Speaking Of Business: Word Of Mouth Marketing

When you are in a store to buy, say a refrigerator, what’s one question (along with other trivia) that you ask the salesman before you decide on buying a particular brand? You guessed it right… It is “What’s the brand people are buying these days?”

That question underlines the key factor governing business-consumer relationship- TRUST. The answer to that question shows where consumer are placing their trust and that’s more likely where you want to place your trust as well.

Think of it. You have plenty of advertisements trying to convince the consumers that a particular brand is the best. Whether or not a consumer is convinced, s/he is surely left confused. So how do most of us decide on what to buy? Reading the literature of all brands of a particular product is surely not an option. Well… most often than not, we get convinced by what our friends, neighbours, colleagues, relatives and other of our associates say. Their recommendations matter a lot to consumers.

This is word of mouth. In technical terms, this type of marketing of a particular product, where products are get referrals informally, is known as word of mouth marketing (WOMM).

Interestingly, while big businesses can rely on large scale expensive advertising, small businesses, to gain momentum,

need to make sure people know about them. This is where word of mouth comes in handy as the most effective means of advertising and bringing in more of consumers.

Let’s look at few advantages of word of mouth marketing.

1. Low-cost affair

   It’s perhaps the most effective and the oldest way of advertising. Yet, it costs nothing. Consumers tend to recommend something on their own, without the businessman having to invest on anything but quality service. This is especially effective for small businesses.

2. Builds trust

   When you provide quality service, you are making people happy. In return, they favour you and recommend you to their kith and kin. As their recommendations matter more than anything else, they are ready to trust you over others.

3. Helps create a market for your business

   When consumers share their experience they had with your services, they are advertising your services to other people and in turn building up a good network, hence creating a good market for you.

4. Speeds up the business

   Consumers often tend to take quicker decisions and quicker purchases when their associates share with them a timely and creditable experience. This in turn speeds up your business and is good for you.

Ways to promote word of mouth marketing for your business.

1. Networking

   

   The more people you are in touch with, the more they know about you and the more they know about you, the more they know about your work. So if someone you are in touch with (and of course, are in good books of), comes in touch with a third person who needs the particular service you provide, s/he will refer the person to you. So get busy, you have work in your hand!

2. Self promotion

   To create a buzz about your work, it is vital that people know you. This is even simpler these days with sites like LinkedIn etc. Say, for instance, if you have come up with a blog and want people to have a look at it, just add its link at the end of the mail you send to people, or, mention it as your status message. Majority of us are curious people and will take a look at it. You could also build your website with your name as the domain name. Or tweet what you are up to and see what responses you get.

3. Organizing events

   You could organize an event, like a run, or a blood donation campaign. A charitable work is a good and noble way to connect to people and make people talk about you.

4. Responding

   Interacting with your consumers is an effective way of giving them an experience to share with others. Ask the people for their feedback, respond to their complaints, if they appreciate your work, accept it gracefully. Sending personalized notes on special occasions, like New Year, etc, too invites them to talk about you.

Word of mouth is a great technique to get your business across and create a large market for yourself. However, you must ensure excellent quality of service. A negative impression could just backfire. In case of a complaint, you should make sure you address them readily. After all, you do not want any one to be bad mouthing you, do you?