1. Word-of-mouth is actually the center of the marketing universe.
2.
Just as it is untrue that the sun revolves around the earth, marketing does
not really revolve around advertising, selling, and promotions. Much of
marketing actually centers around illusion-creation.
3. Word-of-mouth offers
an authenticity to it because the source is normally independent of the
company, he or she is offering his or her own candid opinion and therefore,
the marketing appears credible.
4. Advertising is the renting of a medium to
send out a carefully crafted message to a specific audience. Everything is
paid for, whereas word-of-mouth is a more effective tool; and best of all,
it is absolutely free.
5. Word-of-mouth can take on a life of its own. There
are no limits to how far-reaching it can be. Just study how fast a good joke
on the e-mail circulates.
6. Studies have shown that a satisfied customer
will tell an average of three people about a product or service she likes,
and eleven people about a product or service with which she had a negative
experience.
7. Because this is the age of the Internet, e-mail, websites,
chat rooms, and video teleconferencing, word-of-mouth is even more important
to businesses today than ever before.
8. The most important way by which
sales can increase is by increasing the speed with which decisions are made.
Decision speed is the time it takes for your customer to go from initial
awareness to enthusiastic use and recommendation of your product or service.
Simplicity, ease, and fun govern the decision process.
9. Marketing success
is determined more by the time it takes for your customer to decide on your
product than by any other single factor. Decision speed is more powerful
than positioning, image, value, customer satisfaction, guarantees, or even
product superiority.
10. Shortening the customer s decision cycle means your
product s benefits, claims, and promises must be obvious and compelling;
information must be clear, balanced, and credible; comparisons must reveal
meaningful differences, your trials should be free and easy, your
evaluations, clear and simple. Guarantees should be ironclad and generous.
Testimonials and other word-of-mouth marketing must be relevant and
believable. Delivery, training, and support offered must be superior.
11. A
good way to spread the word on your company is to circulate true, positive
stories about it. FedEx is famous for its legendary employee who hired a
chopper just to deliver a package forgotten on the tarmac. People love a
good story, and that is the essence of word of mouth.
12. There are 9 levels
of word-of-mouth. They range from the public scandal of minus 4, the product
boycott of minus 3, to the raving customers/advocates who tell you how great
your product or service is (plus 3) to the talk of the town level (plus 4).
13. Examples of those who have reached plus 4 level of word-of-mouth
marketing are: Lexus Automobiles, Saturn Car Company, Harley-Davidson,
Netscape Navigator, Celestial seasonings herbal tea, The Internet, and Apple
Computer.
14. Some ways of harnessing word of mouth are by using experts
like customers, suppliers, salespeople, experts roundtable discussions and
selling groups. Take advantage of seminars, workshops, and speaking
engagements, dinner meetings, teleconferenced panel discussions, and trade
shows. Canned Word of Mouth consists of putting out videotapes, audiotapes,
using a well-designed website, or distributing CDs. There are also ways such
as referral selling programs, testimonials, and networking methods, hotlines
(1-800 numbers) and e-mail.
15. Using traditional media for Word of Mouth
means using customer service as a word-of-mouth engine, public relations,
placements, unusual events, promotions, word of mouth in ads, sales
brochures, or direct mail, salesperson programs, sales stars, peer training,
or using salespeople as word-of-mouth generators, word-of-mouth incentive
programs ( Tell-a-friend programs), useful gifts to customers (articles,
how-to manuals) that they can give their friends.
16. Employees should be
actively spreading word of mouth about your products. Spread stories around
about examples of superior customer service. Give people a common mission
and make rewards dependent on the accomplishment of that mission.
17. Word
of mouth accelerates the process of customer decision-making, from deciding
to decide, asking for information, weighing options, evaluating a free
trial, and then finally becoming a customer and advocate.
18. With
customer-oriented service, your company can increase sales via word of
mouth.
