Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Word of Mouth Marketing is not a Gimmick

Word of Mouth Marketing is not a gimmick. It is not a trick to get everyone talking nor is it hiring a bunch of strangers to promote your product for pay. It is also not having a blog. Word of Mouth Marketing is an ongoing commitment to excellence. Word of Mouth Marketing is being unique and buzzworthy. Word of Mouth Marketing is understanding that people talk and finding out what they are saying about you. Good Word of Mouth Marketing pays attention and heads off less than positive word of mouth. It turns the negative into a positive. Good Word of Mouth Marketing is finding ways to turn up the volume on genuine stories and opinions that paint your product or service as something special and noteworthy, even if the exact same thing is sold by someone else. Great Word of Mouth Marketing is getting advocates that are already familiar with your product or service to understand the power of word of mouth and to work your story into more genuine conversations. Employees can be a wonderful Word of Mouth Marketing tool. Great Word of Mouth Marketing monitors the buzz of your product or service and feeds fresh stories to advocates by being exceptional every day. If you want to understand Word of Mouth Marketing better, do the following. Carry a pad and pen, or use one of those newfangled PDA devices, and record each time you talk about a product or service and what you say about it. Review the product list, whether it was positive or negative word of mouth, and what benefits of the product or service you found buzzworthy. Ask yourself if your potential clients would find your products worth talking about. Use tools like Buzzoodle and education to get every employee aware of the power of word of mouth and have them look for opportunities to plant the seeds to great visibility.