Definition
It’s a marketing method that relies on casual social interactions to promote a product. Hence, we can
say it’s an Oral or written recommendation by a satisfied customer to the prospective customers. It’s
considered the most effective form of promotion.
Definition - What does Word-of-Mouth Marketing (WOMM) mean?
Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) is the technique of promoting a product, service or business by
soliciting positive comments from satisfied customers. Word of mouth marketing is an interactive
process such that customers are collaborating with the business, product or service for which they
have derived enough satisfaction that they are willing to speak out about it and even recommend it to
others.
TOP TIPS TO HARNESS WOMM
The easiest way to encourage word of mouth is simply to deliver a brilliant service. If you’re serving
the needs of your given community successfully and with style, they WILL be telling their friends
about you. They’ll be tweeting about you. They’ll be dropping your name into conversations.
Word of mouth marketing (WOMM) is powerful. Regardless of the type of business you are in, it’s
guaranteed that you will benefit in some way from this type of marketing. It’s easy, it’s quick, it’s
human nature. And, of course, it’s free.
There’s no right or wrong way to execute WOMM; if it works for you (and is ethical…more on that
later), then it’s right. But there are ways to maximize this simple, everyday activity to be even more
beneficial.
1. Keep your key messages short and easily shareable. Keeping it simple and marketing one thing
at a time are key parts of successful marketing in any form, and it becomes even more essential in
WOMM. You need a message people can pick up and run with, and share with their peer group
without forgetting or mangling the details.
2. Identify champions for each part of your audience. It’s no good just having one or two people to
help kick-start a WOMM campaign—you need champions for each section of your demographic.
People need to be told how good a product is by their peers. In other words, you need someone with
kids to promote the children’s services to their parent networks, and someone tech-savvy to promote
the emerging technologies workshop you run to their business colleagues, and so on.
3. Give your word of mouth champions everything they need. You’ve identified the right people to
spread your message—now make it easy for them. Craft messages for them to adapt and share.
Give them the means to share—traditional materials like flyers and posters in traditional markets,
and social media content like blog posts to share, presentations to embed, and videos to email to
people too.
4. Document and share the feedback. If your WOMM campaign is successful, there should be plenty
of material for you to pick up on and reuse, particularly if there’s traction on social media. Favorite
those tweets, make a note of those comments, and document them all in Storify. Then embed the
Storify narrative in a blog post, and tweet a link to that; build on the momentum.
Incidentally, there is a school of thought that you should reward your word of mouth champions and
otherwise incentivize them; I’d caution against this. WOMM works because the recommendation is
impartial, and I think it’s important to protect that relationship. Be nice to your champions, allow them
to see behind the curtain of the library, and be sure to keep them in the loop if their efforts are
successful—but don’t compensate them financially!
, Start with Friends
If you’re not an experienced marketer, it can be difficult to sell yourself and your services to
anyone, especially people you know. You don’t want to risk irritating them, and of course,
there is always the fear that they just won’t get it. But word of mouth is the perfect way to get
the ball rolling, partly because you can start with those people who you know and trust. It’s a
great way to get yourself out there advocating for yourself with a solid group of supporters
behind you.
Give a Little First
You should be willing to spread the word about others before you ask for yourself. By supporting
your colleagues, clients and friends by pushing their own WOMM campaigns along, you’re telling
them you care about them enough to make it known that you support them. They will remember that
and be more likely to spread the word about you. And don’t be afraid to call in favors and directly ask
others to support you.
Go Right to the Influencers
In your professional and social networks, there are people who garner the attention of others without
even trying. They are magnetic, respected and heard. These are the people you want supporting
you. Having them as your megaphone getting the message to otherwise hard-to-reach people can
be invaluable.
Generate a Buzz
One of the best ways to generate a buzz is by getting people excited. And the best way to get people
excited is by being excited yourself. Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn. Let people know that you
have something going on that’s worth getting excited about. Send e-mails, make calls, talk about it
on Twitter (and ask for retweets!), and post it to your Facebook profile. Keeping up your own level of
excitement will be contagious.
Be Honest
While there are many ways to do it, not everything goes in word of mouth marketing. There is an
ethics code,that is meant to foster respect and fundamental ethics between marketers and
consumers, and is certainly something to keep in mind..
Advantages of WOMM
1) Creates Trust
Buyers tend to trust someone who gives them a referral because they assume the person was
happy with the services or products, and is unbiased. According to Nielsen’s Global Trust in
Advertising report, 92 percent of consumers say they trust recommendations from friends and
family above all other forms of advertising. Encouraging and facilitating word-of-mouth marketing
helps you break down trust barriers by relying on influential customers willing to talk about your
company.
2) Counteracts Cold Calling
Not all people can be reached through calls, Using word-of-mouth marketing to reach these
consumers through social networking and referral programs gives businesses a way to reach this
otherwise fading source of prospects.
3) Long-Term Value
Customers who purchase products or services based on a referral are more likely to buy more
than people who find your company through traditional marketing methods. Referred customers
also tend to stick with your company longer than people who find your business by other means.
