Aaron at Confessions of a Brand Evangelist posted about “Word of Weather” today.

No brand has word of mouth like the weather. Everyday, people everywhere are always talking about the weather. Why? What can we learn from “brand weather”?

Talking about the weather is safe. Often times people talk about the weather because it is an easy ice breaker with a stranger or a person you don’t know that well. You have many topics of discussion to choose from, but we all know that people are comfortable talking about the weather. So, we choose to talk about the weather for our comfort and for the comfort of the other person.

It’s a gateway to a conversation. It gives you a feel for the other person’s openess to talk with you. It gives you a small glimpse at their personality. It lets you know if you should engage them further.

Does your company have gateways to conversation? Do you have weather talk? If you’re a local business, do you create conversation about community events? Do you send out a newsletter or email discussing what is effecting those in your target market? Do you create a safe place for the public to experiment with your brand (one of the 5 Es of Branding)? Without weather talk it’s uncomfortable for your salespeople to enter into a conversation because they’re starting cold, without any feeling of a person’s openess to talk or any glimpse of their personality. They’re saying, “How ’bout you and I go back to my place and sign this deal?” And 9 times out of 10, they’re getting slapped in the face or drenched by a drink for being fresh.

Make small talk with your market. Let them see a little bit of who you are, and you’ll be surprised how much you can find out about them as well. Develop gateways to conversations and you’ll find more willingness to consider your proposals.