Every business owner loves the theoretical concept of word of mouth marketing. Not only is it free, but it also leverages your business with potential customers who hear about your products and services from friends and family; people they know and trust already. But in reality, it is somewhat intangible and unlike other forms of marketing, it’s kinda out of your hands. This post focusses on practical ways to turbo-charge your customers into saying good things about your business.
Every business owner loves the theoretical concept of word of mouth marketing. Not only is it free, but it also leverages your business with potential customers who hear about your products and services from friends and family; people they know and trust already. But in reality, it is somewhat intangible and unlike other forms of marketing, it’s kinda out of your hands. This post focusses on practical ways to turbo-charge your customers into saying good things about your business.
It all starts with value. For the purpose of this post, value can best be defined as: Everything received beyond expectation. For example, you buy a new car and start the engine to find that it came with a full tank of petrol. Or, you’re getting your hair done and halfway through it, firm but gentle hands show up to give you a foot massage. These bonuses come beyond your expectations so they qualify as “value”.
Simple, unwarranted treats like all the above are a powerful way to turn ordinary interactions into memorable experiences for your customers. Not only do they hardly get forgotten (especially in the wonderful Nigerian marketplace, where the notion of customer service is crazy talk); but they also contribute immensely to word of mouth maketing.
The Nigerian business environment does not really encourage improvement of service standards. But if you’re still reading this, chances are that service is important to you. More important than any other reason, is the fact that it can quite likely generate you additional revenue (which is the reason you went into business in the first place). In addition, it also adds unique character to your business, which is pivotal in building a strong brand.
Note that this value should not be exclusive to your customers only. Customers included, there are 4 main players that most businesses deal with; and each of these can extra value which further contributes to word of mouth marketing. Below is an illustration from one of my clients.
Some practical tips for delivering value and some tools for these:
- Services like Sendible, Remember The Milk, Facebook Birthday Notifications, or simple calendar applications like Google Calendar can be setup to automatically remind you of or deliver birthday notifications (for free).
- Simple user guides, feedback forms and other documents can be created in 15-30 mins, then these simply have to be sent via email (free-ly once again) in a few seconds to each customer
- Affordable/ thoughtful gifts can easily be purchased an given to personnel: phone credit, credit at their lunch spots etc.
These are just a few ideas. The possibilities are truly endless. Do you have any cool ways to give value to your customers or other players? Or any ideas to share? Lets hear your thoughts.
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