Features and tRends

(October 2009)

Word of Mouth Marketing
Why it will be more important in 2010 than ever before
By Maggie Hampl

As a marketer, you know word of mouth marketing is one of the more effective (and virtually free) ways to market your company. But how exactly does word of mouth (WOM) marketing work? What gets your customers talking?

The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) differentiates between “word of mouth” and “word of mouth marketing”:

  • Word of Mouth: The act of consumers providing information to other consumers.
  • Word of Mouth Marketing: Giving people a reason to talk about your products and services, and making it easier for that conversation to take place. It is the art and science of building active, mutually beneficial consumer-to-consumer and consumer-to-marketer communications.

If your goal is to generate talk about your company, the first thing to understand is that WOM is “all about the customer.” This sounds basic, but customer satisfaction must be present in order for WOM marketing to occur. It won’t happen simply because you think your company or your products are great…WOM happens only when your customers are so satisfied and so pleasantly surprised that they just have to share with others. Make your customers want to endorse you!

WOMMA’s basic elements for word of mouth marketing techniques:
Educate people about your products and services
In order to create brand advocates, you need to let people know about your company and show them why it’s worth talking about. Ask yourself: What can we offer that no one else does? What makes my company special? Why should people care?

Identify people most likely to share their opinions
A little research can go a long way to figure out who is ready and willing to share their experiences and impressions. Typically, these are the people to whom your customers are just as ready and willing to listen.

Provide tools that make it easier to share information
Give customers a platform from which they can share their satisfaction and support for your company. Online communities and blog activities as well as loyalty programs are just a few of the intersections where a company can create avenues for positive feedback and sharing with others. Furthermore, by developing on and offline communities, you’re expanding the opportunity and reach for discussions and endorsements.

Study how, where, and when opinions are being shared
Twitter is growing like wildfire, so there may be a good place to start. But remember, not everyone finds it useful. Know your target audience and the places they gather, both on and offline.

Listen and respond to supporters, detractors, and neutrals
Follow through with your customers. When they blog or tweet about your company or product, thank them. If they raise a concern, provide them with a solution confidently and promptly. By continuing conversations and being persistent in your engagements, you are positioning your company as attentive, genuine and caring. As is with all social media and online networking, customer relationship management is not a one-way street. A mutually beneficial relationship means you participate in back and forth conversations and active dialogue…long after a customer has made his or her purchase.

A word about customer satisfaction
In order for WOM to work best, you need customers who are exceptionally impressed by your product or services. “Satisfied” merely means they’re happy enough where they won’t complain. An article by MarketingProfs asserts:

“Loyalty is more than satisfaction. It stems from ordinary services delivered exceptionally well or exceptional services delivered well. Satisfied customers are content, but do not have the same level of advocacy that creates positive WOM.”

Integrating WOM
Savvy consumers consult multiple outside resources before purchasing. They research online, looking for reasons to buy one product over the other. Consumers want to learn from others in order to make the right choice. If your company isn’t present in the places your customers meet, converse and share…you can bet someone else is.

Integrating a WOM strategy into your corporate values will help earn respect and praise from your customers. So long as this is done honestly via transparent efforts aimed toward creating satisfied customers, WOM can do wonders for your marketing campaign.

Online communities and data sharing are expanding by the minute and will continue to grow as we move into 2010. For more information on WOM marketing’s powerful impact, contact Steve Kleber at sk@kleberandassociates.com or via Twitter @stevekleber.

 

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