Getting Lip Service

A much-overlooked tool for effective marketing is word of mouth. Yet, getting people talking about your product or service and endorsing it through a personal recommendation usually brings the message home. The best place to start such publicity is by motivating internal staff to talk positively about the company. Part of the trickle down process comes from management, who is responsible for setting the right attitude and environment to create a positive and influential workplace. With a little imagination and commitment, management can spin good public relations from within the company.

Simply put, management needs to instill in employees the benefits and values of the company's products or services so that the staff can speak comfortably and convincingly to potential customers. Management must care about the staff and provide recognition, rewards and incentives for good performance. Obviously, if the staff is happy and well informed, a motivated prospect can much more easily be transformed into a buyer. Furthermore, staff members are part of the community. Therefore, in their personal lives they can continue to spread good will about their business.

Treat staff with respect, and they will treat customers with respect. It's important to portray that every person really counts and that you really care. To continue to promote positive word of mouth, be sure that if your staff makes a promise to a customer that they follow through. Even better, exceed the customer's expectations.

Every business transaction consists of two aspects: the product or service and the experience. Customers evaluate a company on the quality and performance of products and services, but almost as important is how pleasant and satisfying they find the total buying experience. Solicit responses from customers. Even negative comments can help refine and improve your company. Specifically ask for feedback or provide a comment card for customers to fill out.

A sharp way of getting people talking about your company is by creating some excitement. A unique event, unusual promotional give-aways or a striking ad slogan can work to deliver the buzz. Wendy's accomplished this feat years ago with the simple phrase, "Where's the beef?" BMW gained excellent recognition for local dealerships with the national charitable promotion to "Drive for the Cure," which puts individuals in the driver's seat of a BMW and made donations to Breast Cancer research based on miles driven. That type of marketing is a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Customer referrals can be a huge source of business. Obviously working off an existing client base of satisfied customers is an excellent jumping off point for gleaning good recommendations for a company. To be even more aggressive in this respect, some companies are extremely successful in developing targeted promotions that reward customer referrals. Some opportunities might include discounts on services when you bring in a friend, or a mother-daughter promotion, etc.

Networking is one of the most obvious approaches to encouraging word of mouth. Successful businesses have management and employees who join social and civic organizations and spread good will through all of their personal and professional involvements. Volunteer to coach a sport, or work with organizations that help the needy, or with Chambers of Commerce.

Create positive feedback about you and your company. Cross networking is yet another way of inspiring good word of mouth. Businesses can work together to recommend one another through cross promotions. For instance, if you buy something at one business, you can get a discount or a free "thing-a-ma-what" at another business. Obviously, the technique is most effective if the promotion is well choreographed.

Sometimes these types of programs are established by management and never clearly conveyed to staff. This can be disastrous when the customer arrives to collect his "thing-a-ma-what," and no one is aware of the promotion. Thus, the experience is not pleasant. Clearly, follow through is critical for good positive success, or the results will be counterproductive.

If you are underestimating the impact of word of mouth, think about yourself. Do you typically turn to friends and family for recommendations of legal services or medical services? You probably even ask for recommendations for someone to work on your car. Positive word of mouth can be critical for business-to-business firms as well. Especially with the numbers of new people relocating to southwest Florida each year, without positive referrals, banks, restaurants and other industries might have a more difficult time reaching their targets.

Finally, you can write articles for magazines or newspapers about some topic of expertise that reflects on your business. Or make personal speeches at various organizations. Putting word of mouth to work for your firm is the least expensive form of advertising with an extremely good return. So, can we talk?