[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.]
The 5 Ts are the fundamental principles of word of mouth marketing. Every successful word of mouth campaign — planned or otherwise — has these fundamental elements at heart: Talkers, Topics, Tools, Taking Part, and Tracking.
Here’s how to put them to work for you (and when you’re done reading, use this worksheet to help you get started):
1. Find your talkers
2. Give them a topic
3. Choose your tools
4. Take part in the conversation
5. Never get caught by surprise
1. Find your talkers
All word of mouth starts with a group of talkers. Sometimes it’s your everyday customers, sometimes it’s the 15-year-old kids with posters of your stuff on the wall, and sometimes it’s the cab drivers in your city. Every business has talkers — and everyone is a talker for a particular business. An easy way to get started? Brainstorm a list of people who talk to and influence your customers.
2. Give them a topic
What will your talkers talk about? Topics don’t have to be fancy, they need to simple, portable ideas that people can easily spread. It’s not your brand statement — it’s the ice cream you give to people waiting in line, the special discounts you give to members of your fan club, or the funky music you play in your store. Start by picking one group of talkers from Step 1 and give them something you think they’ll love (a sale, a secret menu item, something goofy, etc.). If it doesn’t work — hey, no big deal. Try again the next day with a different topic or a different group.
3. Choose your tools
Tools are what help spread your message faster and further. They’re online stuff like blogs, social networks, and tell-a-friend buttons on your website. They’re also the offline stuff like coupons, postcards, and samples. Your action step: If the majority of your talkers are online, try creating a simple Facebook page or Twitter account to share news and special promotions with them. Offline, give out extra samples in the store, send extra catalogs and coupons with orders, and throw an event that brings all of your fans together..
4. Take part in the conversation
This one can be overwhelming or intimidating for marketers and business owners: Reach out to and communicate with people that are talking about you. The common fear is that by engaging in the conversation, you’ll create negative word of mouth or make the existing conversation worse. But in reality, negative word of mouth is the result of a pre-existing condition, and most talkers would love to have you join the conversation. So jump in. Start by identifying a few key talkers and introduce yourself, always disclosing who you are and who you work for. And remember: Don’t just push your products. Focus on sharing ideas, relevant information, and helpful tips.
5. Track and measure the results
With so many modern tools out there, it’s easier than ever to track, monitor, and follow-up on your word of mouth. Use freely available tools like Google Analytics, tracking links, and Google Alerts to quickly identify who’s saying what and how influential they are. Get started right now by setting up simple alerts for your company name and for industry keywords..
