In the socially engaged and networked marketplace, small business word of mouth In the socially engaged and networked marketplace, small business word of mouth marketing and advertising has moved to the top of the web marketing campaign elements. Word of mouth marketing and advertising has moved to the top of the web marketing technique campaign elements.
Marketing used to be pretty simple. You developed a compelling message, used mass media to broadcast that message to large audiences, and grew market share. Mostly, you aimed for the meaty part of the curve, where the law of averages conspired in your favor.
Then came the cable TV era. Audiences fragmented and targeting became the order of the day. Instead of starting with the message, marketers thrived on consumer insight and tried to identify a specific emotional trigger that would win them loyal customers. Now mass marketing has shifted to mass personalization and messaging and targeting have given way to activation.
Looking for the best ways to get consumers to talk about your products and services? Pay attention and we will show you how.
Check out our thoughts on creative marketing.
You’ll read a lot of statistics about why your small business should care about social selling and word of mouth marketing.
But really, there’s one big 800-pound gorilla of a reason to care: word of mouth marketing works. Period.
In this socially connected world, 78 percent of salespeople engaged in word of mouth are outselling their peers who are not using it.
Your goal in this type of marketing is to do things worthy of your customers talking to others about.
These good things may be from other parts of your business, such as customer service or customer experience, or in your marketing messages.
In this article, we are going to focus on how to get customers talking about your messages.
So how do you craft word of mouth advertising messages worth your customers talking about?
Consider these seven design elements we use most often with our clients:
Web marketing … focus on customer needs end state
A client wants and needs and not the means.
The end state is the only priority.
But you must know what your customers hold most near, yes?
Webmarketing strategies … use emotion
Have you ever wondered about how to be more persuasive or influential?
Indeed an important question if you are in the marketing profession.
Useful word of mouth conversations is sparked when consumers are highly aroused. People choose emotionally and then justify logically.
If your small business 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 the 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 … work on emotion if you want to improve your persuasion or influence.
Make the message as clean and straightforward as possible
You cannot overachieve on the simplicity of the message.
And remember that people can only remember 2-3 things from your message.
That means to know essential items and eliminate all the rest.
By packing your messages, you are eliminating all chances consumers will notice or remember anything.
Use comparisons where you can
This includes even direct comparisons with competitors if you can solidly substantiate the claim. Give customers the reason to buy from you.
For more information on value propositions, see our article on building the best Unique Selling Propositions.
Word of mouth business strategy … be different
You should avoid normalcy at all costs.
Standing out and catching consumer attention is the mantra to follow.
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 unique.
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?
Small business word of mouth marketing … unique products and services
Being unique in your goods and services is one of the best ways to get talked about. People more easily remember things that stand out.
This is especially true if your differences match up with your target customers’ wants and need.
Do you know what your target customers put a high priority on?
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 value.
Surprise customers
Want to know one of the most compelling examples that some businesses use to build their marketing and create reciprocity with its customers?
It is simple.
They surprise them with values that they were not expecting.
How many times has that happened to you? Not that often, right?
And you remember when it happens.
It’s OK to be controversial
Being controversial create conversation through the ‘buzz.’
People love to talk to their friends about controversial subjects.
How often have you seen instances of this?
Paint the picture of the value
Visuals are worth 1000 words they say.
It is very genuine, and visuals can make the value stand out and ‘pop.’
The bottom line
You just can’t say it. You have to get people to say it to each other.
– James Farley, CMO Ford
Word of mouth marketing and advertising is nothing more than giving your customers something good to talk about.
When was the last time you employed word of mouth advertising messaging?
What are some of your experiences with word of mouth advertising? Please share an experience with this community.
