Even in today’s technology driven world, word of mouth marketing is a very powerful way to get tons of new customers to your business. The concept behind word of mouth, or most any other type of marketing campaign, is simple – you reward the client who brings you new business. What makes this kind of marketing so highly effective? Let us take a look.
People love to get an incentive for their actions. People have a desire to get recognized for what they do as well. Combine these couple of things together and you have got a good incentive for a word of mouth campaign. In this marketing campaign, you reward customers who give you new business in a couple of ways.
1. Give them an incentive. Many items would work – money, gift certificates or service credits.
2. You thank them for their effort. You can mention their names and thank them for their efforts in your newsletters and business magazines.
These two things can make people very happy and satisfied – happy to get something useful and satisfied to know that their effort has been successful.
Here are some great tips to help you start your word of mouth marketing campaign correctly:
1. Make sure to offer an incentive that is useful. Money is the choice that comes to mind first, but some people could feel uncomfortable with cash rewards. In my opinion, gift certificates are usually the best choice. You can choose gift certificates from Amazon – they are always a good selection. You can also give free food passes for your customers at local restaurants, wine clubs, spas, movie theaters, and so on.
2. Of course, make sure you let your customers know that they are being rewarded for their referrals. In your office, put a notice board on the wall and mention the names of people who have brought in new business there. This way, your customers can see their names on the board each time they come to your business and this will make them feel really appreciated.
3. When you send out business newsletters about your word of mouth campaigns, you can mention the names of people who have referred a lot of high value customers. Your newsletters have a big reach and you can imagine how elated your customers will be if they see their names in there. This clearly shows your clients that you care about them and you appreciate the customers they send to your business.
4. If you are planning to conduct a sales event or a meeting, you can ask your existing customers to bring their friends along and offer them gift certificates or some sort of discounts in return.
5. If your customers bring you new business, it is important to thank them quickly. Phone them, email them, send them a simple text message, or send them a thank-you card. Somehow, you need to make sure they understand that you appreciate their effort.
This is pretty much what you need to know about word of mouth advertising campaigns. Remember – they cost so very little, they increase brand awareness tremendously, and increase your customer base. If you want to achieve the best results, be sure to set up a great marketing campaign today.
