Business Opportunities Weblog

February 28, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 2 Comments

Work.com:

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.

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.

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.

Keep it honest

Good word-of-mouth marketing is honest, transparent and real. Stealth marketing, “shilling” and spam tactics are unethical and should be avoided at all costs!

Photo by MSDesign.

In Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Tags: Marketing, Strategy