“Word of Mouth” does NOT equal “Do No Marketing”
February 20, 2011
I visited a brand new local small business yesterday, checking it out for the first time. While the young lady behind the counter served the customers in front of me she asked them where they were from and the conversation turned to, “We’re here because ‘so-and-so’ told us about it”.
The woman behind the counter replied, “Yes we’re slowly getting more business and we’re counting on Word Of Mouth to help us…”
I realized I actually physically cringed. Ughhhhh…. There’s that ‘Word Of Mouth’ thing again and I wondered why those harmless 3 little words have such a strong negative effect on me.
Why hearing “All I need is Word of Mouth” makes me cringe
After thinking about it all afternoon I realized why. I constantly hear statements like: “80% of my business is Word Of Mouth” or “I’m counting on Word Of Mouth to grow my business” or “All I need is more Word of Mouth” from small business owners who continually struggle with getting more customers.
Yes, Word Of Mouth is an effective, inexpensive, and truly pure form of marketing. You can’t get any better than having an army of raving fans marching in the streets declaring how wonderful you are. There is no better endorsement of a brand than to have someone with no ulterior motive rant about their experience.
Word of Mouth does not equal “Do No Marketing”
Here’s what I think – and please, correct me if I’m wrong – I think many business owners think that getting “Word of Mouth” attention is the easy way out of doing any other marketing. I think business owners think if they open up shop, put out a decent product, and provide friendly service everyone is automatically going to tell all of their friends about it and they’re going to be rich! I think business owners think that word of mouth requires no work, other than opening up shop, plugging in the “Open” sign each day, and delivering a good product with a smile. I also think that what most small business owners don’t realize is that Word of Mouth is a strategy; one that requires planning, thought, and action.
Getting people to talk about your stuff takes work – yes, WORK. There’s that dirty word again. Nothing comes for free; nothing comes easy – especially in the world of small business. Word of Mouth is really about proactively creating, grooming, and nurturing brand advocates. It’s about creating a truly unique experience, and delivering on it diligently and consistently.
To harness the real power of Word of Mouth, you must Surprise and Delight. You must create a unique experience that is memorable and talk-worthy. You must create stories worth being told over coffee, at family gatherings, in line at the grocery store! You must be able and willing to think outside the box- do something different, be unique!
Word of Mouth marketing – or rather the success of Word Of Mouth as a tool for growing a business is a strategy. It isn’t a “sit back and let it happen” magic pill of business growth.
What do you think – am I totally out in left field on this one? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!! Leave your comments here.
By the way – if you like this post, I would REALLY appreciate your ReTweet! Thank you!!!! 
6 Things Every Small Business Can Learn From Lady Gaga
February 14, 2011
I was never a fan of Lady Gaga. I grew up in the age of Madonna rolling and gyrating all over the stage in her fetish-style costumes and Ozzy Osbourne biting the heads off bats. Lady Gaga and her outrageous outfits and risqué lyrics didn’t faze me. She was just another wannabe exorbitant artist that the general public was eating up and I didn’t pay much attention. That is until I saw her on 60 Minutes last night; then I realized what a marketing genius she is and gained a new respect.
She built a brand (Lady Gaga) from scratch and is now, according to Anderson Cooper, “the most talked about entertainer in the world”. Lady Gaga didn’t get famous by accident. No, she diligently studied “the art of being famous”. This is a woman on a mission – a woman with passion and drive and I gained a whole new respect, if not for the music, but for the business woman and brilliant marketer she is.
Here are 6 things all small business owners can learn from Lady Gaga:
- Master the “Art of Fame” - Lady Gaga didn’t become famous by accident. She knows what it takes to be famous because she invested the time and energy; she studied it. Nothing she does is by accident. She plans every outfit, every song, every interview, every moment of her life. Are you a master of what it takes to become famous in your industry? Do you understand what others in your industry have done to make it big? Can you honestly say you KNOW what it takes to make your business as successful as you want it to be and that you plan each and every action with achievement of that goal in mind?
- Know your audience and connect– Lady Gaga knows her audience, she has a huge fan base of young and old who feel disconnected and disenfranchised in the world and she speaks to and connects with them in her music, her image and her interviews. She moves them because she understands them so well. Who are your “fans”/customers? What moves them and what do you do to move them? What do you do on every level to connect with them?
- Be inspirational – People are drawn to positive people, businesses, and outcomes. If you aren’t excited about your business, no one will be. Lady Gaga embraces and uplifts the insecure, outcast, “freak” in us all. Hers is a message of self empowerment and self acceptance- and that has helped her succeed. What is your message to the world?
