"Word of mouth" as a marketing technique, and its importance for small businesses
Every day we learn new opinions about the reception of marketing called word of mouth.
I can state my point of view on this issue based on my experience working in a small company as a director of marketing and advertising. My experience has convinced me that a properly tuned word of mouth is so important for the success of a company, especially a small company, that it should become the foundation of your business. Let me explain why.
In its research, Forrester Research quoted the following statement by the consumer: “On the Internet I can find confirmation of everything that I hear, read, or learn about on TV and radio, from magazines and newspapers.”
Nowadays, the Internet has a clear influence on the consumer’s choice of sources of objective information, methods of searching and acquiring a wide range of goods and services, as well as exchanging real experiences with other users before and after the purchase.
Unfortunately, consumer confidence is easy to lose. He is skeptical of traditional advertising practices and traditional marketing. Remember how much base information we see in the news - and you will understand the reason for the extreme suspicion of our potential customers. This is where word of mouth comes to the rescue. As consumers, we may not believe your videos or other types of advertising that you practice, but we will believe what other people say about your products and services.
According to the latest global consumer online research by Nielsen, 90% of the 25,000 Internet users surveyed believe the recommendations of their friends, and at least 70% say they trust the reviews of anonymous consumers posted on the Internet.
The recommendations received via word of mouth have real power, and when they get to the Internet, this power grows exponentially. According to a recent study, 85% of users of online stores consider content created by real consumers, in particular ratings, opinions and reviews, to be a decisive factor when choosing a new product or service.
Are your consumers talking about you? Do you use the word-of-mouth technique in full force? Did you know that it can instantly turn a failed business into a successful one? True, this is if information with a plus sign is transmitted. If it is marked with a minus sign, the effect can be exactly the opposite.
When you turn to word of mouth strategy, you begin to cultivate the intuitive, emotional, psychological, subconscious, irrational commitment of your customers and employees to your brand.
Your employees' commitment to the brand means more enthusiasm and more involvement on their part. It also means greater productivity and efficiency, more constructive and innovative solutions, more ideas from brand managers (or all employees) of small companies. Your customers' brand loyalty is an increase in their purchases. They trust your brand. And they will buy more products from your brand.
The results are quantifiable and immediate. They can be calculated by referring to the most important metric system of small business - cash flow.
Pay attention to how word of mouth, chosen as the main strategy, increases your cash flow:
I would like to discuss the mechanism of action of word of mouth in more detail.
Word of mouth is the result of creating a strong and meaningful connection between you and your customers and employees, as well as their relationship with each other.
A well-tuned word of mouth is nothing more than a sign of brand loyalty, to the people who create the brand; and positive brand contact experience. Such an experience inevitably gives rise to a sense of ownership.
It can also become a mechanism of perpetual motion, an endless chain of positive feedback in which each side stimulates the other.
How can employees and colleagues contribute to each other's success? The answer is your work. The recognition of peers has always been one of the strongest stimulating factors.
Next, customers who are satisfied with the work of your employees come into play. Naturally, like flying birds or buzzing bees, they tell friends, neighbors, partners, colleagues, and even their own customers about you.
As a result of such conversations, “clients by recommendation” appear. On their own, these clients serve as a reward for your employees, and their high expectations become a good incentive for further improvement in the profession.
Thus, your clients become for your company loyal and voluntary sales staff, a support group, managers, mentors and innovators, quality controllers, and all this for a very reasonable fee - for making them happy.
Agree that you would never be able to hire so many people and maintain profitability.
The circle closes. You stimulate your employees. Your employees stimulate each other. They also stimulate your customers, who stimulate their friends, who become your customers, which in turn stimulates you - and it all starts all over again.
The end result is a self-sustaining business model.
That’s why “word of mouth tuning” should be the foundation of your strategy.
This is the first publication in a series on social marketing. In the following, I would like to talk about how to translate theory into practice.
I can state my point of view on this issue based on my experience working in a small company as a director of marketing and advertising. My experience has convinced me that a properly tuned word of mouth is so important for the success of a company, especially a small company, that it should become the foundation of your business. Let me explain why.
In its research, Forrester Research quoted the following statement by the consumer: “On the Internet I can find confirmation of everything that I hear, read, or learn about on TV and radio, from magazines and newspapers.”
