Word of Mouth gets a lot of “lip service,” but you must know two things: (1) Word of Mouth is a proactive process and (2) people will only hear of you from you or someone else.
Point 1 may be obvious to some, but I have seen enough marketing plans in my time to know that it the exact opposite of what most people actually believe. Word of Mouth seems to have some magical qualities to it that will drive customers to you without any encouragement or dedication on your behalf.
Nothing could be further from reality.
Point 2 is obvious to everyone, but planned for (as it seems) only by public relations firms. Word of Mouth requires people willing to talk about your product or service – so you either have to find people willing to talk about you (and give them something to talk about – which can be cost intensive), or you have to start the conversation yourself (which is time intensive).
Here are some ideas on how to begin the Word of Mouth process:
- generate lots of PR (see PRNewsWire)
- join, and participate in, local and national trade associations and shows
- coupon like crazy
- create a viral story or media
- add “e-mail to a friend” links to your webpages
- samples are your friend
- give people a forum to discuss the goods and bads of your product or service
So, we have a (proactive) start – any other ideas?
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