How to Create Curiosity to Improve Marketing

Here’s a rather interesting promotion from California Pizza Kitchen to improve marketing. At the end of my dinner, I was given the bill and a CPK “Don’t Open It” Thank You Card. That certainly did create curiosity, yes?

It’s a coupon with an interesting twist: you bring this card with you the next time you come to CPK. You’ve already won something, from a free appetizer up to $50 dollars (or more). But you won’t know what you’ve won until your next visit.

The instructions are pretty clear: whatever you do, do not open the card or your prize is null and void! A manager has to open the card for you when you return.

You are guaranteed to get something worthwhile—and this is a critical part of arousing curiosity. Coupons are too explicit: “Here is your 20% off.” Scratch-offs and lottery tickets are most likely to reveal that you’ve won nothing. With the CPK coupon, the fine print teases you with a list of the possible prizes.

Now I’m curious: which prize have I won? This is a mystery that needs solving with another visit.

How to Create Brilliant Word-of-Mouth Marketing Campaigns

Marketing campaigns? The best marketing techniques in our minds are word of mouth marketing campaigns, hands down. The key to its success is the ways to get people to talk about you and start the buzz.

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 this is why we believe word-of-mouth marketing is your most important marketing campaign tool.

So what’s the difference between word-of-mouth marketing and traditional marketing?

The difference is that word-of-mouth marketing is to get people talking about your brand – not just to make people aware that your brand exists.

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.

Word-of-mouth marketing was made for small business owners. It requires creativity, flexibility, and a willingness to take a little risk. We use Guerrilla programs usually when a client says to us, we don’t have much budget but we’d really like to get some media attention.

A small business should ask themselves, what’s their essence–what’s the core message that can be distilled into a 5-second exchange or in a clever installation?

To get a better idea, let’s talk more about generating marketing buzz.

Most people think it’s something that happens by chance, but that is certainly not the case in most instances. Let us begin by discussing some material from the book Buzz marketing by author Mark Hughes.

In his book, he talks about how buzz can be generated by following a few basic principles. Businesses that follow these principles are much more successful at getting people talking about their brand than businesses that only use traditional marketing tactics. So a good place to begin, yes?

So how can you apply these basic principles and generate brilliant word of mouth for your business? Here are some ideas to consider:

Principle of buzz marketing

A good starting place is learning the fundamental principle of buzz marketing. It is pretty simple.  It states if you want to generate buzz, you need to give people something special that they will remember and want to tell their friends about. Sounds simple, but just the opposite is the norm.

To do so, you need to learn the types of topics that get people talking. Yes, people talk about a lot of things, but there are particular conversation starters that get people talking more often than other topics.

So how do you apply this principle, and what are some examples of businesses that have used them effectively?  Let’s discuss those topics.

Taboo topics

Taboo is a big buzz topic. The basic idea here is that people have a tendency to talk about things they shouldn’t talk about. There’s just something in our nature. As an example consider the parents of toddlers who can’t resist bringing up topics like diapers and “accidents” at a dinner with other parents. It’s a terrible topic for the dinner table, but parents can’t resist talking about it.

In order to apply this principle to internet marketing, you want to do things that are edgy and controversial. You don’t want to cross the line and create enemies, but blog posts and other controversial content will get people talking more than content that’s safe and boring.

Create curiosity

“No rails to damage your tires.” That was the headline on one car wash’s sign that made them different from the three other car washes on the same street. Did you know that car wash guide rails could damage your tires? Probably not. But it makes you curious about what it is all about, doesn’t it?  It’s that one simple sentence that tells everyone why that business is different.

So what is the lesson you say?  Before this car wash put its selling point on its sign, it probably got a lot of questions like “Where are the guide rails?” Are you listening for these opportunities to explain what small details make you better?

Awesome customer service gets the attention

Mention.com  analyzed 1 billion brand mentions in a  recent study. What they found is somewhat surprising: 76% of brand mentions on the web and social media are neither positive nor negative.

What does this mean? On social media, neutral mentions blend into the background. When 76% of brand mentions are basically ignored, the positive and negative mentions stand out.

So how can you turn a neutral into a positive? One way is to provide excellent customer service. Use your website and other platforms to let customers know they can find you on social media when they have customer service needs.

Use the unusual

When it comes to unusual or unique topics, your objective is to create content that is unique to stand out from the crowd. Using sameness won’t stand out, and you won’t get people talking about your product or service. Doing something different will often get noticed and get people talking.

Make your content entertaining

Here’s the unfortunate truth: No one spends time on social networks for advertising. However, 82% of consumers do enjoy content from a brand as long as it provides personal value—usually in the form of humor.

In fact, Pew Research shows that 35% of men and 43% of women are on Facebook to see entertaining or funny posts. If you’re not afraid to get creative, you have a huge opportunity right in front of you.

Go for the remarkable

Another way to stand out and get people talking is to do something remarkable. Like Seth Godin’s Purple Cow. Average and ordinary don’t get people talking but remarkably do.

