How To Get Started With a Word of Mouth Marketing Process
By Ted Wright April 29, 2019
By Ted Wright
If your company has been following a traditional marketing path for awhile, getting started with a Word of Mouth Marketing process may take an adjustment of your mindset.
There is no such thing as a grassroots change of a company culture. Most companies like sticking with the playbook they’re used to, because, let’s face it, nobody likes change.
So if we’re being real, Word of Mouth Marketing is harder work. More time. More effort.
And there usually isn’t a quick ROI.
But if your company’s marketing strategy needs an upgrade, your boss will be happy to know that Word of Mouth Marketing does not require a big budget – just a few soft skills…
- Persistence
- Consistence
- Patience
Sounds thrilling, doesn’t it? I promise, it is.
Getting your process started
To get your Word of Mouth Marketing process started, you first need a brand story. Your story will be your foundation.
And considering how important your story is, you’ll want to construct the best one possible for your business.
So, inquiring minds will want to know, “How do I do this?”
Dig into your data
Spend some time with the data available to your business, whether that is embedded in a customer report system, analyzing Google Analytics, or a compilation of customer service calls.
Step number one with Word of Mouth Marketing is taking all of the data surrounding your brand.
The data should cover every aspect of your brand from “Who buys our stuff?” and “Where do they buy it?” to which products sell best, who are our competitors, what are people saying about us, and so on.
Try to use the data to answer these questions:
- What do I think is happening with my customers?
- What do I suspect they need from us?
- What’s changing this year?
- How can we connect to them through our stories?
Once you’ve dug through the data, put your findings through the 3 tier test.
- Authentic: When you explain your brand and work to others, are you using your own, authentic voice and excitement, or do you sound more like a lawyer?
- Interesting: If you bring it up at brunch, are people interested? This is of course subjective to the type of group you’re at brunch with – mothers with 3 young children will have different interests and concerns than a group of young adults looking for their first post-college job, but the story should be interesting for the demographic it’s meant to be targeted to.
- Relevant: Really, is this going to make a difference in anyone’s lives?
Now that you’ve figured out your brand story, there are still a few pieces you’ll want to consider:
- Focus Audience: The whole world is not going to be interested in everything you have to say. More likely, a focus audience or community, might be more specific, like veterans, realtors, or fishing enthusiasts. In the old days, we used to classify our customers as “targets” that we would mail or broadcast to or even spam. But through Word of Mouth Marketing, we will create stories and the focus audience just might come to us.
- Setting Goals: What is the goal you hope to accomplish with all of this? A goal might be awareness, consideration, referrals, loyalty, leads, and sales, for example.
There are thousands of people in your community who love to share stories about what is new and interesting. What are you doing to be part of their supply line of information?
Ted Wright is the founder of Fizz, the world’s leading word of mouth marketing (WOMM) agency. Ted is also an acclaimed WOMM keynote speaker and the author of Fizz: Harness the Power of Word of Mouth Marketing to Drive Brand Growth
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