[Editor’s note: the following is an updated version of a post originally published in 2016.]
What is an evangelist really? After all, we’re in business, we’re not at a tent rally! An evangelist is someone who sees and believes in something so much that they spend a ton of energy reaching out to you to help you see and believe in it too.
Why did the tech industry borrow this term? There are so many different ways to use technology to solve problems and create opportunities (just like there are so many religions). An innovator who wants to win customers must draw them to her way of thinking. Her customers need to believe in and agree with her approach. She must explain why she built what she did and how she chose to build it. How she sees the problem and chooses to create the solution is every bit as important as the product itself. A salesperson sells products. Evangelists tell stories around products, making the innovator’s vision and motivation clear.
Do other industries need evangelists? Uh, yeah. Innovators in every industry need to explain their vision and convince their customers to consider something other than the status quo! In my opinion, for example, contemporary art is really about talking. It’s the story of the piece, how the piece fits into and comments on art of the past and present – that’s what makes new art powerful (and so lucrative).
Why is evangelism necessary? Because change is uncomfortable for all humans. Your target market’s habits and attitudes are entrenched. To persuade anyone to consider something new, you have to get their attention, overcome their failure of imagination, and overcome their discomfort with change. Evangelism helps with all three steps in the process.
To wit: a great and provocative idea always gets more attention than a boring and derivative product. A strong evangelism campaign complements your product PR and marketing to get you more attention.
Once you have your target’s attention, though, don’t assume they ‘get it.’ They don’t. You need to overcome their inability to see what you see – you need to show them what to imagine. Your audiences may be smart, but their minds aren’t as open as you’d like. When you show them what the new world can look like – with a consistent evangelism campaign that includes compelling stories – you overcome their failure of imagination.
Finally, if you’ve done a great job as an evangelist converting your audiences, they’ll endure the discomfort of change because they are so excited about what they now see – because you showed them how to see. Just like Gerhard Richter.
Your business must scale, and you must scale with it. Great communicators create the change they want to see in the world. poseycorp helps innovators build powerful messages and the skill to deliver them so they can break through the noise and be heard! Click here to receive pragmatic communications advice in your inbox every month.
