Word of mouth marketing is a promotional strategy that encourages and harnesses organic conversations customers have about a brand, product, or service. Word of mouth marketing uses human connections, trust, and influence to spread awareness, build interest, and close up sales rather than using conventional advertising and promotional tactics.
Word of mouth marketing can be in any of these forms:
- Customer reviews and ratings: Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews and ratings on websites, social media, or review platforms; they influence potential customers.
- Social Media Sharing: Encouraging customers to share their stories, thoughts, or content about a brand or product on their social media profile, which exposes the brand to the customer's friends, followers, and networks.
- Referral programs: This is the process of incentivizing an existing customer to refer a friend, family member, or colleague to a particular brand or product through rewards, discounts, or exclusive privileges for successful referrals.
- Influencer marketing: This practice involves cooperating with influential individuals or thought leaders in a specific niche or industry to help promote a brand or product among their participating and loyal audiences.
- User-generated content: This basically involves giving your customers the go-ahead to create and share content that deals with your brand or product, which usually comes in the form of pictures, videos, or testimonials. This is a good source of raw and down-to-earth social proof that would please most other potential customers.
The benefits of word of mouth marketing are:
- Greater credibility and trust: When recommended by friends, family, or respected influencers, people take it far more seriously with greater credibility than what any advertisement by itself would get, thereby building a brand's trust and loyalty.
- Reach and exposure: Word of mouth marketing allows one to extend the target reach to a new and diverse audience by making effective use of the social networks and relations of one's own customers-meaning access beyond the company's conventional marketing reach.
- Cost-effectiveness: Word of mouth marketing can be more cost-effective than traditional advertising. It relies on organic advocacy and influence from satisfied customers, rather than paid media placements or promotions.
- Long-term impact: Word of mouth marketing can be much more enduring and powerful, compared with one-time advertising campaigns, because the conversation and the recommendation spread and linger longer in the minds of people.
Here are a few strategies to foster and leverage word of mouth marketing effectively:
- Make great products and offer exceptional experiences: Deliver products or services of value, continuous quality, and customer satisfaction that give people a reason to recommend your brand to others.
- Make sharing and referring easy for customers by providing clear and convenient ways for them to share their experiences with friends, leave reviews, or refer others. Elements that could be employed include, but are not limited to, social sharing buttons, referral links, or branded hashtags.
- Listening and responding to feedback: Actively listen and respond to any kind of feedback, whether positive or negative, showing commitment to customer satisfaction and continuous improvement.
- Incentivize and recognize advocacy: Offer tangible incentives or rewards for customers who refer new business or create valuable user-generated content, recognizing their contributions and loyalty to your brand.
- Partner with influencers and communities: Identify relevant people to collaborate with you as either influencers or community leaders in order to carry your brand message and reach new audiences through their network and content.
Businesses can best leverage word of mouth marketing by building a strong, loyal community of brand advocates and continuing to deliver superior products and experiences so that sustainable growth, brand equity, and long-term relationships with customers can be developed. However, word of mouth marketing really thrives on ensuring customer satisfaction, transparency, and authenticity, through genuine ways rather than manipulative techniques, as it might really go wrong in an instant in the social media and online review age.