Category Archive: Newsletter
[Welcome back to the You Can Be a Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius! newsletter. This is text from the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]
You’ve got an infinite number of talkers you can seek out and earn word of mouth from. But because you don’t have an infinite number of hours in the day, start with these:
1. New customers
2. Long-time customers
3. Loyal employees
1. New customers
First-time customers make for powerful, eager talkers. But you only get one first impression, so you need to make the most of it. Give these potential talkers the chance to sample your best stuff and the tools to tell everyone about you. If you’re a restaurant, for example, this could be your one shot to blow them away — so make sure they get to sample that dessert everyone raves about (and a menu to take back to the office).
2. Long-time customers
Long-time, loyal customers can be your word of mouth bedrock. They already know how great you are, but they forget or don’t realize just how important their referrals are for you. Inspire them to talk by inviting them to join VIP groups, asking for their input on business decisions, or just simply asking them for referrals. Think about it — when was the last time you reminded your best customers how much their word of mouth means to you?
3. Enthusiastic employees
It’s fun to work at a place worth talking about, and many of your employees would love to help share your company and cause with their networks. Make sure they have access to samples, beta products, sharable discounts, and any sales materials they can forward to friends and prospects. Use tact in doing this — you don’t want to make anyone feel pressured to talk — but you want to make sure they have all the tools to do so when they feel the urge.
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[Welcome back to the You Can Be a Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius! newsletter. This is text from the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]
As we kick off a new year, we wanted to pause for a minute to look back at some of the greatest word of mouth stories from the past one. Here are three favorites that got us talking:
1. The movement that raised $100 million in 30 days
2. The chain restaurant that doubles as a community center
3. The movie theater that delights fans by kicking out jerks
4. Share your favorites
1. The movement that raised $100 million in 30 days
The Movember project had it all: It was fun, inspiring, easy to get involved, easy to talk about, and it raised a ton of money for men’s health.
With support from more than 850,000 people, Movember raised an unbelievable $105 million in 30 days. Think about that: There were no corporate sponsors. This was a worldwide movement powered by millions of on and offline conversations.
There were so many great word of mouth concepts used by this project, we wrote a whole newsletter on it.
2. The chain restaurant that doubles as a community center
If you follow us at all, you know we’re constantly talking about how the path to true word of mouth is built with a zillion tiny, genuine gestures designed to earn the respect and recommendation of your customers. Few embody this ideal more than Hamid Chaudhry who took over a small-town Dairy Queen franchise and steadily earned the love of his entire community.
He frequently hosts fundraisers for local groups (and regularly donates more than these modest events raise), he randomly shows up at schools with frozen treats, and people see his restaurant as the central hub of the town.
Today Hamid has an incredible base of fans that will carry him through good times and bad, and it’s something we all should be striving for.
3. The movie theater that delights fans by kicking out jerks
Word of mouth isn’t about making everyone happy — it’s about making the right customers fall in love. That’s the heart of the Alamo Drafthouse’s strict “no talking or texting during movies” policy. They’re serious about it. So much so, they posted an angry voicemail they received from a customer they booted for texting.
The video became an absolute sensation with more than 2.3 million YouTube views and the theater received an outpouring of support for defending their much-loved policy.
Standing for something (and against something else) is how brands build loyal followings, and the world needs more of it.
4. Share your favorites
Do you have a favorite word of mouth story from 2011? What companies are you talking about, and how are they inspiring you to do it? Big or small, we’d love to hear about it.
Add your favorites in the comments below.
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[Welcome back to the You Can Be a Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius! newsletter. This is text from the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]
As we often say, every brand experiences negative feedback. But it’s how you handle it that separates you from everyone else. If you’re willing to engage genuinely and honestly, you can expect one of these three positive results:
1. Love
2. Respect
3. Truth
1. Love
The response you should always aim for is to turn a former critic into a loyal, adoring fan. By acting quickly and making things right, you’ll get customers posting things like, “I love these guys. They saw my problem, approached me, and fixed it.” An upset customer might talk to five people, but a formerly upset customer you win over will talk to 10 times as many.
2. Respect
If you can’t earn their love, you should at least work to win their respect. You won’t always be able to fix every problem, but a genuine effort can still turn the conversation around. In this scenario, you’re looking for a response like, “They couldn’t fix my problem, but they came to me and tried to help. I respect them for it.”
3. Truth
Finally, sometimes you’ll find yourself dealing with someone who just can’t be reasoned with. When this happens, it’s not the attacker you’re trying to speak to, it’s everyone else following along. If you make an honest attempt to fix the problem, everyone else will see the critic being unfair and know you tried to do the right thing.
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[Welcome back to the You Can Be a Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius! newsletter. This is text from the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]
Somewhere online, people are talking about you. It’s happening in blog posts, in community forums, and on Twitter and Facebook. And all of these talkers would love to hear from you — so go ahead, jump in. Just remember these fundamentals when doing it:
1. Never sell
2. Follow the rules
3. Say who you are
1. Never sell
Before you say this rule is “so 2007,” think about how many well-meaning marketers still go into communities with a sales mindset every day. Remember the basics: Be helpful, add to the conversation, and never, ever act salesy. Blowing this basic is the fastest way to turn a positive conversation into a negative one.
2. Follow the rules
Every community is different, and you’ll have much more success if you take the time to familiarize yourself with the house rules before jumping in. How do people typically communicate? How do others introduce themselves? Is it acceptable to bring up your company and if so, when? Remember you’re a guest when commenting in someone else’s forum or on their blog and knowing the rules helps get you welcomed back.
3. Say who you are
Always disclose who you are and who you work for whenever talking about your company or your industry. We recommend these 10 Magic Words: “I work for [company name] and this is my personal opinion.” Done right, disclosure isn’t something that gets in the way, it’s something that adds credibility and builds trust.