The goal here is do something extremely well with very high quality. If everyone else is creating average content, you need to create something above the average. If a hotel gives decent service, no one tells their friends about it, but if a hotel goes beyond what is expected, people will talk.

The obvious online business that comes to mind here is one brand that we write a lot … about Zappos.

Their insane “365-day” returns policy and stellar customer service are still unmatched in their space. Zappos goes above and beyond status-quo expectations which makes their brand something easy to talk about.

The beauty of this Zappos’ technique is: its marketing is built into company culture values that make it work so effectively.

Give customers value

Seems like another cliché doesn’t it?  But as customers, we see companies breaking this rule every day. This happens when we focus on selling rather than helping. It happens when we make suggestions before knowing something about our customers. It happens when we don’t listen well. It happens when we push products or services on customers because of our quotas or commissions. Keep it simple by knowing what your customers consider valuable.

Unique products and services

Being different in your products and services is one of the best ways to get talked about. This is especially true if your differences match up with your target customer’s wants and needs. Do you know what your target customers put a high priority on?

Surprise customers

Want to know one of the most effective examples that some businesses use to build their marketing and create reciprocity with their customers? Use the element of positive surprise.

People like getting things for free and like them, even more, when they are viewed as ‘favors’.  But even more, they love receiving these favors as surprises.

Employ emotion

Effective word-of-mouth conversations are sparked when consumers are highly aroused. People choose emotionally and then justify logically.

If your brand can:

Then it stands a far better chance of being talked about by more people.

The higher degree of emotion creates more differentiation and makes it easier for your brand to project uniqueness and its word-of-mouth messages.

Emotion is the secret language of the brain … works on emotion if you want to improve your persuasion or influence.

Be best at convenience and saving time

It is really simple … customers put a high priority on being simple and convenient. Do what you can to help them with this.

Give customers reasons 

You can have all of the fantastic features you want, but if your customers don’t know why they’re fantastic, those features mean nothing. You have to give them the “why.” You have to say “because…”

For example, Maker’s Mark claims to be “purposefully inefficient” with how they make bourbon. They use a roller mill to break up their grains instead of the modern hammer mill most distilleries use. It’s slower, but it doesn’t scorch the grains like the hammer mill. That’s a tiny detail that would probably go unnoticed if Maker’s Mark didn’t point it out in their newsletter to their customers.

To most people, the difference between hammer-milled and roller-milled grains means nothing. But Maker’s Mark helped their potential customers make better decisions by telling them why they make their bourbon the way they do.

  Focus on what customers do with the product

A beer glass is beer glass is a beer glass. Even if it’s a fancy beer glass. So how do you get people to talk about something like a beer glass? You focus on what people talk about over the beer glass instead of the product.
 

In defining guerrilla or viral marketing, many creative descriptions have been put forward.

At its core, this form of marketing is simply the “spread of an idea” that helps market your business or cause. It’s putting material out there that by its very nature attracts attention and is talked about.

The best method to look at the practice of guerrilla marketing is to examine the research of some highly intelligent folks who have dedicated years to deciphering the elements of its content.

WOM Marketing: How to Stimulate It With These 15 Examples

wom marketing
Stimulate wom marketing.

 

Seth Godin once said: Products or services that are remarkable get talked about.  Do you know the secrets to stimulate wom marketing? Not really secrets, but you’d be surprised how few businesses put them in action. Seth knows. It is in his quote. Be remarkable and you will be remembered and talked about. Sounds simple, right? But not that simple. What are your best ideas to stimulate word of mouth marketing?

 

 

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 a word of mouth marketing is your most important marketing campaign tool.

Keep reading these ideas: Press Coverage … 9 Actionable Ways to Get Good Coverage

 

So how do you achieve this solution? By influencing customers in a way that they want to talk about you. Consider these ultimate ideas to inspire customers to talk about your business:

 

Wom marketing … create curiosity

 “No rails to damage your tires.” That was the headline on one car wash’s sign that made them different from the three other car washes on the same street. Did you know that car wash guide rails could damage your tires? Probably not. But it makes you curious about what it is all about, doesn’t it?  It’s that one simple sentence that tells everyone why that business is different.

So what is the lesson you say?  Before this car wash put their selling point on their sign, they probably got a lot of questions like “Where are the guide rails?” Are you listening for these opportunities to explain what small details make you better?

  

Word of mouth marketing examples … build social relationships

 Marketers don’t need to tap into mysterious powers of influence to make an idea spread.  In reality, what’s essential is a good story and a density of social relationships.

 

In his bestselling book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell provided an explanation for viral hits like the Reese’s Pieces meme.  A special class of rare people, he reasoned, can give a spark to an idea due to the influence they have on the rest of us.  He called his “Law of the Few,” which he formulated as:

 

The success of any social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.

 

These gifts, Gladwell explained, came in three distinct flavors: “Connectors” are social butterflies, traveling between diverse groups of people and seeding ideas. “Mavens” become a trusted resource for collecting knowledge and sharing it freely and “salesmen” have almost magical powers of persuasion.

