If you get business via referrals and recommendations, then Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) is working. Congratulations, your customers are so pleased with what you do that they’ve told other people about you.
You are managing what’s being said about your business – aren’t you? You aren’t just leaving Word of Mouth (WOM) to its own devices… The clue’s in the word ‘marketing’ as in taking charge.
I come across a lot of business owners who are happy to let Word of Mouth just get on with it; they subscribe to the ‘don’t disturb it’ theory in case it all runs dry. Well yes, that is a very real possibility especially if you aren’t doing any other kind of business development. But more to the point, it’s not good business practice to rely on other people to do the talking for you. If you aren’t managing what’s being said then how do you make sure the work coming through your door is profitable and in line with your commercial goals? You do one customer a favour in the hope it leads to a more profitable relationship. Instead, other people want a similar favour and before you know it, you’ve got a problem.
The same people who don’t monitor their WoM, often don’t trust social media either. Yet, that’s exactly where WoM can get out of hand. Attracting the wrong work might be the least of your worries if your reputation is getting bashed.
Word of mouth marketing needs reliable content
Word of mouth marketing is another term for ‘user generated content’ which implies a very (inadvisable) hands off approach. But at least it contains the magic word ‘content’. Your word of mouth marketing needs reliable content so don’t let anyone else highjack it and don’t rely solely on it to bring business in.
Know what’s being said – bust the myths, rein in the mischief-makers and set your own agenda. But also, learn from it; you should know what people are saying about you, your products and services. Customer experiences are vital for effective content-creation across all your communication activity.
Word of Mouth Marketing is an important part of business life; just remember to do the marketing bit and don’t let it push you around. Otherwise, it’s a bit like having some random person on Instagram telling you what to eat or wear.
Get in touch if you’d like my guidance on creating content for your word of mouth marketing.