Flawsome

The site Trendwatching.com published an interesting article that captures the essence of "Flawsome".  According to Trendwatching.com, the definition of Flawsome is: “Consumers do not expect brands to be flawless. In fact, consumers will embrace brands that are Flawsome: brands that are still brilliant despite having flaws; even being flawed (and being open about it) can be awesome. Brands that show some empathy, generosity, humility, flexibility, maturity, humor, and (dare we say it) some character and humanity”.  There are two key drivers fueling the Flawsome trend:

·         Human brands -- Everything from disgust at business to the influence of online culture (with its honesty and immediacy), is driving consumers away from bland, boring brands in favor of brands with some personality.

·         Transparency triumph -- Consumers are benefiting from almost total and utter transparency (and thus are finding out about flaws anyway), as a result of the torrent of readily available reviews, leaks and ratings.

People genuinely have a hard time connecting with or trusting others who pretend to be perfect. It is no different with brands. To be Flawsome, it is about trying to be perfect, but not pretending that you are.  For a company, part of the process is to keep flaws as far out of sight as possible. Despite the best intentions, no brand, company or representative is perfect and sooner or later some of those blemishes will be exposed.  It is how those imperfect moments are handled and their willingness to fix them.

In my opinion, creating a Flawsome brand means connecting directly with people in a warm and human way; person to person, instead of faceless corporation to person.   It is also about being open and honest, willing to admit mistakes and move on and, although the article did not mention this, it is important to add being willing to apologize when those mistakes cause issues/problems for others and do whatever you can to make it right. I have always tried to live and do business that way; though not flawlessly, of course.

CITE PAGE

Flawsome. (2012) Retrieved March, 27,2012, from www.trendwatching.com/trend/flawsome.