Word of mouth marketing made easy

Think about when you need a plumber, you ask your friends and neighbours do they know anyone? It is not just for services like plumbing it applies equally to Pubs, Hairdressers, restaurants, visitor attractions, accountants and solicitors.

Fundamental to word of mouth marketing is great customer service and a great result for the customer. Unfortunately, people tend to talk about a business or product when they are unhappy with it rather than when they are happy or satisfied.

Word of mouth marketing is another tool in your marketing tool kit, and just like every other form of marketing it needs planning, focusing and measuring. There are things you can do to develop successful word of mouth marketing.

There are two fundamentals.

• You must deliver a ‘wow’ experience for your customers so they tell others.
• You must use marketing tools to tell people who you are and what you do.

Be active.

You need to be seen and heard. Go to business events organised by organisations like Business Link and Chambers of Commerce. Join Networking groups. If you are not sure which ones are right for you visit all of them and then decide. Be involved with your professional body.

As more and more ways of digital communication come along you may consider starting a blog, joining an online group, joining a message board, or contributing to a forum.

Circles of influence.

Develop your relationships with businesses that are complimentary and non competitive to what you do. Look for businesses that have customers who have overlapping similar needs. A great example is the wedding mafia that you find in some networking organisations, a florist, printer, a photographer, a jeweler etc. Graphic designers and printers are another. Financial planners and Banks.

A referral for one can become a referral for all of them Write down the businesses that fit in your circle of influence and start developing relationship with them.

Know, Like and trust.

People buy from people they know, like and trust. Word of mouth is a great way to build relationships with people. The more you know about someone the better. Be prepared. This takes time. You probably did not ask your partner to marry you on your first date, so do not expect people to give you their business after just one contact.

Customers.

Before you start any word of mouth activity, make sure you know the type of customer you want and equally the ones you do not want. Next decide who are the people who talk to and influence these prospects.

It is all in the message.

Keep it simple. You need to create a message that is easy to communicate that one person can pass to another easily. Make messages interesting and valuable.

Isolation.

Many small business owners I work with treat each part of their marketing independently. In so doing they are missing a big opportunity. By using a combination of tools to deliver the message they could increase the impact of their messages. Look for complementary ways to deliver your message.

Frequency.

You need to plan to deliver the message many times to the same people for the best long-term results. Frequently I hear the comment, “ we tried it once and it did not work.” I am not surprised, marketing is about building relationships with your customers and prospects and this takes time and effort.

Tracking and measuring.

Start by asking new prospects how they heard from you. If your lead comes from a referral thank the person giving the referral. Keep records, monitor which activity works best for you and your business.

The development of blogs and online communities has resulted in much more written comments that can be reviewed, measured and give you an invaluable insight into your customers.

Need a shortcut to success?

Want help from Gareth to grow your business? Give him a call on 01226 290288 or email gareth@gapmanagement.co.uk

Suggestions for a future article?

If there is a subject you would like covered send an email to gareth@gapmanagement.co.uk

About GAP Management

GAP Management helps business owners and managers to focus their sales and marketing efforts to be more effective and to find win and keep customers, to grow.