Whachu Say? The Power of Word of Mouth Advertising

As much as I hate to admit it (considering I make a living creating print, web, etc.. marketing for clients). The most effective marketing tool you have is FREE and sooo easy. All you have to do is a great job - and have your customer talk about it.

Whether you call it Word of Mouth or Referral Marketing the basic principle is the same - someone told someone, who told someone and so on. My business is run primarily on Word of Mouth/Referral Marketing. It's like I'm playing the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon here - would guess there are only about 3 degrees of separation between anyone client of mine. But I love it that way and here's why:

My clients do my selling for me.
It's simple I just give my clients professional service for a good value and in no time they refer a business friend or connection for the same great service. Of course I encourage this behavior by offering any client that refers a customer a 10% on their next month's invoice when the referred client signs an agreement. Most of them are just so excited to actually find someone that does what they promise and sharing the good news - that they tell me not to worry about giving them the discount. But I always do - kindness goes both ways you know...

I save a lot of money on marketing.
All I have to do is the work my clients order - that is my marketing right there. Delivering what you promise is the key to great Word of Mouth.

So how do you encourage Word of Mouth/Referral Marketing for your business?
Here's a few key tips:

1. As I've mentioned a few times - do good work - deliver what you promise. That is always step one.

2. Encourge WOM w/ a referral bonus

3. Fake it... Low on customers? Create a marketing piece that will be held on to or passed on. Something that is either shocking, hilarious or down right useful will do the trick.

4. Create an e-newsletter that you send to current and past customers that includes items that they may want to pass along to their business connections (again think tools or important information) Some email systems let you track which clients of yours forward your email and who they send it too.

5. Ask your business connections for help. There are a number of networking groups both local and online. Join one or 10 and do a little of your own word of mouth advertising- then ask participates to recommend you to their connections. You may even want to pass out a promotional item (pen, magnet, candy bar) to cement your presentation in their minds.

There are a million and one ways to spread the word about your business, just remember no one wants to recommend a bad service or product - so make sure you've got all your ducks in a row before you start quacking!

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