It’s a marketing method that relies on casual social interactions to promote a product. Hence, we can
say it’s an Oral or written recommendation by a satisfied customer to the prospective customers. It’s
considered the most effective form of promotion.
Definition - What does Word-of-Mouth Marketing (WOMM) mean?
Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) is the technique of promoting a product, service or business by
soliciting positive comments from satisfied customers. Word of mouth marketing is an interactive
process such that customers are collaborating with the business, product or service for which they
have derived enough satisfaction that they are willing to speak out about it and even recommend it to
others.
TOP TIPS TO HARNESS WOMM
The easiest way to encourage word of mouth is simply to deliver a brilliant service. If you’re serving
the needs of your given community successfully and with style, they WILL be telling their friends
about you. They’ll be tweeting about you. They’ll be dropping your name into conversations.
Word of mouth marketing (WOMM) is powerful. Regardless of the type of business you are in, it’s
guaranteed that you will benefit in some way from this type of marketing. It’s easy, it’s quick, it’s
human nature. And, of course, it’s free.
There’s no right or wrong way to execute WOMM; if it works for you (and is ethical…more on that
later), then it’s right. But there are ways to maximize this simple, everyday activity to be even more
beneficial.
1. Keep your key messages short and easily shareable. Keeping it simple and marketing one thing
at a time are key parts of successful marketing in any form, and it becomes even more essential in
WOMM. You need a message people can pick up and run with, and share with their peer group
without forgetting or mangling the details.
2. Identify champions for each part of your audience. It’s no good just having one or two people to
help kick-start a WOMM campaign—you need champions for each section of your demographic.
People need to be told how good a product is by their peers. In other words, you need someone with
kids to promote the children’s services to their parent networks, and someone tech-savvy to promote
the emerging technologies workshop you run to their business colleagues, and so on.
3. Give your word of mouth champions everything they need. You’ve identified the right people to
spread your message—now make it easy for them. Craft messages for them to adapt and share.
Give them the means to share—traditional materials like flyers and posters in traditional markets,
and social media content like blog posts to share, presentations to embed, and videos to email to
people too.
4. Document and share the feedback. If your WOMM campaign is successful, there should be plenty
of material for you to pick up on and reuse, particularly if there’s traction on social media. Favorite
those tweets, make a note of those comments, and document them all in Storify. Then embed the
Storify narrative in a blog post, and tweet a link to that; build on the momentum.
Incidentally, there is a school of thought that you should reward your word of mouth champions and
otherwise incentivize them; I’d caution against this. WOMM works because the recommendation is
impartial, and I think it’s important to protect that relationship. Be nice to your champions, allow them
to see behind the curtain of the library, and be sure to keep them in the loop if their efforts are
successful—but don’t compensate them financially!
, Start with Friends
If you’re not an experienced marketer, it can be difficult to sell yourself and your services to
anyone, especially people you know. You don’t want to risk irritating them, and of course,
there is always the fear that they just won’t get it. But word of mouth is the perfect way to get
the ball rolling, partly because you can start with those people who you know and trust. It’s a
great way to get yourself out there advocating for yourself with a solid group of supporters
behind you.
Give a Little First
You should be willing to spread the word about others before you ask for yourself. By supporting
your colleagues, clients and friends by pushing their own WOMM campaigns along, you’re telling
them you care about them enough to make it known that you support them. They will remember that
and be more likely to spread the word about you. And don’t be afraid to call in favors and directly ask
others to support you.
Go Right to the Influencers
In your professional and social networks, there are people who garner the attention of others without
even trying. They are magnetic, respected and heard. These are the people you want supporting
you. Having them as your megaphone getting the message to otherwise hard-to-reach people can
be invaluable.
Generate a Buzz
One of the best ways to generate a buzz is by getting people excited. And the best way to get people
excited is by being excited yourself. Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn. Let people know that you
have something going on that’s worth getting excited about. Send e-mails, make calls, talk about it
on Twitter (and ask for retweets!), and post it to your Facebook profile. Keeping up your own level of
excitement will be contagious.
Be Honest
While there are many ways to do it, not everything goes in word of mouth marketing. There is an
ethics code,that is meant to foster respect and fundamental ethics between marketers and
consumers, and is certainly something to keep in mind..
Advantages of WOMM
1) Creates Trust
Buyers tend to trust someone who gives them a referral because they assume the person was
happy with the services or products, and is unbiased. According to Nielsen’s Global Trust in
Advertising report, 92 percent of consumers say they trust recommendations from friends and
family above all other forms of advertising. Encouraging and facilitating word-of-mouth marketing
helps you break down trust barriers by relying on influential customers willing to talk about your
company.
2) Counteracts Cold Calling
Not all people can be reached through calls, Using word-of-mouth marketing to reach these
consumers through social networking and referral programs gives businesses a way to reach this
otherwise fading source of prospects.
3) Long-Term Value
Customers who purchase products or services based on a referral are more likely to buy more
than people who find your company through traditional marketing methods. Referred customers
also tend to stick with your company longer than people who find your business by other means.
