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May 13, 2005
7 secrets to word-of-mouth success for small businesses
George Silverman, author of The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing, describes the seven secrets to word-of-mouth success for small businesses in this article from The Daily Breeze:
1) Send the same simple message through all of your communications. If it's not simple, it can't survive being passed via word of mouth.
2) Don't position your product or service as part of a general category. Get more specific. Define it by its most-needed attribute: "The dandruff shampoo that doesn't dry your hair."
3) Make your examples borderline outrageous so people will find your story worth repeating.
4) Sprinkle your materials and marketing messages with success stories from real people.
5) Offer customers multiple (but simple) ways to inquire about, investigate and order what you offer.
6) Get experts on your side by bringing them into conferences, advisory groups and seminars. Encourage them to spread the word to others.
7) Ask customers for referrals. Encourage your sales people to request referrals, recommendations and testimonials.
Link: 7 steps can lead to word-of-mouth business success
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I'd list another one:
"Make a killer product that people rave about and enjoy." ;-)
I'll definitely second that.
Your website is very helpful and I appreciate the links and the short insightful articles. I have subscribed and I look forward to each time a new post shows up in my Blogline feeds.Thanks for your contributions to focusing on customers.
Am I missing something? I've been in public relations and marketing for almost 10 years. Three years ago, I decided to create a "safety net" for myself and start a "home-based business." As a successful executive, I was shunned for starting something that required I share my enthusiasm for a product I really like.
"How unprofessional!" is the most common balk.
Of course, Mary Kay Cosmetics has been showing women how to build successful businesses with many loyal customers by doing exactly what you are teaching here. It works!
The point that baffles me is the number of people who are stuck in that period of time between when Mary Kay began her business and the most recent explosion of word-of-mouth marketing. Mary Kay Cosmetics is completely word-of-mouth, with the best "try before you buy" model out there.
Any thoughts on why it's still so shunned?
I think the business world is definitely embracing the Mary Kay network marketing model. High profile companies who are using the model include Pampered Chef and others. Pampered Chef was recently acquired by Berkshire Hathaway. That's a nice endorsement of the business.
Perhaps some folks have had a negative experience with aggressive Mary Kay representatives. I've personal run into a few here in Chicago and I think they do not reflect well on the organization.
But these are just my guesses on why you have gotten this response.
Yes, I know there's some pretty bad ones out there. And, things like BzzAgents definitely turn me off, too.
So, I'm mixed. I'd hate to be approached by someone bzzing a company, but, I also distrust traditional advertising. I'd rather ask someone I know for a product referral. So, it looks like word-of-mouth will always walk a fine line, both in network marketing and traditional corporate marketing.
Okay, new question, relating to the Mary Kay comments. Is "direct sales" the same thing as "customer evangelists"? I know they are not exactly the same, but will they have the same effect?
Xyb,
The Mary Kay direct sales agents and customer evangelists are very different, namely in the fact that the Mary Kay sales agents are paid by the company and customer evangelists are customers who voluntarily promote the company's products. That said, I think the network marketing (or direct sales) model often works well because the company sales agents are people who are passionate about the products and use them themselves. In the end, it is about trust. Most people will trust a friend who recommends a product. It is the special salesperson who is authentic and trustworthy, and is looking out for the best interests of the customers, instead of just trying to increase their commission.
Jackie, thank you for responding. That's what I thought, but, somehow, I think the direct sales model has been flawed by a generation of pushy people who don't seem to be authentic or trustworthy.
Then again, nothing is perfect.
