Where Can Your Mouth Take You?
By Shahar Boyayan
Do people say you have a big mouth?
Tell them this is your biggest asset and that your mouth will lead you to success.
You just have to know how to use it right. Did you know that word-of-mouth is one of the most effective marketing tools?
It is also very inexpensive. Especially for a small or new business that usually doesn't have a lot of money to put into marketing, word-of-mouth can be really useful.
Let's first define word of mouth: word-of-mouth is fundamentally a medium of messages passed from consumer to consumer to share news and information. You could also say it is the art of amplifying genuine consumer enthusiasm.
Now, Word of mouth marketing is: Giving people a reason to talk about your products and services, and making it easier for that conversation to take place.
Looks like it is pretty easy, isn't it? You could say it is like gossip, you just have to start and after a while the world seems to know about it.
But there are some little known secrets. People don't just start talking about everything they hear.
Here are a few tips:
- Think about something new in your product or company. Word-of-mouth spreads when it is about something new.
- What's interesting about you, your product or company? It has to sound interesting. Nobody talks about boring things. That's the key to create buzz.
- Give people something to talk about and you'll get their attention.
- Trust your audience. They will spread the word if they get involved with the subject.
- People talk about a product when they get emotionally involved with it.
- Be creative. Find new ways to get your message across and create buzz. For example: If you put your message inside a fortune cookie, with your name and contact information, you will create curiosity, emotion and interest. This will lead to buzz.
- Find hubs to spread the word. These are people that are usually involved in many groups. Identify people most likely to share their opinions.
- Listen and respond to your supporters and detractors.
- Put your product in the hands of some people so they can try and talk about it.
- Create tools that enable satisfied customers to refer their friends.
But pay attention to one thing: Word of mouth can't be faked or invented. This could damage your image really bad. So, don't try to manipulate.
All word of mouth marketing techniques are based on the concepts of customer satisfaction, two-way dialog, and transparent communications.
