Fiskars — a brand most known for its orange-handled scissors — has been around for more than three centuries. And with its amazing fan community, the Fiskateers, it has shown that great word of mouth can be created for any brand, of any age, making any product.
In his Word of Mouth Supergenius presentation, Brains on Fire‘s Geno Church shared how Fiskars created this community that’s brought life back to its 360-year-old brand. A few of his big ideas:
- Conversations must be driven by passion. Fiskars realized that crafters were extremely passionate about what they were able to create with their Fiskars tools – so Fiskars focused on this passion to create conversations not about their products, but about the people who use them and the things they create.
- Build a “best friends forever” community. Treat the members of your community as you would your best friend because that’s exactly what they are — they’re the best friend for your brand. If you treat them well, Church insists, they will stick beside you, spread your good name and even defend you.
- Live it offline. If you’re focused exclusively online, you’re missing a ton of potential word-of-mouth. Fiskars picked 50 of its most passionate members to travel all over the country to demonstrate their tools, recruit new “Fiskateers” and share their stories with others.