It is the single greatest way to advertise your business. It can spread the word about you business like wildfire. It is also 100% FREE! I am talking about “word of mouth” advertising. Let your customers do your advertising, but just make sure you treat them right. As fast as a good word about your business spreads, a bad word spreads even faster.
Companies have been using word of mouth advertising for a long time. Why is word of mouth advertising so great? Because when someone has a good experience they love to talk about it to other people that they are close to. Businesses call this the “tool of lust”. They use the emotions of their customers great experience to help spread a good word for their business and or product. In return, we as individuals trust what our friends tell us, and are more apt to use the same business we just heard was so great.
Here is a example of how “word of mouth” advertising has worked to benefit a certain business.
We all have heard of AIM (AOL Instant Messenger). AIM use to be ICQ (AOL Bought ICQ), when ICQ started their marketing plan was based solely on word of mouth advertising. They didn’t have the money to run a national advertising campaign. So, they told 40 people about their new “buddy system” they invented to chat with friends online. Through word of mouth from those 40 people ICQ had 65,000 people download their program in the first two months it was online.
Is your business a free chat program? No, of course not, but the principle remains the same. Let free word of mouth advertising from your current customers bring you new customers. But always remember the “10 to 1” rule: for every one person your clients will say something to about great service they had, they will tell 10 more people when they have had bad service.
Let free word of mouth advertising work for you.
