Word Of Mouth Marketing: Duh! …utilize it!

How do you use word of mouth marketing for you business? Are you even using it? Do you know the power of it? Of course, you’ve heard that its the best form of marketing and you get the highest qualified leads by doing so. I ask you then, how come you’re not doing more of it? How come you’re not focusing your attention on it?

You can reform word of mouth marketing into “building relationships”. Marketing and building a client base, especially in the SEO business, should be formed more on relationships. The ‘SEO pitch’ is wearing thin on a lot of CEO’s now. They don’t want to hear it, because you’re the 4th company that’s called them today and they’re happy with their PPC campaign. Since you can use your word/mouth to market, you have an open line of communication with that business owner (relationship) - and can relate to their needs and wants, offering a solution that isn’t “sales-y” in nature.

A recent study, showcasing word of mouth marketing online:

Almost 80% of online users trust other consumer’s opinion. Interestingly further, after newspapers, online users trusted opinions posted online. That’s 3rd. …waiting for that too sink in.

Why aren’t you utilizing the myriad of features online today to harness COMMENTS, TESTIMONIALS or OPINIONS for your ecommerce store, lead generation website or service related company? If you run a service related website, offer testimonials, pictures (when they’re warranted), opinions and phone numbers from others who have used your service. If you’re selling a product, make sure you have a way (directly underneath the product) for previous customers to say what they liked and (hopefully not) disliked about your product. Your mind is the only limit to get the customer interactive with their opinion on your website.

Moving forward… a little more reinforcement:

Undergoing a word-of-mouth marketing strategy is essential for marketers, especially in the SEO space.

So, what types of word of mouth marketing are there? Lets name them:

* Buzz Marketing: Using high-profile entertainment or news to get people to talk about your brand.

* Viral Marketing: Creating entertaining or informative messages that are designed to be passed along in an exponential fashion, often electronically or by email.

* Community Marketing: Forming or supporting niche communities that are likely to share interests about the brand (such as user groups, fan clubs, and discussion forums); providing tools, content, and information to support those communities.

* Grassroots Marketing: Organizing and motivating volunteers to engage in personal or local outreach.

* Evangelist Marketing: Cultivating evangelists, advocates, or volunteers who are encouraged to take a leadership role in actively spreading the word on your behalf.

* Product Seeding: Placing the right product into the right hands at the right time, providing information or samples to influential individuals.

* Influencer Marketing: Identifying key communities and opinion leaders who are likely to talk about products and have the ability to influence the opinions of others.

* Cause Marketing: Supporting social causes to earn respect and support from people who feel strongly about the cause.

* Conversation Creation: Interesting or fun advertising, emails, catch phrases, entertainment, or promotions designed to start word of mouth activity.

* Brand Blogging: Creating blogs and participating in the blogosphere, in the spirit of open, transparent communications; sharing information of value that the blog community may talk about.

* Referral Programs: Creating tools that enable satisfied customers to refer their friends.

Src: WOMMA

WOMMA has a nice list of case studies too. I’d recommend going through all the case studies, grab some starbucks or Juice it Up, and let the creative juices flow.

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