[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.]
Product benefits and deliverables only get you so far in word of mouth marketing. Maybe your stuff is boring, or, after a while, everyone already knows what you do or sell. Sometimes, what’s much more interesting isn’t what’s on the shelves, but the mission behind it — the intangible stuff that makes your company special.
Here are three ways to help people talk about the bigger picture:
1. Make an event everyone can participate in
2. Create customer service moments for noncustomers
3. Invest in causes that matter to you
1. Make an event everyone can participate in
It seems strange, but TOMS is getting more people to talk about their shoes by asking them to show their bare feet. The campaign called One Day Without Shoes raises awareness for the cause they support, bringing shoes to children without them abroad by getting people to go without shoes for a day. It makes it incredibly easy for people to feel like they’re a part of the brand’s mission, and gives them a conversation-starter with everyone they come into contact with.
2. Create customer service moments for noncustomers
Patagonia is big on creating clothes and gear that will last a lifetime. It’s part of their bigger goal to support conscious consumption and sustainability. To prove it, they sent some employees on the road in a mobile repair station to mend well-worn clothing — and not just Patagonia branded gear. The clothing menders are traveling to all 50 states fixing clothes and gear and teaching people how to do the easy stuff themselves. That commitment to both customers and noncustomers shows they care far more about their mission than getting more people to buy stuff.
3. Invest in causes that matter to you
One of the biggest dangers for cyclists is being invisible to other people on the road. So Volvo collaborated with startup Albedo100 to create a reflective spray called LifePaint. By day, the paint is invisible, but under the beam of headlights, it glows a bright white. The pilot program started with giving the paint away in select locations in London, and since it’s been so popular, they’re looking into selling it internationally. Why? Volvo has staked their reputation on being safe. But that doesn’t mean they have to stop at auto safety. By contributing to the safety of other people on the road, they prove a deeper, more remarkable commitment.
