Word of Mouth Marketing in 5 Easy Steps…sounds like fun.
Good word of mouth Drury Inn, an inn that gives you free long-distance calls. We all know the first thing you do when you get to a hotel is call home and get screwed on those costs if you use the hotel phone.
People love to talk…you want them to talk about you. Remember when Krispy Kreme came out? What was the thing about their doughnuts? They were HOT! No advertising was used in spreading the popularity of this great American Icon. What happened? They lost their special “thing” then they started shrink-wrapping those delectible pastries and selling them where? Gas stations!! No one talks about the food they get in gas stations. They are slipping now as a result of the loss of word of mouth marketing.
Word of mouth marketing is:
- Giving people are reason to talk about YOUR stuff.
- Making it easier for that conversation to take place.
YouTube is worth what it is for one thing: every page has 7 different spots/ways for you to share a video with a friend.
What we are really talking about here is love. People love your stuff and want to tell everyone else about it. You know what happens to a teenager in love…and what happens when that love dies. You don’t want that negative word of mouth.
Love and money don’t mix with word of mouth marketing. Don’t offer them anything for telling others. They will do it on their own because they want to.
Advertising is the price of being BORING. If you are boring, you have to pay people to tell them about you.
What you need:
- Talkers: find the people to talk about you
- Topics: give people a reason to talk
- Tools: help the message spread
- Taking Part: join the conversation
- Tracking: measure and listen
What you can do:
- Ask people to talk about you
- Put a ‘tell a friend’ link on every page
- Put an offer/post/newsletter out in an e-mail (forwardable)
If you make someone unhappy, they will tell, on average, 5 people their experience for every 1 person a happy customer tells. However, if you make that person happy again, they will spread the word an average of 10 people for every 1 happy customer.
[tags]SOBCon07, SOBCon[/tags]
Thanks for the great summary — you really captured the spirit of the event.
It was a great conference and it was an honor to speak.
Andy
Andy,
Your presentation was very good, and I am diving into your book. As an editor myself, it’s a great read and your wife did an excellent job polishing it.
Best in all you endeavor.