How many of you will believe what your friends tell you over some random source of information? What about recommendations and suggestions in this aspect? Well, it has been found that 90% of people will always listen to their friends’ recommendations and suggestions over any other source! Going by this very logic, brands and companies could potentially be sitting on a goldmine of advertising opportunities; the network of an existing employee base!
With most businesses shelling out quite a few bucks on advertising their products, the utilization of their own customers and employees to promote a brand’s product or service hasn’t struck anyone! Of course, there are a ton of ways that one can market a company, but something about the old-school, word-of-mouth practice seems to yield more powerful results!
Any company, that has a word of mouth marketing strategy in place will always see a greater boost in their numbers in a shorter period! Essentially what such a referral marketing strategy does is, that it spreads the word about a company’s products or services, in such a light, that the receiver of such information is drawn towards the brand or company itself! Such a reach is always more organic and authentic.
Since a majority of the people appreciate when their near and dear ones recommend them things that are useful, referral marketing, using this very idea, can have a hugely positive impact on a company’s growth! But how can a company, effectively milk such a strategy to benefit them? Well here are some things to keep in mind!
1. Form well-structured referral marketing programs:
A fancier word for word of mouth marketing, with the right kind of referral strategies in place, any company will grow exponentially with the help of its employees. Under such programs, employee referrals are provided with incentives in cash or kind to help the company recruit new and trustworthy people. The people thus recruited, have a higher chance of staying put in the organization and working harder as well!
In a company that has a referral marketing strategy in place, the employees who are a part of it will feel appreciated and trusted, when they are sought after to go forth and spread the word about the company. Upon the recruitment of someone from their peer group, an employee is also provided with an incentive to encourage further participation in the program and bring on more people into the company, thus helping in the overall growth of the company!
2. Social media shoutouts!
Nothing and nowhere can you create a buzz about a brand and its products or services better, than on social media. With so many social media platforms and channels at our disposal, that not utilizing them would be nothing short of a criminal waste of resources! When a company decides to create a buzz on such platforms, it can rest assured that it will get a quicker response and more engagement when compared to other traditional methods of advertising.
Yes, engagement by brands and their representatives, like influencers, also forms a part of the word of mouth marketing. However, such a marketing strategy is also known as an affiliate marketing strategy! You see, even if a brand’s representative is not recommending their audience face to face, they are still doing it in the virtual sense! From using and reviewing products by a brand to experience their services, brand representatives or social media influencers spread the popularity of a brand through their words, and create a buzz for that particular brand!
Advantages of word of mouth marketing:
Any company that wishes to attract more customers, needs the customers to bond and associate with them, on an emotional level. That is precisely why a company, selling different products or services, always has one or two representatives have a word with the customer regarding these products/services. This sort of interaction could either be face to face in nature or done via telephonic conversation.
As a result of the company reaching out in such a manner to the customer, the customer feels that the brand is making a genuine effort. This in turn makes the customer feel special and appreciated as well. Such are the kind of interactions that help in spreading the word about the brand better among many circles!
Any brand that is thinking of resorting to a word of mouth marketing strategy, needs to also know to never think of fooling a potential client base by being dishonest. Word of mouth marketing is all about being genuine and authentic.
There are of course three very important rules that need to be followed when you a company is advertising via Word-of-Mouth Marketing Program with the help of your existing customer or employee base. Ensure that the information being meted out to the masses happens to be credible, to say the least, and is something that can be further spread to more people! A piece of information that does not have the potential to be repeatable, should not be a part of any word of mouth marketing program!
When used in the right manner, the word of mouth form of advertising a business can truly prove to be an amazingly useful tool in the arsenal of a company, looking to grow its ranks!
