Offline, it's called word-of-mouth advertising. Online, it's known as viral marketing. Semantics aside, one fact is perfectly clear: make your customers happy and they'll do the advertising for you.
Let's illustrate this principle by citing a real life example. Joey Vasquez is a loyal subscriber of a certain telecommunications company based in New York. He has been a solid supporter of the said service for seven years now. When asked why he's sticking with that particular company, Joey's reply was quite simple and pretty straightforward.
No, he did not mention the quality of the service, and neither did he count the applicable rates as a factor.
"It's because they offer me a yearly rebate," he casually said, "I get $20 back every January."
In the past six years, Joey has convinced around thirty of his relatives and friends to switch to his network service provider of choice.
The $20 rebate is the telecommunication company's way of rewarding faithful clients. Their fees are by no means the lowest in the eastern coast, but they have built for themselves a solid base of patrons, and the number of people who abandon their services is close to non-existent.
What does this tell us? For starters, it is a testament to how powerful a tool word-of-mouth advertising is. Secondly, this example teaches us how to jumpstart a successful marketing plan that would make our customers spread the business message on our behalf.
This kind of marketing, though not necessarily novel, is undoubtedly efficient, not to mention cost effective. Imagine a battalion of advertisers doing the advertising for you. Distribute your business message to five individuals, and those five individuals would spread it to five other people in their respective networks, and you would have exposed your product or service to thirty people, just like that. But the beauty of this system is that it doesn't stop there. The spread of your business message would only grow exponentially, and at a very rapid pace at that.
The battery of this campaign is an incentive to encourage people to spread the word to persons they know. In marketing parlance, this is called a value proposition.
In our example above, the telecommunications company provided Joey with a $20 rebate for a year's subscription. This is the value proposition. It proved to be very enticing for Joey that he spread the word to the people in his network. The end result is a customer with seven years of loyalty (and counting), and thirty new subscribers.
Value propositions can take many forms. Take a look at the following examples:
1. A value proposition can be a free product or service that you could offer to warm people up before you present them with the goods you have for sale.
2. It can also be in the form of a trial version of your product. This would be the best way to make your prospective customers happy, and at the same time, invite them to purchase the full version of what you have to offer.
3. A value proposition can also be a monetary reward, as was the case with Joey and his network provider. Money is a very seductive prize, and you'll have people talking about your business in no time!
The goal is to hook the potential consumer to your value proposition, and make him happy in the process. In most cases, this is enough to propel your word-of-mouth campaign into motion. You'll be able to get people talking and they will do the marketing for you.
Prospective customers should not be your only target. Building goodwill with your existing clientele would also transform them into your advertising vehicles. Remember, gaining a customer is good, gaining a customer for life is better, but gaining a customer for life and having him invite more people to try your business is a marketer's dream come true!
Ronny Berglund is a marketing professional, which owns and operate http://www.traffic-plus.com that can help you to instantly get website visitors, do popup advertising or any type of instant website traffic increase. He also owns and operates http://www.marketingpatch.com where you find strategic marketing tips. And you can learn the marketing tips and tricks that pro's use! MarketingPatch.com also have a great forum where you can talk about everything marketing related, he even let you post your in a Buy / Sell forum.
BREAK FROM HO-HUM MARKETING ? IT'S TOO BORING! Once you... Read More
Too often we small business owners get caught up in... Read More
Want to know the simple way to get all the... Read More
When marketing your practice, as well as designing your brochure,... Read More
Motivating strangers to give their money away is one of... Read More
Two years ago, when I first started selling online, I... Read More
Face it?you know you've got to do something to keep... Read More
What effect are the baby boomers having on the economy... Read More
If you are not using flyers in your business you... Read More
After a friend was bitten by a spider, I decided... Read More
35 Ideas to Spark Your Creativity:There are 3 ways to... Read More
It's where your employees are in a 'special place' when... Read More
There are many ways to promote your website for free... Read More
Here are 5 high-impact marketing tips you can use to... Read More
Our bodies work like our small businesses. They work best... Read More
The internet of course brings a huge arena of marketing... Read More
One of the reasons direct mail works is the personal... Read More
New Year's is a good time for strategic planning or... Read More
Little Kids Ask Until They Get What They Want.Mom, Mom,... Read More
When you hear the word "marketing" what comes to mind?... Read More
More and more people are realizing that the Internet offers... Read More
There are a number of difficulties a beginning entrepreneur may... Read More
If your members, parents or donors wear clothes, watch t.v.... Read More
Ouch . . . sounds pretty drastic I know, but... Read More
If you are a therapist, counselor, or an alternative or... Read More
With the explosion of the internet and online businesses many... Read More
Benefits! They're what marketing is all about. No doubt you've... Read More
Some companies that use direct mail to sell their products... Read More
Here are 7 simple marketing tips to help you boost... Read More
Although they are inexpensive and product fast results, online surveys... Read More
Do sales come from your ezine regularly? How many well-written... Read More
A business card makes a statement about who you are... Read More
Entrepreneurs pay a lot of attention to the mechanics of... Read More
Earlier in my career, I worked for a training and... Read More
Some people use the words "client" and "customer" interchangeably or... Read More
A case study in online "thinking outside the box" The... Read More
To capture a larger market share and be viable, sustainable... Read More
As I was preparing for a presentation recently, I was... Read More
It's not unusual for entrepreneurs to find the whole idea... Read More
Do you want to successfully market your business franchise online?... Read More
Conventional wisdom says that the front of a direct mail... Read More
Marketers have a wide variety of media at their disposal.... Read More
Over the last few years the buzz about CRM (Customer... Read More
There is no shortage of marketing programs, many with great... Read More
Imagine how much your sales and profits would increase if... Read More
Corporate marketing groups - especially bandwidth-challenged small-to-mid-sized departments - can... Read More
If you are in the mobile car wash business and... Read More
While focused, strategic networking is usually the most efficient way... Read More
Owning a small business isn't easy, especially if you are... Read More
If you want to substantially increase your tourism prospects and... Read More
The basic lead generation process is pretty much the same... Read More
6 Secrets to Stellar Sales PresentationsEvery sale is won or... Read More
Here are 9 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to... Read More
The usual complaint from companies is that Marketing simply does... Read More
When marketing your practice, as well as designing yourbrochure, web... Read More
In a recent marketing workshop I attended, I discovered that... Read More
NB: You can read part one here: ... Read More
Your local Chamber of Commerce.Now before you stop reading, I... Read More
So you've made a sale. Great!Now what? You're not just... Read More
Special Requirements for Reprint: we ask only that... Read More
Altruism. Corporate responsibility. Philanthropy. These are often used to describe... Read More
You probably already have in your possession one of the... Read More
The United States Post Office in the past had some... Read More
We all know the saying, "Failing to plan (prepare) is... Read More
Imagine having at your disposal a means to immediately inform... Read More
As an entrepreneur involved in selling and/or promotion... Read More
Marketing |