Be Demonstrative.

Today's Marketing Cookie is about being truly demonstrative.

According to the dictionary, "demonstrative" means "tending to manifest or express one's feelings easily or unreservedly." This is an important concept for companies to understand, especially in a "social media" world, where the investment in relationships can generate a whole new currency. The fortune says, "You are demonstrative with those you love." Do you love your customers? Have you told them? Let me ask: Are the people in your company confident and comfortable enough within your culture to express emotion easily and unreservedly with one another? What about with the customers?

Think about that for a moment.

It's possible I do not hear the word "demonstrative" to describe companies these days simply because it is one of those words that has fallen away from the common vernacular of today's society. Hey, some words get old and are eventually neglected like "dungarees." No one says that anymore. It can happen, but when it does, a new word usually replaces it. "Dungarees" became "jeans." The "ice box" became the "fridge." So then, I ask, what word has replaced "demonstrative" when describing a company that tends to manifest or express one's feelings easily or unreservedly?

Think about that and get back to me.

My fear is that I don't hear the word "demonstrative" to describe brands these days because there are too few companies that can accurately be described as such. Are companies too scared to express their feelings unreservedly? Agree or not with what was said, but you could ask the CEO of Chick-fil-A what happens when you express your true feelings on behalf of a company. We've heard it said, "companies are people," but does our society want companies to have feelings? Perhaps they do.

I can clearly see that many customers have established a deep emotional connection with their favorite companies and products, and they express their feelings quite openly. If the Internet gave birth to the "information age," one might consider that "Social Media" has brought us into the "Emotion Amplification Age." I want a world where companies and the brands they represent are allowed to express their feelings more easily and unreservedly. Don't you? Well then, it may have to begin with you.

Think about that and be demonstrative.