Are your customers talking to each other?

Are your customers talking to each other? 

I have heard the following comment from a few marketing clients, “We don’t need a marketing promotional plan, we rely on word of mouth to market our business.” That comment was used to deflect my efforts to engage them in the development of a tactical marketing plan for their business.

If your business is going to rely on word of mouth marketing, take a proactive approach. Silence can hurt your business. You should in some way connect with your customers on a regular basis. You should nurture your business relationship with your customers and provide valuable information that they want to know.

If you depend on “second-hand” or reactive word of mouth marketing, then think about what triggers one person to tell another person about an experience they had with your company. Usually the exceptional experience is the one shared. People talk about exceptionally good or bad products, services, price or value. The average experience just doesn’t cut it.

A few years ago we had an exceptional dining experience in a small restaurant in La Jolla, California. The experience started with an aperitif of fruited vodka made by the owners. The bottle was presented in a block of ice with flowers frozen in place. At the end of a delicious meal the coffee was served with incredible flair. The coffee cart was rolled to the table with an ornate coffee carafe. A large lemon (grown in the owners’ backyard) was peeled in a spiral fashion and drizzled with a liqueur then set on fire. The lemon peel flamed and sparked in a spectacular show.  Coffee was poured, liqueur and lemon were added to the coffee and we were delighted. We told many people about the restaurant and took many friends there because it was exceptional.

If you want to read about how to implement proactive word of mouth advertising for your business, go to Squidoo.com and read, “48 Word of Mouth Advertising Business Ideas.”  The list is action oriented so don’t think that word of mouth means you don’t have to do anything but wait for customers to talk to each other.