Word of mouth (WOM) marketing has been around for centuries, but businesses are only now learning how to harness, strengthen, and expand the WOM associated with their business. For a successful WOM campaign, a business needs to give people a reason to talk about their positive experiences with the products and services the company provides so as to convince others to buy from that company. It requires building beneficial communication between consumers as well as from the consumer to the marketer.
Negative WOM could greatly harm the image of a business, but with the right strategy, positive WOM can be facilitated and encouraged. By listening to customers and improving what is necessary to make them happier, a company can make sure those customers have something good to talk about when their company comes up in conversation. They should also make sure customers know about the good qualities of their products or services, especially when the customer has a great ability to influence others.
“The customer is always right”
When a company realizes that a happy customer can be their greatest endorsement, they can work to create enthusiasm in customers through WOM marketing. It lets people share their experiences with others. Effective WOM marketing will use the voice of the customer for the good of the brand. It also means that the company must recognize that the unsatisfied customer can be equally as powerful, so they attempt to resolve any problem with unsatisfied customers.
All WOM marketing techniques try to focus on customer satisfaction and good communication. The company should try to educate people about the products and services they offer, find people who will me most likely to share their opinions, and give those people tools that will make it easier to share information. Then the company can study the consumer’s process of sharing the information, and finally listen and respond to the feedback.
Types of Word of Mouth Marketing
When a company decides to try WOM marketing as part of their marketing strategy, they need to choose the type of WOM marketing wisely. There are dozens of techniques marketers could use to implement WOM marketing into their strategy. However, not all of them should be used for every marketing campaign. The following are just a few of the many techniques used in WOM marketing.
- Buzz Marketing – Using well known forms of entertainment to get people to talk about your brand.
- Viral Marketing – Sending out entertaining or informative messages designed to be passed along (usually by email).
- Community Marketing – Forming or supporting specific communities who will be most likely to share their interests about the brand (aka groups and fan clubs), then providing tools and information to support these communities.
- Grassroots Marketing – Organizing volunteers to take part in local outreach activities.
- Evangelist Marketing – Educating evangelists or volunteers, and allowing them to take the and spread the word on your behalf
- Product Seeding – Giving the right product into the right person at the right time (handing out information or samples to influential people).
- Cause Marketing – Supporting a cause to earn respect and support from the people who care about the cause.
- Brand Blogging – Creating blogs and participating in other blogs to promote open communication in these online communities.
- Referral Programs – Creating a program where satisfied customers can refer their friends.
Effective WOM marketing strategies involve finding ways to support satisfied customers. This will make it easier for them to tell their friends about your product or service. Choosing the right strategy for your company is critical. With the right strategy, you could bring in new customers and create loyalty in existing customers as well.
Amy Young is the author of articles relating to marketing, finance, and running a business.
