Word of Mouth Marketing

“I’m just trying to get out more. Meet more people, raise our visibility,” said the business owner when I asked about his recent increase in attending networking events.

Word of Mouth marketing is one of the top ways for businesses of any size and type to gain new customers. When you think of word of mouth, what comes to mind? I asked my business owner friend this question. His response was right on:

“Word of Mouth marketing is people who know you or your customer telling people you don’t know or aren’t your customer about you and your product.”

Right on! And hopefully they’re telling you about their exploits so you can ask for an introduction or follow up with the referral.

So, what is your word of mouth marketing plan? Are you doing the things you need to do that will prompt “people who know you or your customer telling people you don’t know or aren’t your customer about you and your product”?

Too often those responsible for gaining business (owners, partners, management teams, salesforce) focus on meeting prospects. They aren’t networking, they are on-the-spot direct selling. We can get so focused on our goal of new customers that we are only interested in networking with (or perhaps better stated “finding and targeting”) customers directly.

When was the last time you went to a networking event looking for someone who could refer you to prospects?

Yes, that’s a lot more work and takes time. It’s a lot easier to go to an event, only talk to people who fit your target customer and when you find one, dump your sales pitch on them. It is harder to take time to listen to people, investigate who they know, who their customers are and then build a relationship that might end in referrals.

I wonder which is more effective in the long run?

Prospect Hunting

. Going to events to find your target prospect.

. Once found, convincing them to buy from you (or at least give you a chance to quote!).

. Successfully going through the sales cycle to close and get a sale.

. Rinse and repeat.

Referral Partner Seeking

. Going to events without a quota.

. Engaging other professionals about their work and goals.

. Meeting people who work with or know your prospects...but don’t compete with you.

. Build a partnership for mutual benefit that provides an ongoing source for referrals.

You’re right, you might need to do both...but I’ll bet you’re only doing the Prospect Hunting right now!

When did I become an expert on word of mouth marketing? When I met Michelle Donovan of The Referral Institute here in Pittsburgh. We work together...I can help integrate the word of mouth marketing plan into the overall marketing process and strategy. She provides the best (and I mean that) advice, techniques and coaching available for word of mouth marketing.

You can buy her book on her website, or email me (genius at geniusmarketing.com) and I’ll introduce you. You won’t regret it!

SLE