[Welcome back to the You Can Be a Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius! newsletter. This is text from the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]
What’s love got to do with it? Everything. Love is the most powerful force in marketing — and it’s this force that drives all respected and successful companies. A few big ideas on it:
1> New love is exciting
2> Love requires romance
3> A scorned lover talks the most
1> New love is exciting
All love starts with new love. It’s the first time you played with an iPhone, ordered from Zappos, or flew Southwest Airlines. These moments of “first discovery” are when you’ve got the best chance to create word of mouth. Your job is to do two things: 1) Make sure these first experiences are amazing, and 2) Make sure it’s easy for them to tell their friends about it.
2> Love requires romance
Complacent and quiet love is not what leads to amazing word of mouth. To get them talking, you need romance. It’s an awesome new upgrade, a thrilling customer service experience, or a fantastic event just for them. Romance — dramatic gestures and extraordinary moments — is what turns quiet love into we’re-telling-everyone love.
3> A scorned lover talks the most
Nobody talks to more friends than a lover scorned. All it takes to blow it with your biggest fans is to release a crappy upgrade, take lots of shortcuts, or burn them with a promotion that ignores their loyalty in an effort to woo new customers. If you thought they talked about you when they were a fan, just wait to see what happens when you’ve put their reputation as a trusted referrer in jeopardy.
