[Welcome back to our Word of Mouth Marketing Lessons newsletter. This is text from the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using this handy form.]
We’ve said it before, but it’s important to remember: Companies have to be worth talking about to earn word of mouth. Then comes the next challenge: If there’s something unique or remarkable about your business, how do you let everyone know about it?
Here are three examples of how businesses make the most out of what makes them word of mouth worthy:
1. Turn it into an event
2. Get your fans in on it
3. Use traditional media nontraditionally
1. Turn it into an event
Inside every candle Diamond Candles makes is a ring that’s only revealed once the candle melts (and it could be worth anywhere from $10 to $5,000). So to get their customers talking about the idea with their friends, Diamond Candles suggests having a “ring reveal” party. Yep, Diamond Candles gets people to invite their friends to watch wax melt. Most marketers might have stopped at the unusual candle-lottery idea, but Diamond Candles takes their word of mouth a step further by turning it into a party.
2. Get your fans in on it
It’s no exaggeration that Gorditos in Seattle has burritos the size of newborns. In fact, they have the pictures to prove it. The restaurant asks their customers to take photos of their babies next to their huge plates and displays their photos online and in the store. The Baby Burrito Wall not only proves their claim to a huge burrito, but also shows off a lot of customer love.
3. Use traditional media nontraditionally
Your average billboard for a restaurant usually includes pictures of food, a reason to go, and an address. But Chicken Scratch in Dallas isn’t your average restaurant, so its billboard has none of these things. To highlight their weird personality, their billboard says, “Between Some Trailers and a Condemned Motel” and has a drawing of a creepy-looking man saying, “Bring your kids!” Although that sounds like it would scare away customers, the billboard has actually caught a lot of attention and word of mouth, making a small, unknown restaurant into a topic of conversation.
