Word of mouth as a marketing trick, and its importance for small business
Every day we learn new opinions about marketing acceptance called word of mouth.
I can express my point of view on this issue based on the experience of working in a small company as a director of marketing and advertising. My experience convinced me that properly tuned word of mouth is so important to the success of a company, especially a small company, that it should be the basis of your business. Let me explain why.
Analytical company “Forrester Research” quotes the following consumer statement in its research: “On the Internet I can find confirmation of everything I hear, read, or learn about on TV and radio, from magazines and newspapers.”
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Nowadays, the Internet has a clear influence on the consumer’s choice of sources of objective information, methods of searching and purchasing a wide range of goods and services, as well as exchanging real impressions with other users before and after purchase.
Unfortunately, consumer confidence is easy to lose. He is skeptical of traditional advertising practices and traditional marketing. Remember how much low-level information we see in the news - and you will understand the reason for the extreme suspiciousness of our potential customers. This is where the word of mouth comes to the rescue. As consumers, we may not believe your commercials 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 survey Nielsen, 90% of the 25,000 Internet users surveyed believe the recommendations of their friends, and at least 70% say they trust reviews of anonymous consumers posted on the Internet.
Recommendations received by word of mouth have real power, and when they hit the Internet, this power grows exponentially. According to a recent study, 85% of online store users consider content created by real consumers, especially ratings, opinions and reviews, to be the decisive factor when choosing a new product or service.
Do your consumers talk about you? Do you use full power of word of mouth? Did you know that it can instantly turn a failed business into a successful one? True, this is the case if information is transmitted with a plus sign. If it is with a minus sign, the effect may be just the opposite.
When you turn to the word of mouth strategy, you start cultivating an intuitive, emotional, psychological, subconscious, irrational commitment of your clients and employees to your brand.
The commitment of your employees to the brand means more enthusiasm and greater 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. The commitment of your customers to the brand is an increase in their purchases. They trust your brand. And they will buy more products of your brand.
Results are quantifiable and immediate. They can be calculated by referring to the most important metric system of small business - cash flow.
Notice how exactly word of mouth selected as the main strategy increases your cash flow:
I would like to discuss the mechanism of action "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 connection with each other.
A well-tuned “word of mouth” is nothing more than a sign of loyalty to the brand, to the people who create this brand; as well as a positive brand contact experience. Such an experience inevitably creates a sense of belonging.
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 promote each other's success? The answer is with their work. Recognition of equal position has always been one of the strongest stimulating factors.
Next come into the game satisfied customers of your employees work. Quite naturally, like flying birds or buzzing bees, they tell friends, neighbors, partners, colleagues, and even their own clients about you.
As a result of such conversations, “clients by recommendation” appear. By themselves, 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 customers become for your company loyal and voluntary sales staff, support group, managers, mentors and innovators, quality controllers, and all this for quite a reasonable fee - for making you happy.
Agree that you could never have hired so many people while maintaining profitability.
The circle closes. You stimulate your employees. Your employees stimulate each other. They also stimulate your clients, who stimulate their friends, who become your clients, which, in turn, stimulates you - and it all starts over.
As a result, you get a self-sustaining business model.
That is why “setting the word of mouth” should be the basis of your strategy.
This is the first publication in a social marketing series. In the following, I would like to talk about how to translate theory into practice.
I can express my point of view on this issue based on the experience of working in a small company as a director of marketing and advertising. My experience convinced me that properly tuned word of mouth is so important to the success of a company, especially a small company, that it should be the basis of your business. Let me explain why.
Analytical company “Forrester Research” quotes the following consumer statement in its research: “On the Internet I can find confirmation of everything 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 purchasing a wide range of goods and services, as well as exchanging real impressions with other users before and after purchase.
Unfortunately, consumer confidence is easy to lose. He is skeptical of traditional advertising practices and traditional marketing. Remember how much low-level information we see in the news - and you will understand the reason for the extreme suspiciousness of our potential customers. This is where the word of mouth comes to the rescue. As consumers, we may not believe your commercials 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 survey Nielsen, 90% of the 25,000 Internet users surveyed believe the recommendations of their friends, and at least 70% say they trust reviews of anonymous consumers posted on the Internet.
Recommendations received by word of mouth have real power, and when they hit the Internet, this power grows exponentially. According to a recent study, 85% of online store users consider content created by real consumers, especially ratings, opinions and reviews, to be the decisive factor when choosing a new product or service.
Do your consumers talk about you? Do you use full power of word of mouth? Did you know that it can instantly turn a failed business into a successful one? True, this is the case if information is transmitted with a plus sign. If it is with a minus sign, the effect may be just the opposite.
When you turn to the word of mouth strategy, you start cultivating an intuitive, emotional, psychological, subconscious, irrational commitment of your clients and employees to your brand.
The commitment of your employees to the brand means more enthusiasm and greater 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. The commitment of your customers to the brand is an increase in their purchases. They trust your brand. And they will buy more products of your brand.
Results are quantifiable and immediate. They can be calculated by referring to the most important metric system of small business - cash flow.
Notice how exactly word of mouth selected as the main strategy increases your cash flow:
- Reduced advertising costs. By turning your clients and colleagues into your advertising agents, you will save a lot of money. In this case, your investment will be an investment in the long-term and sustainable development of your company. It is an investment in building loyalty and ownership, communication and community with your customers and your employees.
Traditional advertising practices 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 see that it is shortened in proportion to the increase in the number of “clients for recommendations”. A shorter sales cycle means a shorter time between your first contact with a potential customer and his first payment.
- The number of repeat purchases is growing . Cultivating the commitment of your customers to the brand, you stimulate an increase in the volume of their purchases. A satisfied customer will gladly come to you again. He does not attend doubts. He will be happy to buy your product again and again.
I would like to discuss the mechanism of action "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 connection with each other.
A well-tuned “word of mouth” is nothing more than a sign of loyalty to the brand, to the people who create this brand; as well as a positive brand contact experience. Such an experience inevitably creates a sense of belonging.
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 promote each other's success? The answer is with their work. Recognition of equal position has always been one of the strongest stimulating factors.
Next come into the game satisfied customers of your employees work. Quite naturally, like flying birds or buzzing bees, they tell friends, neighbors, partners, colleagues, and even their own clients about you.
As a result of such conversations, “clients by recommendation” appear. By themselves, 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 customers become for your company loyal and voluntary sales staff, support group, managers, mentors and innovators, quality controllers, and all this for quite a reasonable fee - for making you happy.
Agree that you could never have hired so many people while maintaining profitability.
The circle closes. You stimulate your employees. Your employees stimulate each other. They also stimulate your clients, who stimulate their friends, who become your clients, which, in turn, stimulates you - and it all starts over.
As a result, you get a self-sustaining business model.
That is why “setting the word of mouth” should be the basis of your strategy.
This is the first publication in a social marketing series. In the following, I would like to talk about how to translate theory into practice.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/74620/
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