I really like to hear stories about word of mouth advertising. To be honest, it always seemed like a geek quirk until I started getting into marketing. But really- when someone starts talking about a great product or great service, my ears perk up. Doesn’t matter what product. I’ve been that way forever.
For instance, I love Rain-X, the stuff you put on your windshield to bead water. A friend, years ago, stopped at a gas station during a storm to put some on, telling me about how great it was. Then, we drove down the highway, with 18 wheelers passing us, without using the windshield wipers. I was sold. And now I tell everyone about Rain-X (seriously). They don’t pay me, or give me products. It’s word of mouth.
Why does word of mouth work the way it does?
1) Honesty The truth is rare enough to create attention. It stands out -way out- from everything else, and that’s worth talking about.
2) Surprise If there’s something genuinely surprising about a product, it’s worth talking about. Marketing that leaves a surprise to the customer is brave.
3) Lagniappe This is a creole word that means something like “gift”. Businesses that give the customer something extra often get word of mouth back.
4) Service Just being friendly is worth talking about. It gives us an idea of just how many people are phoning it in.
What those 4 characteristics share is that they exceed expectations. For people to talk about a product of their own volition, it’s got to be pretty far outside the norm. No one’s going to talk about the used car commercial. In fact, almost all marketing does completely the opposite.
It’s bold to be honest. It takes restraint to create surprise. You must be generous to give a little lagniappe. You have to care to create service worth mentioning.
What’s missing? Do you have some good word of mouth examples?
Tags: business relationships, business trust, content, marketing strategy