[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.]
Not every business gets to be the exciting new startup, sell trendy products, or have a naturally enthusiastic fan base. In fact, most businesses are run-of-the-mill, normal companies selling normal stuff. Luckily, word of mouth marketing works for these businesses too.
Here’s how three normal businesses with normal products answered the question, “What makes you so special?”
1. Our people
2. Our location
3. Our humor
1. Our people
Photos for Life is a stock photo collection. Like most stock photo collections, it shows people doing stock photo stuff like smiling in parks, doing office work, and eating meals in neutral colors. The difference: Every model is a cancer patient or survivor. And with all profits going to a foundation that improves cancer patients’ quality of life, Photos for Life turns out to be much more remarkable than your average stock photo company.
2. Our location
You can find a Denny’s off of pretty much any highway in America. So why would an owner open one on Wall Street in Manhattan? Turns out, this isn’t just a normal Denny’s. Like other restaurants in the area, there’s upscale decor and high-end drinks. In fact, you can order two Grand Slams, a bottle of Dom Perignon, and a high-five from the bartender for $300. Sure, there are swankier, more exotic places to go in the neighborhood, but this Denny’s stands out by being its unique self in a very unusual place.
3. Our humor
Like a lot of growing cities, Austin’s real estate market is booming right now — which means there’s no shortage of realtors in town and the competition is tough. So how do you stand out and stay on your customers’ minds long after you’ve helped them buy or sell a house? Josh, a realtor from Realty Austin, won over our teammate, JoAnn by mailing her family a tin of nuts with an odd headshot of himself and “Crackin’ the Austin Market” printed on the front. It was just funny enough for her to share with the office — and we imagine plenty of Josh’s other clients did the same.
