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Welcome to the The Marketing Source e-newsletter! Our goal is to provide
you with real-world marketing tips.If you have any ideas for articles,
please send them along.
Spread the Word!: Utilizing Word of Mouth in Your Marketing Strategy
Do you remember that old Breck advertisement? It went something like "and
she told two friends, and she told two friends, and so on and so on." The
Breck people got it right. When we like something, our enthusiasm is
viral. Smart companies are harvesting and integrating their customers'
enthusiasm into their promotional plans to augment and replace traditional
advertising.
Izze Beverage Company is a great example of a company that has used
buzz to sell its product. The company, which was recently sold to PepsiCo,
launched (in 2002) with the goals of developing a quality all natural
product, make money and do good. Shunning traditional advertising, the
company instead grew through word of mouth marketing. Izze execs gave
their product away at events where it could be tasted and noticed, they
relied on product placements on hot TV shows like Entourage, strategic
philanthropy and selecting retail outlets that would allow them to charge
a premium price for their fizzy fruit drink. Izze doesn't have customers,
it has product enthusiasts.
Sometimes called viral, buzz, or grassroots marketing, word of mouth
is used in the marketing and advertising industry to describe activities
that companies undertake to get customers involved, generate personal
recommendations as well as referrals for brand names, products and services.
And when those opinions sound editorial and earnest, as opposed to advertorials,
they go a long way on your behalf.
So how can you create and harvest buzz? Here are three ways to start
your word of mouth campaign. Each can work in cooperation with one another,
but can also be a valuable addition to your efforts on their own.
Your employees talk about you a lot. What are they saying?
Make your employees your ultimate evangelists. Best way to start, make
them walking, talking billboards. Give them your products and services.
Whether you are selling drinks, like Izze, or clothes or consulting services,
your employees should know and love everything there is to know about
your products. You can also empower your employees to be spokespeople.
Find your most passionate people and include them in your advertising.
Don't forget the importance of keeping them happy. Make your the work
environment pleasant by bringing in lunch once a week or once a month,
offer perks like brown bag lunch book clubs, or guest speakers. Other
ideas: alter work space to encourage idea sharing and conversation, support
weight loss groups and give incentives to employees who want to exercise
(put in a small gym in that extra conference room). These are simple
ideas, but can create added value for their personal life, too.
You have customers that love you. Help them spread the word.
If you are lucky you have loyal customers that just can't stop talking
about how much they love you, it's time to stop simply saying "thanks." Start
treating them like members of your team. Like your employees, give your
most loyal fans real incentives (i.e. free stuff and discounts) for spreading
the word. One company gives stacks of business cards to anyone that refers
business on its behalf! Brilliant and so simple. Another offers loyal
customers special access to an ambassador lounge on their web site and
even the CEO's personal phone number so that they can call him with new
product ideas. Over the top? Maybe, but it works because it gets customers
involved.
Not ready to give out your cell phone number? You don't have to. The
place I buy my sneakers gives me a free t-shirt (with their logo) every
time I buy something from them. I even get to pick the color! They also
offer great service, running clubs, and sponsor lots of charity events.
I feel good about shopping there as opposed to a chain. As a result,
I tell my friends about them and I wear my t-shirt all the time when
I work out or work in the yard. I'm no longer just a customer, I'm part
of their promotional campaign.
You should also ask your customers what you can do better. This low-cost,
highly effective method of research often goes untapped. Cash wrap surveys
work and so do focus groups for new product development.
Are you giving them something to talk about? Be unexpected!
What sets you apart from your competition and will get your customers
talking? Building a good product is a great way to get people in the
door, but it just isn't enough. Pick one dimension of your business that
set's you apart from the pack.
The Four Seasons Hotels - beautiful, fabulous service, comfortable beds
- AND they offer complimentary shoe polishing every night. How unexpected
and lovely. My favorite boutique alters anything I buy from them for
free; saves me a trip to the tailor. And then there's the deli just down
the street from me that throws in a free lollipop with every sandwich.
That always gets me to pick their turkey sandwich instead of someone
else's. Don't just settle for the obvious. Throw in a perk or a quirk
to make people talk.
Just like Izze, lots of companies are using the Internet and trying
hard to do the unexpected to get people talking. Here are some examples:
Will It Blend, Heart
Attack Grill and Jeep
Bottom line: There is too much noise out there to rely on traditional
advertising alone. So throw effort towards generating word of mouth for
your business.
Contact us at The
Marketing Source if you need help creating
a plan or coming up with that original idea.
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