Is your marketing strategy focused mostly on remarkable word of mouth marketing? It definitely should be. It is the best marketing technique in my mind, hands down.
The key to its success is the way to get people to talk about you and start the buzz. These are called word of mouth triggers, and word of mouth marketing examples will be the focus of this article.
The first thing you need to know about word of mouth marketing is this: generating consumers to talk about your business isn’t as random as you think. There’s a science to creating a marketing buzz, and it’s something you can learn to do.
Related: 12 Lessons from Ben and Jerry’s Marketing Strategies
Remember, the main goal of your business is not just to create customers. It is to create customers who then will also create customers (that is, customer advocates). This is the perfect marketing solution for 99 % of all businesses and is why we believe word of mouth marketing is your most important marketing campaign tool.
Word of mouth marketing takes consumers by surprise, makes an indelible impression, and pops up where and when people least expect it. It often has a large targeted audience and often can be accomplished at a reduced cost.
By being a little more clever and unpredictable, you challenge consumers who appreciate a little fun in their products.
Let’s examine some excellent ways others have created a marketing buzz. Your company can easily copy many of these.
Remarkable Word of Mouth Marketing … create surprise
Surely you have seen the tear-jerker commercials for abused or abandoned puppies or kittens. Not something you’ll often share with friends, is it?
North Carolina’s Wake County SPCA tried a very different approach to this problem. They made a lip-synching music video to ABBA’s song “Take a Chance on Me,” with the entire shelter staff and most of the adoptable animals.
A success? It was watched on YouTube over 3.4 million times the last time we looked. Just because others do the standard tear-jerking videos doesn’t mean they are popular. Surprise your audience with original things that are fun and approachable like this SPCA did. It may even surprise you.
Learn more: YouTube |
Make people smile
Fleur, a florist shop in Chicago, puts a bucket full of bright balloons by the door of their shop both inside and out, with a handwritten sign that says: “Take a balloon.”
That’s all. No logos, no catch. It is just a small action to make people smile. Inside the store, it makes a pretty display, and outside the store, people are likely to ask where you got the balloon.
That’s a simple, fun way to get a conversation started without a marketing message. A bucket full of balloons is a bucket full of word of mouth memories waiting to happen. It doesn’t have to be branded or a part of a larger campaign — in fact, the simpler you make it, the better.
Remarkable Word of Mouth Marketing … Zillow
The family in this ad is looking for a new home using the real estate company Zillow. It eventually can find exactly what they are looking for. What the mother and children don’t expect is what is waiting for them on moving day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3bZz_JHyyA
Some of the best emotional stories effectively use the element of surprise like Zillow has done here.
Weird experiences
At Catbird Creamery in Maine, when you order a conventional flavor, they’ll insist that you sample something a little more adventurous. And even if you’re going to order vanilla anyway, they want you to at least try the strawberry balsamic or green tea ginger.
Catbird knows that anyone can make good vanilla, but what makes them stand out is helping their customers see all of the other fantastic flavors they also make.
They’re giving their customers an experience to talk about. Even if the customer doesn’t order the hot pepper flavor they just sampled, they will likely tell others they tried it.
Learn more: Portland Press Herald
Delight customers
Little actions to surprise and delight your customers can easily be created all the time. Follow Headsets.com example and treat feedback like a well-oiled machine, carefully gathering the information and doing something about it every time.
Headsets.com sells headsets and phone accessories, but they are most likely remembered for adding Tootsie Rolls to every order they ship. It’s a great word of mouth tactic, and they like feedback.
They use it to do something even more special. When customers thank their operator for the Tootsie Rolls received in order and mentioned their favorite flavor, you can guess that information is noted for the next time.
Business Information: How to Completely Change Your Success Priorities
Mystery
Are you mysterious? Do you think you can be? We looked at how people delight in the puzzle-solving aspect of pattern recognition. Now, let’s go a bit deeper and explore what drives this pattern-seeking behavior: curiosity.
Great storytellers know how to turn an ordinary event—say, a trip to the grocer—into a suspenseful one by withholding information. In new relationships, flirtation often involves some element of playful teasing, whether through conversation or more sensual revelations.
And newsrooms have made a science out of crafting irresistible headlines: “Your PC might be infected!” or “Are you prepared for the tax law changes?”
We are captivated by unanswered questions. So try and put this mystery to good use.
The bottom line
The next big thing always starts out looking like nothing at all. If it was easy to see coming, everybody would be doing it already and the market impact would be minimal. So you can never create something truly new based on what you already know. The only way to find it is to start looking.
Not all who wander are lost. The trick is to wander with a purpose.
