What is a heart-quest & why be on one?

Since the release of the newsletter last week, a lot of people asked me what is a "heart-quest"?

I decided as a starting point, perhaps it would be a better idea not to dive into the hearts and stories of brands but rather explain what a heart-quest is, as an introductory step.

First things first - what is a quest?

A quest is the "search for something" & the heart-quest is the search for something with the heart..

But the question again is why does it matter?

I'll tell you..

Research says that the average person receives 20,000 to 30,000 words/day.. Knowing that now, would you kindly tell me what of the 20,000 words you heard yesterday, you remember or hit you or hooked your heart? Perhaps one message or two or even none..

This is exactly why we're talking now..

If a message isn't genuine where it clicks with your heart, then probably it wasn't either communicated in a good way that speaks to you, or not from the heart.

This. This is why we are always on a heart-quest to communicate from our hearts.. To make what we communicate memorable.

Communicating your message of brand effectively, relies on the same principles as any good form of communication. Both you and your audience benefit. You want to see a positive response from them, they want to benefit from what you’re offering. It’s a relationship. It's two-ways.. Back and forth.. Not only pushing their way..

Remember how many times you’ve seen people talk about self centered matters or brands trying to push their products your way?

Remember how you felt receiving such a message? Yes, for sure..

Remember what they said , I don’t think so..?

This is exactly why we all need to communicate from the heart – to connect to someone else’s through empathy & understanding what are their needs and how can we benefit them from what we could offer.

Steven Thompson from Big Daddy Digital stated once the term (Brand Heart) –saying:

“Think of it this way – if you were to pull out your heart and hold it in your hand, what would the beat say?

What is right at the core of who you are and what you do and why is it so important to you?

That’s your heart brand.”

It’s deep-rooted inside us and comes from the values that we have embedded in us.

If you unlock your heart brand by sharing it with the world, you will inspire, empower and influence the people around you to make a huge difference in our world. In this digital age there is no better time to do this.. & here’s how...

#1 – Understand YOU first ..

You as a personal brand or business brand – you need to know who are you? What are the values you stand for? What matters to you? And what makes you YOU?

If you find a hard time figuring that out, think of what you repeatedly say or do every single day .. At the end we are what we repeatedly say and do..

If you care to be honest in sharing your honest opinions with those around you, then honesty is something you stand for.

If you welcome new thoughts, ideas and are open to suggestions then you are a welcoming brand .. so on and so forth...

#2 – Understand THEM second ..

Every customer or person we talk to, is only receptive to what they WANT to hear and know.. As we said people hear on average 20-30K words per day so whatever their needs are at a specific time, is pretty much what they will be receptive to.. But if they don’t feel its genuine, its authentic, they wont listen either..

Think HEART & THEIR NEEDS..

The intersection between these two is where all the magic happens.

#3 – Be Authentic and Genuine

In today’s world, everyone senses when you are not genuine or authentic. Here are some steps of communicating authentically, some tips by the communication council at Forbes:

1. Act Like A Human

"We all have flaws and struggle at times. If your brand personality is always polished and has it together, your buyers will find it difficult to relate -- as if your brand is too good for them. Make it human, sometimes goofy. Admit difficulties and struggles. Use humor. All the human qualities that make for an interesting person will also work for creating an interesting brand." -?Udi Ledergor,?Gong

2. Become Your Customer

Think about what you sell. Think about it from a customer point of view. What would you want to see, hear and read? What values will this bring to you? Now ask a few other people to do the same. Create a mini focus group of your own to get a better perspective of what type of communications you should adapt. The point is to send a real message that will support the strengths of what we offer." -?Kobi Ben-Meir,?Yalber

3. Tell The Best Story You Can

"Transparency is key. Put simply, brands have to be upfront about everything. If you say one thing and do another or what you said stretched the truth, you'll be found out. Depending on the scale and scope of the misdeed, it could be a deal breaker. Tell the best story you can about that offering, but root that story in reality. Churn is an ever-present risk. Don't feed it by giving it ammunition." -?Patrick Reynolds,?SessionM

These are just small steps to scratch the surface of communicating the heart of a brand..

Answering what is the heart-quest I hope was communicated in the entire article..

Why be on a heart-quest?

One simple answer:

Build a connection & relationship with your audience.

Be memorable to them...

My favorite?Maya Angelou?quote has always been: “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”?

Think about that the next time you communicate with anyone anything.. Professionally or personally.

In the next few weeks, every week a new article will drop exploring the hearts of various brands and personal brands, showcasing what made them leading brands in today's world as they continue to communicate their heart to the world.

This is an article written from the heart... From Sarah to the world with love..

For featuring your brand on The Heart-Quest Newsletter, get in touch with Sarah directly with your brand story at: [email protected]