 

Unique products and services

Being different in your products and services is one of the best ways to get talked about. This is especially true if your differences match up with your target customers wants and needs. Do you know what your target customers put a high priority on?

 

give customers value
Always give customers value.

  

Give customers value

It seems like another cliché doesn’t it?  But as customers, we see companies breaking this rule every day. This happens when we focus on selling rather than helping. It happens when we make suggestions before knowing something about our customers. It happens when we don’t listen well. It happens when we push products or services on customers because of our quotas or commissions. Keep it simple by knowing what your customers consider valuing.

  

Surprise customers

 Want to know one of the most effective examples that some businesses use to build its marketing and create reciprocity with its customers?

 

 Word of mouth marketing strategy … employ emotion

 Effective word of mouth conversations is sparked when consumers are highly aroused. People choose emotionally and then justify logically.

 

If your brand can:

  • Spark amusement/humor
  • Create amazement and awe
  • Stimulate anxiety

 

Then it stands a far better chance of being talked about by more people.

 

The higher degree of emotion creates the more differentiation and makes it easier for your brand to project uniqueness and its word of mouth messages.

 

Emotion is the secret language of the brain … work on emotion if you want to improve your persuasion or influence.

  

By surprising them!

 People like getting things for free and like them, even more, when they are viewed as ‘favors’.  But even more, they love receiving these favors as surprises.

 

saving time
Customers appreciate saving time.

 Be best at convenience and saving time

 It is simple … customers put a high priority of being simple and convenient. Do what you can to help them on this.

 

 More to learn: 19 Top Marketing Initiatives We Should Be Discussing

 

Customer service that goes above and beyond

  Do you go the extra mile with your best customers? That extra mile is very often lonely but does get easily remembered and talked about.

 

Give customers reasons 

 You can have all of the fantastic features you want, but if your customers don’t know why they’re fantastic, those features mean nothing. You have to give them the “why.” You have to say “because…”

 

For example, Maker’s Mark claims to be “purposefully inefficient” with how they make bourbon. They use a roller mill to break up their grains instead of the modern hammer mill most distilleries use. It’s slower, but it doesn’t scorch the grains like the hammer mill. That’s a tiny detail that would probably go unnoticed if Maker’s Mark didn’t point it out in their newsletter to their customers.

To most people, the difference between hammer-milled and roller-milled grains means nothing. But Maker’s Mark helped their potential customers make better decisions by telling them why they make their bourbon the way they do.

Focus on what customers do with the product

 A beer glass is a beer glass is a beer glass. Even if it’s a fancy beer glass. So how do you get people to talk about something like a beer glass? You focus on what people talk about over the beer glass instead of the product.
 

Give it away

 Stop clinging so tightly to your stuff. Some of the best word of mouth marketing happens when you let people have it — whether that’s by giving away some content, donating something important, or letting people take some ownership of your brand.

 

 Make it remarkable

Remarkable always gets talked about.  Marketing starts with having products and services that are better than the competition, making them remarkable and worthy of being discussed by your customers. 

 

 For example, can you imagine how hard it is to make packing tape remarkable? There’s a lot of tape in the world — lots of different colors, sizes, and tools to go with it. But to make tape worth talking about, The Rip Cord looked at the problem differently.

Keep focus here: 19 Top Marketing Initiatives We Should Be Discussing

 

They focused on the most frustrating part of packing tape: getting it off the box. They created a packing tape with a cord down the middle to help you remove it without any hassle. It makes moving a little less painful, and it even means that more cardboard gets recycled because customers can cleanly and easily pull the tape off. Sheer genius, isn’t it?

So while other companies are figuring out ways to make tape stickier, stronger, or clearer, The Rip Cord focused on the remarkable way of pulling the tape off.

Customers buy what they need

 Customers not only buy what they need, but they also buy what they want. Gather as many insights as possible by observing what they do. Asking them is not as valuable as observing them.

 

Tell awesome stories

 Good marketers’ best way of conveying their messages. By far the best are by telling stories.

 

In summary, the game of marketing has changed significantly over the past decade.  It’s not price … it is relevancy, difference, and value.

 

Now it’s your turn. What are the creative word of mouth marketing ideas from your business?

 

Have you ever wondered about how to be more persuasive or influential?  Certainly, an important question if you are in the marketing profession.

 

 

The bottom line

 

Remember this:

  

You just can’t say it. You have to get people to say it to each other.

– James Farley, CMO Ford

 

 It is not what advertising does with the consumer; it is what the consumer does after reading the advertisement. After looking over these ideas … how many can you put to work for your marketing?

 

 

Need some help in capturing more customers from your marketing strategies? Creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers?

 

Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.

Call Mike at 607-725-8240.

 

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.

 

When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.

 

Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

 

Are you devoting enough energy to improve your marketing, branding, and advertising?

 

Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?

 

Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+FacebookTwitter, and LinkedIn.

 

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed how reasonable we will be.

  

More reading on social media marketing and advertising from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:

What Marketers Need to Know about Personalization Strategies 

My Top SEO Strategies for Content Marketing Success

Innovation in Marketing … the Birchbox Subscription Model

 

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