Here is an excerpt from an email I received last week: “Mike, you are an asshole. Anyone who calls themselves a toilet paper anything is an idiot. I would never do business with you if you were the last sub-human being on earth.”
Ouch. This guy clearly does not like me. He hates my brand. He hates what I stand for, and that is a good thing.
When your brand stirs up strong emotion it means it is working. It means your brand is significant enough for someone to take notice and speak up.
Of course you want (and need) people to love you, but you also need the haters. It is the yin and yang of brand exposure.
Hatred for your brand means you have absolute clarity on what you stand for. The haters simply stand for something else, and therefore rage against you.
Of course there will be just as many people who love you because you are speaking to their beliefs. Better yet, they will be emboldened and entrenched when you come under attack from the haters.
McDonalds is hated by many, and as a result they dominate. President Obama has an overwhelming number of vocal haters, yet his supporters are more entrenched then ever. Me? I’m hated too and loving every minute of it.
By Mike Michalowicz, Author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur
