Word of Mouth Marketing

October 20, 2007

Word-of-Mouth marketing may be the oldest form of advertising but, as a marketing discipline, “WOM” is a relatively new phenomenon. Viral marketing, buzz marketing, blogging, community marketing, customer evangelism and other “consumer-to-consumer” techniques all inspire people to recommend your product or service. Properly executed, WOM marketing is an incredibly effective weapon in your marketing arsenal, because the message comes from a trusted source. The key ingredients of any word-of-mouth marketing campaign are:
• Giving people a reason to talk about you.
• Making it easy for people to share information about you.
• Engaging and energizing those people to spread the good word.

Here are the five most important things you need to do to generate word of mouth:

1. It starts with customer satisfaction
A happy customer is a potential advocate and an influencer. An unhappy customer is even more powerful – one survey of “customer rage” found that 85% of unhappy customers share their experiences with others. If you don’t have a good story to tell, there’s nothing pleasant to buzz about. Measure your customer satisfaction by asking your clients whether they would recommend you. This “customer loyalty” metric can be the most important number you can track. For more information read The Ultimate Question by Fred Reichheld.

2. Give your customers a voice
Make it easy for customers to recommend your product or service. Facilitate communication. Establish user groups, fan clubs, message boards – anything that encourages positive conversation about your business. Start by adding a “tell-a-friend” component to your website with companies like Tell-a-friend Wizard or free services like bpath.com.

3. Find and equip your customer evangelists
These are the “sneezers,” or influential customers who will tell their friends about you. Think of them as your superfans. Give them inside information and reward their evangelism with recognition and support. Look for ideas and inspiration at the Viral & Buzz Marketing Association. (VBMA.net)

4. Join the blogosphere
A business blog creates a two-way dialogue with your customers and facilitates active discussion among your fans. Blogs are the perfect tool to encourage open communication and information sharing.Build your own blog in minutes with Blogger or TypePad. For more info, visit blog guru Andy Wibbel’s website.

5. Listen and respond to feedback
Your blog also provides instant feedback from your customers. Participate in the online conversation and take the pulse of your supporters – and your detractors. Use sites like FeedBurner to track and analyze your blog traffic.

Lou Bortone is an award-winning television producer who specializes in helping solopreneurs create video for the Internet. E-mail lou@theonlinevideoguy.com or visit http://www.theonlinevideoguy.com.

Posted by Online Video Guy | Filed Under Blog, Online Video Tips 

Comments

One Response to “Word of Mouth Marketing”

  1. Amy Madsen on October 30th, 2007 1:01 pm

    If any of your readers are interested in learning more about Net Promoter, the concept behind Fred Reichheld’s “The Ultimate Question,” please visit the official site for general info, blogs (including by Fred Reichheld), discussion forum, job board, conferences, and more.

    http://www.netpromoter.com

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