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WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING:
WHAT THE "BUZZ" IS ALL ABOUT

(January/February 2007)

By Anne Richter

They say you have to spend money to make money—a simple concept, yet no one would argue the enormous role it plays in sustaining the marketing industry as we know it. It seems odd, then, that a business strategy currently garnering substantial attention from marketing professionals is a complete contradiction of the “spend more, make more” mantra. Word of mouth marketing is one of the most effective forms of brand promotion; and surprisingly, it’s also one of the least expensive.

What makes word of mouth (WOM) marketing so powerful? In one word: credibility. Consumers are more likely to act on a message they receive from a trusted source. Successful WOM marketing involves creating a network of impartial, third-party “brand ambassadors” who will promote your product and service to their friends and families at minimal outlying cost to you. Basically, WOM is set up so that the consumers do the advertising legwork for you.

But before you bank your business on WOM, it’s important to understand how it works and, more important, how it can work against you.

Word of Mouth: Where You Can Start

The good news about WOM is that as a marketing strategy, it can be tailored to fit almost any type of business. The primary objective (giving people a reason and opportunity to talk about your products or services) can be accomplished at any level and with almost any budget. At its core, WOM marketing is really all about the customers—what they want, what they think, how they act, and, of course, what they say. 

Define your brand. To start with, what does your brand represent? The brands that people discuss the most are those that have meaning—those that represent something larger than the product or service that the company actually provides. Think about what your business might mean to a customer (or, what you would like it to mean) and what significance that meaning could impart to a WOM conversation.

For Tony Evans, owner of A New View Window Cleaning in Burlington, IA, sometimes it’s as simple as good old-fashioned quality. “Be known for being true to your word, and stand behind your business,” he says.

Tony also believes that the little things can make a big difference in how people perceive your brand. “Believe it or not, punctuality is one of the biggest things I hear people talk about. Getting people to refer you to their friends can be as simple as that: be on time.”

Being true to your brand and delivering a clear value proposition can also pay off in terms of the quality of business you bring in. “My best customers come from word of mouth,” says Tony. “Because they’re the ones who come to me for the things that really matter in the window cleaning business, like consistent quality of service. They’re not just going through the phone book looking for the best deal.”

Think like a customer. Yes, customers want high-quality service at a price they can afford…and every other ad they see claims to offer just that. How can you make your message stand out? One thing to consider is that consumers want messages that speak specifically to their needs.

In an age when communicating with millions of people is as simple as the click of a mouse button, thoughtful, targeted messages speak louder than those that are mass-produced. Think about how you could connect with your audience and show them that you have considered their needs and can provide an appropriate solution. Think about the different types of people you serve and how your business could benefit them as customers with unique needs—not just how it could benefit you as a businessperson. Maybe your customers have a hectic lifestyle—speak to the amount of time you can save them on a yearly basis. Or maybe your customers have an impressive storefront display—speak to how important quality window cleaning is to their bottom-line.

The benefits your business provides may be exactly the same no matter who the customer is, but tailoring the way you communicate these benefits to different types of customers can go along way in making sure your message is heard.

Listen. Singing the praises of your brand is fine, but it rings hollow unless you take the time to listen to what people are saying about you and react accordingly. Businesses looking to engage in WOM marketing must be conscious of the consumer dialogue. 

Consumer dialogue has reached new heights since the advent of the Internet, and online communication has changed the face of marketing in a major way. On one hand, it is now faster, cheaper and easier than ever before for businesses to speak to consumers. On the other hand it is also faster, cheaper and easier than ever before for consumers to speak with each other…about you. A prospect looking for a certain product or service without the benefit of a personal referral is very likely to seek out impartial information on the Web—consider the immense popularity of consumer opinion sites like tripadvisor.com and angieslist.com.

What this means for a business looking to generate positive WOM marketing is that monitoring feedback is crucial. Use the feedback to your advantage to address customer concerns and rectify any issues that may be causing negative communication. Better yet, become an active participant in these conversations. Personally address feedback (positive or negative) and make every effort to demonstrate your commitment to your customers’ satisfaction. If nothing else, it will show that you’re actively engaged and listening. Good business communication is always a two-way conversation.

Leverage existing networks. WOM is dependent on a business’ ability to leverage existing networks (social, community or professional) in order to promote a product or service. Networks are built on trust—so you know that your message will be received with a degree of credibility. Networks also ensure that your message will travel quickly without the cost or effort associated with more traditional advertising tactics.

Patrick Analore, owner of Razzle Dazzle Window Cleaning, Inc. in Orlando, Fla., tapped into an existing network of customers and stumbled across a lucrative business opportunity in the process. “One of my residential window cleaning customers asked me to hang her Christmas lights one year as a favor…I don’t think I even got paid for it,” he says. “But people see you working on lights and flock to you.” Three years later, Patrick’s calendar is already booked solid for next year’s holiday season.

“I did virtually zero advertising for my holiday light installation services. We put a note at the bottom of our window cleaning invoices, and eventually started putting it on our business cards…but 100% of new business came from word of mouth,” explains Patrick. “Chances are, people who can pay to have their windows cleaned also have the disposable income to have their holiday lights installed. So the word gets around through their different circles, and next thing you know, you don’t even need to solicit new customers.”

