As you get ready to enjoy a new episode of your
favorite TV show, you are bombarded with commercials that try in every way imaginable
to get people to buy products. And although you may remember, “Like a good
neighbor, State Farm is there” for the rest of your life, you may never have
State Farm Insurance because you know the often exaggerated promises are coming
directly from the State Farm Marketing team. On the other hand, if you’re
talking to a co-worker about what type of insurance they have and they attest
to State Farm’s customer service claims, you will be more likely to consider it.
From this idea comes the birth of word of mouth (WOM) marketing. The purpose of
WOM marketing is to encourage people to talk about your brand and/or its
products. To understand the power this can have, take the cable show turned
phenomenon, Breaking Bad, as an
example. AMC introduced this show in 2008 with ratings so low the show could
have been cancelled. Due to the quality of the show, it grew rapidly in
popularity with little paid promotion. If you are starting a business and lack
a large marketing budget, consider the following word of mouth tactics to get
the right people talking about your business:
1.
Target Opinion Leaders: The people that spread information to various
target audiences are known as opinion leaders. They can be bloggers,
journalists, trendsetters or anybody else that your target consumers look to
for information. With the increasing popularity of social media, it is easy to
look at Twitter and Facebook for opinion leaders. You may want to look further
and surf the net for popular websites and blogs your target customers interact
with. For example, if your business is a car detailing shop you can begin to
interact with bloggers on autogeek.com. Share the techniques you use and what
products you swear by. It takes time to build relationships with opinion
leaders and it is important NOT to bombard them with self-promotion. Instead
develop a dialogue that eventually evolves into a trustworthy mutual
relationship. The purpose of WOM advertising is to offset the skepticism that
consumers often feel with paid advertising. The readers must feel as though
they are learning about the brand without being pressured to buy its products.
Another way to find opinion leaders is to encourage interaction on your social
media accounts. Those who are the most interactive are going to be significant
ambassadors to your brand.
2.
Generate Buzz: Find out what is unique about your product and get people talking about
it. For example, unlike most doughnut shops, Krispy Kreme serves its doughnuts
right out of the oven. In order to further involve customers, they developed an
app that lets people know when each batch of fresh doughnuts is ready. That way
customers can enjoy the product and stay connected to the brand. There are
countless success stories where companies have generated unpaid publicity by
doing something unexpected and unprecedented to benefit their customers. To
continue with the auto detailing business example, there are countless ways to generate
buzz for your business. You can take one of your top of the line cars to a summer
car cruise and let people know who you are. Create a demonstration, pass out
flyers, stage a car theft (just kidding), etc.
3.
Build Your Social Media Presence: Be your own opinion leader. Post relevant information
and articles about your industry. Give people information they care about and
share industry insights. For an auto detailer or even a restaurant, post demonstration
videos on YouTube and link them to other accounts. Post tips, recipes, favorite
products, etc. As you gain a social media presence, make sure your followers
know who you are and what you do.
4.
Be Honest: A WOM relationship is built on trust. Your audience trusts that you are
not giving them a sales pitch and therefore are more likely to listen to you
and interact with you. If your audience thinks they are being lied to or
manipulated then your word is no more powerful than a commercial or print
flyer.
According to the Word of Mouth Marketing
Association, 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends or family more
than paid advertising. The increase in online connectedness has given small
businesses a powerful and cost efficient alternative to traditional
advertising. Take advantage of it.
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