[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.
[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.
3-Minute WOM Lesson: How to respond to negative word of mouth
November 1, 2011
[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.]
Negative word of mouth happens to every company. Nobody is immune. But great brands have a plan that helps them convert a lot of the angry critics into happy fans. What you should do:
1. Act quickly
2. Be human
3. Write for the record
1. Act quickly
When a customer is upset, you need to act fast. A quick response (even if it’s just to say, “I’m sorry, I hear you — let me get back to you”) helps soothe the original critic and also helps avoid an outbreak of more negative sentiment from others. It’s common sense, but it’s also been proven in studies: In one experiment, when a single table complained about food in a crowded restaurant, 26% of guests made similar complaints.
2. Be human
A canned response is worse than no response at all. Identify yourself, speak like a real person, and give them a way to follow-up with you. No frustrated customer has ever been won over with corporate speak, and there’s no reason to expect it to start working anytime soon.
3. Write for the record
When you’re responding — especially in online forums — remember that you’re not just writing for the original critic, but for everyone else who reads it later. You want people to see that you tried to make things right. Even if you can’t fix the problem, it’s important to show that you’re listening and that you care about keeping customers happy.
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