4 Tips to Successful Word of Mouth Marketing

The world of marketing is one that includes two contrasts: many stereotypical concepts and many outside of the box thoughts and ideas.  My question: Why is there a "box" in the first place?  There should never be a limit to the creativity and ideas that you can come up to reach a larger audience.  With social media, connecting and having an extended reach has never been easier, and it helps us with the most successful type of marketing: Word of Mouth.

Word of mouth marketing is free and is the most powerful and persuasive type of marketing.  Hearing someone that you trust give you a pitch about a successful experience they have had with a product is generally enough interest to make someone try it.  A bartender tells you about the new Bud Light Platinum, so you purchase it next time you go to the store.  Your older brother just finished his first year at Clemson University and loves it, making you take a tour of the school.  Your friend wears COAST Apparel or Polo, leading you to their website store to make a purchase.  Word of mouth marketing happens so much that we may not even understand that it is happening.  Regardless of our awareness to the marketing, we are being influenced positively or negatively about a product.

The four things needed for a successful Word of Mouth campaign are:

People: You must find people that are enthusiastic and connected to relay your message.  These can be in the form of anyone, related or not related to the company. These people will talk about your product because they love it, they want to share it, and they want to help others. If you give them something to talk about and they like you, then you have almost everything you need.  For example, Justin Bieber has sold-out concerts and album sales all across the world.  His fans are passionate and they spread the word about him and his music.

Content: You must give people a topic to talk about.  If the product that you are selling absolutely sucks, then you can't expect to sell it.  Allow people to have their expectations met with your product, or blow away those expectations completely. Nobody had any idea that the iPod would be a necessity in the world of technology.  It made CDs irrelevant, and crushed any competitors by continuing to update the product, adding more memory, videos, and touch capabilities. You must make your content so good that it has to be shared.

Tools: When you use tools to help the conversation, word of mouth marketing can have a greater depth or a greater reach.  Someone can easily "Like" your Facebook page or retweet something on Twitter.  Allowing people a "Share" button or to sign up for e-mail subscriptions to the newest items or product updates will help them know more, leading to them sharing more about it.  In addition, if you own a business that sells consumer goods, allow for people to walk out with something that is informative about your store.  This could be for their benefit or for them to pass on.  For example, Rush Wilson, a clothing retailer in Greenville, SC, includes ping pong balls with their logos with any purchase a college student makes.  This gives a constant reminder, a talking piece, and a good impression on the consumer.

Particpate: You have to respond to the word of mouth marketing! Respond to e-mails, complaints, comments, tweets, or questions. The more that the consumer knows your product and can talk about it with confidence, the better they will make it appear to a friend.  Also, if the customer service is always good, whether you are successfully selling an item or fixing a complaint, people will talk about it.  Chick-fil-a is always notorious for having the nicest employees and best customer service.  Having just graduated from college, I cannot mention the number of times that my friends talked about the cute, sweet girl that served them at Chick-fil-a.