Posted by Tracie Gilbert on Friday, July 16th, 2010
Word of mouth has exploded as one of the fastest-growing segments of the marketing industry these last few years. According to a report by PQ Media of Stamford, Conn., an alternative media researcher, it is forecasted to reach $3.7 billion by 2011, with blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook seeing ever increasing popularity. At the same time, word of mouth is one of the oldest forms of advertising. As long as there have been brands, people have talked about them, both positively and negatively. Unfortunately, people are much more likely, almost 10 times in fact, to talk about a negative product experience than a positive one. So how to you generate positive word of mouth? Read on for a few simple tips and tricks.
Talk to Me. Diversify your networks by getting active within your community, professional networking groups or professional associations. Most business people stay within their comfortable zone of home and work and back again and can’t figure out why no one is referring them. Get active and visible within your community and let people know you are there. (More tips on this next month!)
Mouth to Mouth. Develop relationships with businesses that are symbiotic and noncompetitive with yours. The wedding industry, real estate market and construction industry are all great examples of this. A new customer for one becomes a referral for the rest – such as with real estate where your real estate agent can refer you to a mortgage broker, title company, inspection and repair companies. Determine what services best compliment your own and begin building a relationship with them, breathing new life into all of your businesses.
He Said, She Said. Use your website and social media outlets to your advantage. Create a system where customers can review your products or services. Customer reviews are one of the most effective user-generated methods for driving sales. In fact, over three quarters of customers admit to seeking out peer reviews before purchasing a product or service (A.C. Nielsen). Then expand outward from your website inviting customer feedback from various venues such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs and partner websites – you want to make it easy for people to talk about your brand wherever they are…and to drive them back to your site. Finally, if you get a good customer review – use it. Integrate it into your ads, signage, newsletters, emails, etc and let customers know what others are saying.
Actions Speak Louder. Develop an army of volunteers, samplers, ambassadors, etc that you can send out new product/service invites to for the purpose of reviewing and telling friends and colleagues about. Large companies such as Procter & Gamble, Lee Jeans, even movie companies such as New Line Cinemas, have begun using this method that has been shown to increase favorable opinions in case after case from 50-75%. (Source: Company reports). By using a select group of thought leaders of companies, clubs or groups to ‘preview’ your new product or service, you are creating implied endorsers/thought influencers to sell for your brand.
Keep a Civil Tongue. Obviously, you do not want to ignore your current customers either. Remember that the customer is always right and to keep them happy. A happy customer will come back for more business as well as tell their friends and colleagues about you. Make sure you listen to your customers and show that you care about their needs. Get their opinions on new products or services and incorporate the useful information. Customers like to think that you value their opinion – and you should. After all, they are the ones supporting your business.
Talk Shop. Referral programs are always a great way to get current customers to tell their friends and colleagues about your business. Referral promotions can be something as simple as a percent off their next purchase, a free gift or a donation made to their favorite charity. The important thing is to make it as easy as possible to refer you. That means emails that they can just forward, including business cards or brochures with invoices, samples/gifts that they can share (such as pens, notepads, lollipops with your logo/web address), etc. – whatever method (or better yet METHODS) you use, make sure the customer can pass it on easily and quickly. You want to show the current customer that you appreciate the fact that they would refer you, but not take up any more time in their busy day.
The Final Word. Last, but not least, you do still need to focus on minimizing your negative word of mouth by making sure to provide a quality product or exceptional service. It does not do any good to get new customers if you are unable to keep them. Make sure that you are honest in your marketing materials and sales tactics. Try and correct problems immediately, showing them that their business is important to you. Referrals and growth are going to be hard to come by if the customer is unsatisfied. Better yet, go the extra mile. Make sure the work you do get’s people energized, excited and eager to tell a friend.
Increasing your business through word of mouth advertising is about cultivating relationships with people and allowing them to get to know you and trust you. People do business with people they have confidence in. Simple as that. If you go into this process understanding this one key point, you will have a better opportunity to build your business through word of mouth.
“If it’s not worth talking about, it’s not worth doing.”
- Andy Sernovitz – Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking
Tags: advertising, customer service, marketing, networking, referrals, sales, social media, word of mouth
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Posted by Joann Tyson on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
As the owner of a beauty promotional company, I am lucky to get to try a variety of products all the time. It is one of the best perks of my job but also proves that sampling is still the best marketing tool out there.
Over the years, I have sampled hundreds of products and many of those are products I would have never dreamed of buying. I work hard for my money and don’t want to buy something without knowing it works. I prefer to hear from a friend or a review on the product but I really want to try it myself for FREE.
