people to talk about how you fit into their lives.”  (p. 39)

“The fact that people are more likely to remember stories and share stories is not a new concept. It’s pretty basic WOM knowledge. Facts and figure don’t stick. Like authors Chip and Dan Heath informed us, stories stick. And here’s why: We internalize stories. They become personal to us, because we can imagine experiencing them ourselves.” (p. 58)

“Although word of mouth has become a marketing term these days, the truth is that you can’t force it. People will only talk about you if they are inspired by their own passion.”   (p. 163).

“As much as you might want your customers to talk about your products’ and services’ features and benefits, they (like most people!) probably want to talk about themselves, and how your offerings fit into their lives. They want to talk about their passions—specifically, the ones they share with you.”  (p. 179).

“Just as there is no formula for sparking and sustaining passion and love, there is no formula for sparking and sustaining word of mouth.”   (pp. 194-195).

If you are looking for a great read on word of mouth marketing for your school, check out The Passion Conversation. This book will help you to better understand, spark and sustain word of mouth marketing at your school by capitalizing on the passion conversations taking place around you. I highly recommend it.

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