Professional networks can be a good source of WOM as well—and can generate cross-over between commercial business and residential business.

“I’ve had people call me for residential jobs because they find out I do the window cleaning where they work,” says Tony Evans. “Sometimes my commercial customers will let me leave business cards at their workplace.” But, cautions Tony, never rely solely on WOM promotion—even if you can tap into these networks. “Never leave anything to chance,” he says. “I still pass out business cards wherever I go and believe in being proactive about bringing in new customers.”

Create (and reward) brand ambassadors. Successful WOM hinges on the promotional efforts of a loyal and impartial group of customers: what many marketers call “brand ambassadors.” Your brand ambassadors are the ones who promote you to their friends and families; the ones who speak favorably about their experiences with you; the ones who bring in referral business time and time again.

Brand ambassadors are a valuable commodity. Their experiences add meaning to your brand, making it more likely that a referral will result in new business, that new business will result in repeat business, and that repeat business will develop into a loyal customer relationship. And since brand ambassadors are a valuable commodity, it’s important to treat them as such. They are providing you with tremendous value; it’s only fair that you do the same. Many businesses reward their loyal customers by giving discounts for referrals, or by creating customer loyalty programs. Make it convenient for brand ambassadors to be your advocates by providing them with referral cards. And above all, make sure your brand ambassadors are consistently satisfied with your service—always take extra steps to solicit feedback and always go out of your way to rectify any problem that they may encounter.

Be a good corporate citizen. Ever notice how businesses always get buzz for their good deeds? Some of the world’s most loyal customers are those that choose a company based on its reputation as a good “corporate citizen.” And you don’t need to be engaged at the multi-million-dollar Microsoft level in order to be a good corporate citizen—showing that you care about the communities you serve may be as simple as volunteering your services free of charge to a local not-for-profit. Good behavior never goes unnoticed—and it works well within the framework of a WOM marketing strategy because it gets people to talk about you outside the context of the services you provide. It also associates your brand with something meaningful, thereby giving customers an added incentive to support your business over that of a competitor.

“A Double-Edged Sword”

The major pitfall of WOM marketing is that you don’t control the message that’s being delivered about your business. The flip side of profiting from honest consumer dialogue is that businesses have to accept the fact that the dialogue may not always be positive. Your brand ambassadors can speak favorably about your business, but you can bet that negative buzz travels twice as fast. “Word of mouth is a double-edged sword,” says Geof White, owner of Valley Window Cleaning, Inc. in Appleton, WI. “It can work wonders or it can create nightmares for your business.”

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to mitigate the effects of negative WOM. While you can’t control the message that reaches your consumers, you can control how you respond to it. Negative customer feedback that reflects poorly upon your brand should be addressed quickly and effectively. The more responsive you are to the issue at hand, the more likely it is that the negative WOM will turn into a positive discussion about your willingness to rectify the situation.

Another word of caution about WOM—referrals can work against you. “Don’t get me wrong,” says Geof. “The profitable business I’ve received from referrals is substantial. But sometimes the worst jobs come by way of referral, and you feel obligated to take the job so as not to damage your relationship with the referrer.” For this reason and others, Geof does not solicit referrals from his customers—but he does agree that WOM plays an important role in business whether or not you actively pursue it as a marketing strategy.

“If you have a good window cleaning business, it follows that you will have positive WOM. If you do a great job all the time, you’ll get referrals…whether they’re good or bad. If you’re not getting WOM, it’s a good indication that there’s something wrong in the larger scheme of your business.”

Word of Mouth Ethics

One of the easiest ways to generate negative buzz is to engage in “unethical” WOM marketing practices. The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (the official trade association for the word of mouth marketing industry) has created a set of ethical guidelines to encourage appropriate use of WOM strategies. Among the practices that WOMMA considers unethical are those that attempt to “fake” WOM marketing by falsifying information or posing as a customer to communicate artificial opinions. According to WOMMA, word of mouth marketing must be based on the “honest opinions of real people.” Honesty is crucial, because credibility is the underlying factor that makes WOM work. If a customer’s opinions are misrepresented, or if the source of information becomes questionable, that credibility is undermined.

Here are some general rules of thumb to ensure that your business applies ethical WOM marketing standards:

• Encourage honest opinions. Don’t tell customers what to say or how to say it—good or bad, the message must not be manipulated.
• Endorsers must disclose any relationship with the business. WOM communication should be unbiased: if you have an interest in the business, be sure to say so.
• Respect customer privacy. Never use a customer’s personal information, endorsement or opinion for marketing purposes without obtaining their permission first.
• Make sure your communications adhere to the rules of the venue. Before you engage in any promotional efforts, it is important to be aware of any policies or procedures regulating the placement of marketing messages. This includes online venues (like blogs or message boards) and offline venues (placement of fliers in public spaces, for instance.)

The Final Word on WOM

WOM may be generating buzz in marketing circles, but before you write it off as a passing fad, remember: at its simplest level, WOM has been around for as long as people have engaged in conversation. And it’s safe to say that WOM is here to stay—because while we may not be able to predict what the business world will look like ten years from now, one thing is for certain: people will still be talking.

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