Because of all the sampling, I now have a bunch of items I can’t live without. Here are my top 10 …
1. Neutrogena Microdermbrasion Cleansing pads – Unfortunately this one is discontinued by JNJ but I scour the internet finding leftovers. Again, I would have been very skeptical about buying these but we were doing some instore demo’s a few years ago and we all got to sample them. All the females in our group over a certain age LOVE this product and it is not unusual for us to notify one another when we find a stash of it somewhere. Please, JNJ, bring this back or if anyone out there cares to send me a box, I will be forever grateful.
2. Skin Doctors Zit Zapper – I d never even heard of Skin Doctors before we were commissioned to do some instore events. Somehow we ended up with an extra one of these wands and I was lucky enough to get it. I still get occasional breakouts (yes, even with my wrinkles) and this little marvel really zaps them and quickly. I used it on my mate’s pimple once and he now calls it the miracle pen. And the darn thing seems to last forever. With my luck they will discontinue this before I have a need to buy a 2nd one.
3. La Roche Effaclar foaming Cleanser – again there was an extra and I thought I would try it, fully expecting to not like it. Well, I was wrong. This creamy cleanser foams up brilliantly and leaves my face feeling very smooth and you only need literally a pea size drop. Since I can’t find it locally, I order it on line or stock up when I am in NYC but one tube lasts me at least 6 months.
4. Garnier Eye Roller – Like millions of other women, I have made this a staple in my daily routine. I love the roller, I love the way it makes my eyes feel refreshed and I think it does reduce my puffiness. Actually, I was the most skeptical about Garnier Nutritioniste line of skincare products. I would have never thought these would be effective but I find the whole line one of the most effective brands I have ever used. I really see results and have had people comment on my skin when I am using the products.
5. Physician’s Formula Talc Free foundation – it took me years to find out that I am allergic to talc – I can’t thank PF enough for this fabulous foundation that covers well and stays on all day. I also love their talc free powders. I wish they would make that new bronzer talc free.
6. Loreal Everpure Sulfate Free Shampoo and Conditioner – My hair has always had what I call performance anxiety. The more important it is for my hair to look good is in direct proportion on how bad it will look. The day I am home washing the dogs, it looks and behaves brilliantly. On the day of my big gala event, it is limp and awful. Anyway, I have gotten some relief by using these new products. Even my hairdresser noticed how much stronger and easy to manage it has been since I started using it.
7. Revlon Tourmaline Ionic Ceramic Hair Dryer – My friend swears by those $300 hair dryers and I am not about to pay $300 to dry my hair. But this past spring, our trainers (and I) were trained on the Revlon Hair Dryers sold at Walgreens for $29.99 and each of us was given one. I also got to see a segment of GMA where good housekeeping rated this hair dryer BETTER than the $300 one my friend uses to dry her hair. And I was also given instructions on how to use it and now I feel like a professional! Remember that when setting your next demo event; people need to be educated on how to use the product and WHY to use YOUR product.
8. CoverGirl Lash Exact Mascara – I torture my lashes – I curl them and use waterproof mascara so they stay curled. I hate thick clumpy lashes, I want mine to look like those beautiful false eyelashes – long and silky. Well, Lash Exact (and I love the eye brightening ones) is the best one I have tried. And I have tried just about all of them – Lash Blast, Stiletto, Telescopic, you name it – nothing else does the trick.
9. Bliss bath products – I stayed at a W hotel a few years back and was treated to some FREE Bliss products and got hooked. Wish I hadn’t since the stuff is 
so expensive. I love, love the lemon-sage Body Butter and Soapy Sap shower gel. I even like the shampoo and conditioner. I keep trying to find something that smells as good for less money but no luck. Luckily I stay at W Hotels a lot and all my friends know to get me some for birthdays and such.
10. Regenerist Serum – when the line first came out, we were sent about half a million little tubes of the serum. I was able to use them for almost a year before I had to buy a bottle but now I do and continue to do so.
So there you have it, NOT one of these products would I have ever bought if I had not been given the opportunity to try it. And not only I am hooked and a consistent buyer but I have gotten my friends hooked on many of the items as well.
One thing to remember when doing an in-store event is that is very difficult to get a good ROI on the day of the event – you have to factor in the customers that will become fans, tell others and make repeat purchases all because you had someone in the store one day pimping your brands – just make sure that person is educated and a good representative of your brand. Oh yeah, make sure the product actually works!
Tags: beauty sampling, Cover Girl, Garnier, Hair dryer, La Roche, Regenerist
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