TUESDAY CHALLENGE: SPREAD THE WORD

Generating word of mouth is one of the most sought after marketing methods. Millions of dollars are spent by a variety of businesses, all with the attempt to get people to talk about their services or products. With all the social media sites getting a lot of “hype” it is easy to fall into the trap of relying on online marketing as being the best way to get others to talk about your business.

I never paid much attention to the actual amount of “word of mouth” marketing  that is attributed to online marketing.  Like most people i thought that online was responsible for the majority of word of mouth generation. Research by the Keller Fay Group finds that only 7 percent of word of mouth happens online.

Your challenge this week is to start the process of getting your business, your product/service, to become a topic of conversation.

1. People like to feel smart; they like to know about “cool things”. Thus, your message has to be crafted in such a way that others can achieve that special “insider” knowledge when they talk about you.
2. People often talk about what comes to mind; your product/service should be triggered in someone’s mind by what is happening in the outside environment.
3. People like to talk about something they care about. How you present your product/service should evoke some sort of emotion.
4. People like to help others, so if you can show them how your product/service will save time, improve health, save money, or another benefit, they’ll spread the word.
5. Stories have been with us since the beginning of time. As a small business owner you need to embed your product/service into stories that people want to share.

Examine these five principles on how to get others to spread the word.  Results will not happen overnight, but if you are aware of what is needed, you can begin  the implementation of your own “word of mouth” marketing campaign.

Get people talking!