Finding exceptional products, technologies, movies, books, and music are commonplace events. They happen to us every day. When we find this outstanding thing that excites us, we rush to tell our friends, our spouse, the guy at the grocery checkout.

It doesn’t matter who we tell; we just know we are so thrilled by the find that we cannot keep it to ourselves, and we don’t.

Once we hit up the important people in our lives, we grab our smartphones and take a snapshot to post on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or some other social media platform.

Word of mouth marketing no longer means a recommendation is passed from one person to another. Today, word of mouth is the review in Yelp; it’s the selfie in front of a favorite restaurant posted on Instagram, or the excited text to your friend.

Businesses spend millions on marketing to their existing customers on social media so they, in turn, will go out and tell their friends.

The Power of Word of Mouth

Statistics don’t lie. Word of mouth promotion is powerful. Here’s why:

• 92% of consumers will believe recommendations from friends and family over all other forms of advertising. (Source: Nielsen)
• 74% of consumers say that word of mouth influenced their buying decision. (Source: Ogilvy/Google/TNS)
• 72% say that reading a positive consumer review increases their trust in a product or business. (Source: BrightLocal)
• 68% will trust online opinions from other customers. (Source: Nielsen)

People trust what others have to say about their experience with a business or product. When they hear something positive from a previous customer or a friend, they are more likely to buy.

(The power of word of mouth marketing can work against you just as easily as it works in your favor. Word gets out when a company has bad customer service, terrible products, or are hard to reach. Make sure you have your ducks in a row.)

Having a strategy for strong word of mouth recommendations can lay the groundwork for you to build upon.

Two ways powerful word of mouth marketing propels businesses forward are through user-generated content and reviews.

User-generated content is created and shared by people who have experience with the business. It is an organic promotion by sharing opinions about the brand to other consumers.

When prospective buyers read reviews from customers, it increases their trust in the brand. It is a verified customer endorsing the product or business.

Communication is no longer just face to face. We live in a digital era with access to many social media platforms. Instead of one person telling another who then tells another, one person shares to social media, and it reaches millions of people in seconds.

Word of mouth is a great way for businesses to spread the word about their services or products.

Build Your Own Word of Mouth Promotion Strategy

Word of Mouth marketing strategies are as unique as the brand doing them. What works for one business may not work for another. The key is to find something about your brand that will create organic chatter or create something that will generate it.

For your strategy to work, you must be authentic and look for meaningful ways to engage customers. You must create an outstanding customer experience. People who have a poor or average experience with a brand don’t refer them to their friends.

Next, make sure you sell quality products. The quickest way to a bad reputation is by selling junk. Quality products plus a great customer experience mean reviews that convince other potential customers to buy from you.

Other strategies you can consider include:

• Offer value to your customers.
• Share what makes you unique on social media. Fun photos of staff members or interesting ideas go a long way toward a memorable experience.
• Create emotion. People can’t help but respond to emotion. By creating something that tugs at the heart strings or is funny, you get people invested, and they can’t help but share.
• Utilize your blog for promotions. Guest post on popular blogger’s feeds. Their followers then share with their friends.
• Create something unique. It could be as easy as a new take on an old product.
• Encourage and then repost customer content. It is often more fun and engaging then stock photos or company pictures.
• Create a referral program.
• Encourage customers to write reviews.
• Get products reviewed by popular bloggers and social media influencers.
• Connect your brand to a worthy cause.

These aren’t the only strategies, but they will get you started in the right direction.

Few marketing strategies match word of mouth regarding the potential to go viral nor are they as cost-effective.

Word of mouth won’t happen by itself though, and it won’t happen if you offer a poor customer experience.

Remember, it isn’t the strategies that you use that motivate customers to talk about your brand. It’s making a meaningful connection.

References

• McMillen, J. (2016, 6 1). Word of Mouth Marketing – Building a strategy that works. Retrieved from YOTPO Voice: https://www.yotpo.com/blog/word-of-mouth-marketing/
• Mosley, M. (2018, 2 19). Why is Word of Mouth Marketing so Incredibly Important? Retrieved from Referal Rock: https://referralrock.com/blog/word-of-mouth-marketing/
• Warren, M. (unk). Word of Mouth Marketing in 2019: How to Create a Strategy For Social Media buzz & Skyrocket Referral Sales. Retrieved from BigCommerce: https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/word-of-mouth-marketing/#create-an-epic-experience-first