- Make it personal – Lady Gaga uses her own experience to connect. She grew up feeling like an outcast; she was different. But instead of using it to isolate herself she turned it into a way to connect to others. How can you tell your story to connect with your customers and prospects? What need, problem, or niche do you fill that is lacking in peoples’ lives? People connect with people – make it personal!
- Be outrageous – No one ever got famous or popular by being timid. Lady Gaga made a truckload of money and became a worldwide phenomenon by taking risks and by standing out from the crowd – by being outrageous. What can you do in your own industry to stand out and be outrageous? Don’t be afraid to take risks- don’t follow the crowd.
- Change it up sometimes – Never be boring! Every time you see Lady Gaga she’s sporting a different look. She’s always outrageous, always edgy and always true to her brand – but she’s always fresh and new and exciting! How can your company and brand keep it fresh and new and exciting so that every time a customer or potential customer comes into contact with you they get a new/fresh look or perspective? Maybe it’s a new product or service offering. Maybe it’s a new process… find a way to keep it interesting and keep your customers engaged!
By the way – if you like this post, I would REALLY appreciate your ReTweet! Thank you!!!!
How Well Do You Know Your Business?
February 6, 2011
As we all know, times have been tough for small business and most small business owners realize they need to do something different if they want to survive. But what they don’t quite get is that they need to change how they think about their business. They call me and say, “I need your help” and then they go on to tell me HOW I need to help them. Twice now in the past month 2 small business owners have called me – one has been around for more than 20 years, another only a few months – barely surviving and seemingly desperate for help.
I spend the first 20 minutes or so listening to them, asking questions, learning about their business, the marketing efforts they’ve tried, and what their challenges are. What I hear is that like 99% of the small business owners I meet they’re caught up in the same old old-school way of thinking. “If I just find that one magic “thing” that works my business will take off: a new magazine ad, a ne
w packaged marketing method for my industry, a new direct mailer, a new sign on my storefront, a new yellow pages ad….”
Inevitably, after getting all of their experiences, concerns and worries off their chests they’ll sigh and confide, “I’m desperate, I don’t know what to do. How can you help me?” I tell them it’s really pretty simple. I can help them study and understand their business, their industry and their customers and then use that information to advertise and market their businesses more effectively. Then I’ll ask, “Do you know your target market? Do you know what makes them buy when they buy and what makes them choose you? Do you know what makes you truly unique in your marketplace?” The answer is usually the same, “Wow, no I don’t really know those things…”
Here comes the “But….”
“But….. I just need this…. Or I just need that… “
What it boiled down to is that they both wanted to pay me to come to their businesses, look at their store and tell them how they should advertise = spending more money on TACTICs. I turned them both down; it would have been a disservice for me to take their money and give them a dime store assessment… It wouldn’t solve their bigger problem – which was that they both had inadequate information to make informed and logical marketing decisions.
How can you expect someone to walk in off the street, spend an hour with you, and give you information that will transform your business? Really, does that make sense? Sure I’m a marketer, sure I do this for a living and sure, I know how to advertise better than the average small business owner – given the appropriate information, data, and research!!! But spending an hour with them was not going to solve their problem.
Why is it so hard to understand the importance of market research?
Do you think Pepsi or Toyota got so big by blindly investing in the newest shiny marketing idea of the week? Of course not they invest millions in market research. They KNOW their customers. They KNOW their market. They KNOW how and when and why people buy. Sure, companies as big as Pepsi and Toyota have reached a certain level of success and market penetration and can afford to do some advertising just for advertising sake – but we as small businesses don’t have that luxury. We need to FOCUS; we need to spend our limited marketing dollars wisely. We need to get the best possible return on our marketing investment and can’t afford to waste money on things that don’t work.
I want to hear from you!!
Have you done the research? Have you surveyed your customers, studied your competitors and created a truly unique value statement for your business? If not, what what’s stopping you?
By the way – if you like this post, I would REALLY appreciate your ReTweet! Thank you!!!!
Leave your comments here.
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+Carolyn Higgins, President of Fortune Marketing Company
- Carolyn Higgins, President of Fortune Marketing Company specializes in helping small to medium sized businesses get the customers they need to sell more, increase profits and achieve all of their business and personal goals. We do this by implementing and managing marketing systems based on data and strategy - there is no guess work. For more information visit us at: FortuneMarketingCompany.com. We'd be glad to help!
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