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All great word of mouth projects start with a focus on talkers — the people actually spreading the conversations. If you don’t have them, you don’t have word of mouth.
Here are three groups that will want to tell everyone about you:
1. The people you help feel smart
2. The people you help feel like family
3. The people you help feel important
1. The people you help feel smart
Sol de Janiero, a sunscreen brand in Brazil, worked with oncologists to train over 450 tattoo artists how to check for signs of skin cancer. That’s 450 people who talk to tons of Sol de Janiero’s customers every day. More importantly, that’s 450 professionals Sol de Janiero helped get better at their jobs. It’s 450 people who will feel smart when they teach their co-workers how to look for signs of skin cancer too. When you empower a group to feel knowledgeable, it’s about much more than that group. It’s about how many more people they’ll pass that knowledge on to.
2. The people you help feel like family
When the Montreal Canadiens hockey team plays an away game, it doesn’t stop their home fan-base from getting together to watch it. In fact, their home stadium sells out even for away games where fans show up just to watch the game on the jumbo screen. Why? Because their fans like to be with other fans — even if they’re strangers, they feel like a family. Could your brand pack an empty stadium full of people even when there’s nothing going on?
3. The people you help feel important
Your employees are some of the best talkers your company has. But so many folks forget to ask them to tell their friends and family about them. When an IKEA opened in Japan, they motivated their employees to spread the word by making them feel special. They decorated an entire monorail car with IKEA furniture and held a party for employees and their families. How are you giving your talkers an opportunity to look good in front of their friends?
