Hello Début blog apostles, ready for another laid back lesson in marketing?
This week is a perception test. No excuses, no you are not permitted to leave if you don’t have a note and yes it does count towards your final mark. Honestly, it is not that bad, you’ll see what I mean…
When you stop and think about it, you are exposed to hundreds of messages a day. Television and radio adverts for example, newspaper and magazine articles, chatting with friends, even the buses that stop next to you and make that awful pneumatic noise which makes me jump out my skin every time are brandishing messages. (I always look around at other people hoping to see the colour restore to their faces or perhaps them patting their chest whilst accompanying it with a phew as they realise it wasn’t something apocalyptic but in fact the bus after all. Alas, it only ever seems to be me doing those things…?)
But how many and which ones are the messages that stick the best?
Your time starts now… (fast forward a sufficient exam question length of time)
So for all of you who said ‘word of mouth’ messages or WOM as the cool cats call it, you are correct.
Word of mouth marketing is one of the most flattering, reliable and effective forms of conveying a message quickly and to lots of people. Think of a rumour, they spread like wildfire, only WOM has credibility behind it – you!
2007 Nielsen survey – 14% of people trust ads, 78% trust consumer recommendations – that’s how powerful it is.
One of the first things I do when considering trying a new hairdresser, restaurant or tradesperson is ask my friends if they have any recommendations. If I then go on to use them based on this recommendation, they can put a big fat tick next to successful WOM. Now this is the really exciting part; if I then tell some of my friends who tell theirs, who tell theirs and so on and so forth, before you know it said hairdresser, restaurant or tradesperson is a vocally trending topic.
So what factors should you consider why trying to maximise your WOM buzz? Well, it’s a good idea to find the opinion formers relevant to your product and offer them samples or trials of what you have to offer. Create engagement too by asking for opinions and feedback; genuinely interested consumers love to get involved. Online communities and social networks amplify word-of-mouth and make messages travel further and faster than ever before so be savvy when you next tweet or post.
Brrrrrringggg!! You may be excused but please remember to pass your answer to the front and for goodness sake, put your name on it…otherwise how else would I know who to WOM market.