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A fundamental component to any great word of mouth program is the ability to track it. And while there are some great vendors out there who offer sophisticated measurement systems, here are a few simple ways to get started on your own:
1> Ask: How did you hear about us?
2> Find the baseline
3> Remember old-fashioned strategies
1> Ask: How did you hear about us?
One of the easiest ways to measure where your customers are coming from is to simply ask them. Whenever anyone makes a purchase from your site, walks through the door, or attends an event — ask them how they heard about you. By giving customers a few clear and simple options when you ask them, you’ll be able to get some quick numbers on where they’re coming from — be it word of mouth, search, or advertising.
2> Find the baseline
To effectively measure your word of mouth marketing, you’ll need to identify what the baseline conversation about your brand looks like. You don’t need a big budget to do it — tools like Twitter Search and Google Alerts won’t cost you a thing. After you know the natural conversation levels, you can continue to use these tools to measure how these levels fluctuate after you implement components of your word of mouth program.
3> Remember old-fashioned strategies
Just because the tools are new doesn’t necessarily mean you have to invent new measurement techniques. Remember unique coupon codes, special landing pages, click-rates, and surveys? The classic measurement strategies you’re using to measure other forms of marketing can often be used for your word of mouth, too.
