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Word of mouth is an incredible investment opportunity. The more you put in, the more you get out. Here are just a few examples of how it works:
1. It saves you money
2. It has compounding interest
3. It makes your products better
4. It can earn you the $4 million referral
1. It saves you money
Word of mouth is cheap. Sure, you can throw as much money as you want at it — but the best word of mouth marketers nail the inexpensive fundamentals. They thrill customers with great service, they make products worth talking about, they listen, they talk back, they’re nice. And all this saves you money on expensive advertising (to compensate for the boring products), on PR (to overcome negative word of mouth), and on customer support (better products require less support; healthy communities help customers help each other).
2. It has compounding interest
The more word of mouth-worthy stuff you do, the more it pays off. Smart brands take all the savings from #1 above and invest in even better service, more product development, and thrilling customer experiences. The result is an army of loyal fans who always have a new reason to talk about you. This becomes a recession-proof, unstoppable competitive advantage that will carry you through good times and bad.
3. It makes your products better
Companies that listen and engage with their customers through word of mouth make better products and services. By starting conversations, they get a ton of feedback and ideas they wouldn’t otherwise. By tracking reviews (and consistently asking for them), they discover common issues and opportunities for improvement. Customers have a lot of ideas for the companies they buy from, but only the word of mouth marketers are able to take advantage of it.
4. It can earn you the $4 million referral
If for no other reason, know that committing to earning the respect and recommendation of your customers can make you real money. Take for example Broadcast Software, creators of digital and audio automation tools for radio stations. They got the referral of a lifetime when one of their crusty, old-school customers (who always called for help with questions unrelated to their software) got a huge promotion. He loved and recognized Broadcast Software’s incredible support, and through his new promotion was able to recommend Broadcast Software for a $4 million project to standardize their software across an entire chain of 300 radio stations.
Learn more: Inc.
