Regardless of what you sell, people will ask others before they buy. And guess what. They trust what they hear from their friends more than anything you’ll ever say in your advertising.

This is hardly breaking news. Since the first caveman started selling clubs and spears, people have been voicing their vendor related gripes and praises to their friends.

Word-of-mouth just happens.  And that’s how most of us still view it… something that happens as opposed to something we can actually influence.

If that’s still your view, you’re missing the boat and probably losing business as a result.

Two things have happened that should thrust this topic to the forefront of every marketer’s (business owner’s) mind.

First, the internet has amplified the voices of average people to a level that can be almost deafening at times.  Witness the influence of blogs on the political scene.

More than half of all web users have on at least one occasion published their opinion (“review”) of something they purchased.

We’re doing it more and more… and everyone loves it.  Customer reviews may be the most persuasive single element of a product/service marketing web site.

Second, as consumers, we’re so overwhelmed by marketing clutter and so suspicious of advertisers’ claims that we actively seek the opinions of others to guide our purchase decisions.

In this light, it’s easy to see how word of mouth can either be an engine of growth or a monkey wrench in your marketing machine.  So, what do you do about it?

If your customers are generally happy when they leave you, then the simple answer is twofold. Give them something to talk about. Be interesting. And then help the conversation to take place (and spread). Make it easy for people to talk about you.

What they say (as long as it’s good) is not as important as you might think. Let’s face it. It will probably never be a recitation of your mission statement and core values. That’s ok.

The stuff people talk about is the stuff that sticks in their head and is easy to repeat.

• Zappos.com offers a free 365 day return policy.
• Rivah Interiors in Virginia’s Northern Neck greets you with wine and beer the moment you enter the store.
• The Carnegie Deli has a 7 inch corned beef sandwich.

This is the stuff people talk about. And it’s good for business.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 3:33 pm and is filed under Infinite Return Marketing, Web Marketing, Marketing Principles, Customer Experience. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.