Nowadays, the Internet has a clear influence on the consumer’s choice of sources of objective information, methods of searching and acquiring a wide range of goods and services, as well as exchanging real experiences with other users before and after the purchase.
Unfortunately, consumer confidence is easy to lose. He is skeptical of traditional advertising practices and traditional marketing. Remember how much base information we see in the news - and you will understand the reason for the extreme suspicion of our potential customers. This is where word of mouth comes to the rescue. As consumers, we may not believe your videos or other types of advertising that you practice, but we will believe what other people say about your products and services.
According to the latest global consumer online research by Nielsen, 90% of the 25,000 Internet users surveyed believe the recommendations of their friends, and at least 70% say they trust the reviews of anonymous consumers posted on the Internet.
The recommendations received via word of mouth have real power, and when they get to the Internet, this power grows exponentially. According to a recent study, 85% of users of online stores consider content created by real consumers, in particular ratings, opinions and reviews, to be a decisive factor when choosing a new product or service.
Are your consumers talking about you? Do you use the word-of-mouth technique in full force? Did you know that it can instantly turn a failed business into a successful one? True, this is if information with a plus sign is transmitted. If it is marked with a minus sign, the effect can be exactly the opposite.
When you turn to word of mouth strategy, you begin to cultivate the intuitive, emotional, psychological, subconscious, irrational commitment of your customers and employees to your brand.
Your employees' commitment to the brand means more enthusiasm and more involvement on their part. It also means greater productivity and efficiency, more constructive and innovative solutions, more ideas from brand managers (or all employees) of small companies. Your customers' brand loyalty is an increase in their purchases. They trust your brand. And they will buy more products from your brand.
The results are quantifiable and immediate. They can be calculated by referring to the most important metric system of small business - cash flow.
Pay attention to how word of mouth, chosen as the main strategy, increases your cash flow:
- Reduces advertising costs. By turning your customers and colleagues into your advertising agents, you will save a lot of money. At the same time, your investments will become investments in the long-term and sustainable development of your company. This is an investment in building loyalty and ownership, communication and community with your customers and your employees.
Traditional advertising practices all too often require you to invest in the success of your agency, regardless of its contribution to your success. - The trading cycle is getting shorter. You will be convinced that it is being shortened in proportion to the growth in the number of “clients on recommendation”. A shorter trading cycle means a shorter period of time between your first contact with a potential customer and his first payment.
- The number of repeat purchases is growing . By cultivating your customer’s brand loyalty, you drive an increase in their purchases. A satisfied customer will come to you again with pleasure. He is not in doubt. He will be happy to buy your product again and again.
I would like to discuss the mechanism of action of word of mouth in more detail.
Word of mouth is the result of creating a strong and meaningful connection between you and your customers and employees, as well as their relationship with each other.
A well-tuned word of mouth is nothing more than a sign of brand loyalty, to the people who create the brand; and positive brand contact experience. Such an experience inevitably gives rise to a sense of ownership.
It can also become a mechanism of perpetual motion, an endless chain of positive feedback in which each side stimulates the other.
How can employees and colleagues contribute to each other's success? The answer is your work. The recognition of peers has always been one of the strongest stimulating factors.
Next, customers who are satisfied with the work of your employees come into play. Naturally, like flying birds or buzzing bees, they tell friends, neighbors, partners, colleagues, and even their own customers about you.
As a result of such conversations, “clients by recommendation” appear. On their own, these clients serve as a reward for your employees, and their high expectations become a good incentive for further improvement in the profession.
Thus, your clients become for your company loyal and voluntary sales staff, a support group, managers, mentors and innovators, quality controllers, and all this for a very reasonable fee - for making them happy.
Agree that you would never be able to hire so many people and maintain profitability.
The circle closes. You stimulate your employees. Your employees stimulate each other. They also stimulate your customers, who stimulate their friends, who become your customers, which in turn stimulates you - and it all starts all over again.
The end result is a self-sustaining business model.
That’s why “word of mouth tuning” should be the foundation of your strategy.
This is the first publication in a series on social marketing. In the following, I would like to talk about how to translate theory into practice.