Create a Buzz for
Your Biz with Viral Marketing
August 2005,
Vol. 1.4
Click
here to for the Project Spotlight
Word of mouth is
one of the most effective and low-cost
marketing strategies around. Yet
few business entrepreneurs know
how it works and how to use it.
 Word-of-mouth
marketing, otherwise known as Viral
Marketing, is a very powerful tool
that every business must use. It is
low-cost, requires very little budget,
and works even without us knowing
about it. It is an inertia that works
for our business. Yet many businesses
do not know how to use it, how it
works and how it can be used to meet
business objectives.
Most marketing professionals believe
that word-of-mouth is the most compelling
way to bring in new customers. Why?
Three reasons are often given to explain
the pull of word-of-mouth. First,
we are bombarded with messages everyday
that we don't know whom to trust anymore.
We hardly believe the salesman, or
even the spokesperson (after all,
they were hired specifically to sell
the product). Hence, we turn to people
we believe the most: our families,
friends, neighbors and colleagues.
Second, everywhere you look nowadays,
there is an advertising or promotion
for a product or service. With ads
constantly flooding our senses, we
have learned to filter them out. We
may have repeatedly seen a print ad
for customer management software,
but oftentimes we will buy the product
only if a friend tells us that he
or she has tested the product and
it worked quite well.
As the world gets more connected
everyday, product buzz now spreads
much faster. Thanks to the Internet
and wireless technologies, it is now
easier to get information and advice
from other people. Product reviews
are everywhere on the Internet. The
proliferation of chat rooms, newsgroups,
and discussion forums has allowed
us to get more extensive information
about the product.
To create a buzz that would hopefully
snowball with potential customers,
the first step should start in the
product. The product or service itself
should be exciting, fun, innovative
and different. It should really excite
the users and be worth talking about.
Products that are used - such as
books, CDs, software, etc. - can easily
generate word-of-mouth since the consumers
can now share his or her experience
about the product. PalmPilot, for
example, caused a lot of positive
buzz when it was launched that sixty
five percent of customers told the
makers of this device that they had
heard about it from another person.
Good products often generate a lot
of conversation, and it is the business'
responsibility to put that into good
use.
What if your product is not as groundbreaking
as say, Netscape's browser? Then you
must go out there and start talking
with people. These strategies are
basically the same as activities you
do to generate publicity for your
business. The main difference lies
in that you control what you communicate
to users to ensure that all you get
are positive word-of-mouth.
You can do this in several ways.
One is to talk to your friends, ask
them to recommend the product to others,
and hope that the word-of-mouth grow
quickly. You can also talk
in every possible opportunity you
can find: be it industry conferences,
meetings, seminars, events and charity
meetings. If you are selling an e-book
on gardening, visit horticultural
societies and chat with people you
meet. If you wrote a book on parenting,
strike a conversation with the couple
seating on the plane beside you.
A more effective way, however, is
to go after the so-called "opinion
leaders." These are individuals that
serve as sources of information, and
are often considered by people as
credible. It is important that you
identify the trusted channel that
will be your spokesperson. Ever wonder
why many companies hire celebrities
to endorse their products? Because
these companies know that many people
look up to these celebrities and believe
in them. If you can't afford
to hire a celebrity, look for a person
in the industry who is credible enough.
You may choose a teacher to recommend
the interactive software you developed
to teach kids the value of savings
to parents of her students. Hopefully,
the parents will talk among themselves
and those who have already tried the
software will endorse it to other
parents. Parents often look up to
teachers, and know that they share
the same values in raising a good
child. Eventually, word will spread
around and sales will take off.
Or pitch your story to the media.
A writer may print your story, or
a television anchor may recommend
your web site to their viewers. Free
publicity, plus good word of mouth:
nothing will beat that combination!
The Internet has become a great vehicle
for propagating buzz, with a potential
for making word-of-mouth truly global.
Having your own web site allows you
to post information about your products
or service. Best of all, the Internet
allows information to spread so fast
experts had to coin the word "viral
marketing" to describe it. Hotmail
did it so well that it was practically
advertising itself for free every
time its service was used. With the
phrase "Get your free e-mail at Hotmail.com,"
it was no wonder that Hotmail subscribers
grew to 12 million in just 18 months.
Other effective means of spreading
the word on the Internet is through
the use of "Recommend This to a Friend"
script. The recipient will most likely
check out the site recommended by
his or her friend, rather than by
some marketing company.
How do you maintain word-of-mouth?
The key is to maintain consumer interest
in your business. Keep stimulating
interest in your products. If you
are on the Web, discussion boards
and chat rooms can create a community
of staunchest "believers" who will
keep interest in your products burning.
Word-of-mouth can also be complemented,
extended and supported by traditional
communications methods such as advertising,
publicity and other marketing tools.
Word-of-mouth is the most natural
method of communicating with consumers.
It should be an integral part of every
business' marketing program. Yet like
other marketing tactics, it should
not exist in a vacuum.
Below are some links with additional
information on Viral Marketing:
back to afresh
Project
Spotlight: Panache Lotions
URL: www.panachelotions.com
Panache Lotions, a body care products
retailer, wanted to boost Web sales
volume. The husband-and-wife-run operation
has two "brick and mortar"
locations in Capitola, a quaint Central
Coast beachfront tourist destination
near Santa Cruz. Their two stores
feature handcrafted shampoos, shower
gels, powders, and other body products
in standard and custom-blended scents.
In business since 1985, Panache Lotions
has been a popular shopping destination
for tourists and locals alike.
Entrepreneurs Frank and Ellie Jordan
understood that most of their Internet
sales derived from repeat customers.
They were also well aware that a major
Internet branding and advertising
effort would be a costly venture,
so they decided to focus on creating
a user experience that would keep
their loyal customers coming back
for more and would attract new customers.
Frank and Ellie approached Macdonald
Design for a complete website makeover.
The first step was to simplify navigation
so that customers could find their
favorite products quickly with a minimum
of clicks. Next, we applied a clean,
refreshing design with a touch of
whimsy that appeals to a broad audience.
We even added a fragrance selector
so that site visitors would have a
visual and verbal representation of
the wide variety of fragrances available
to them. This new feature not only
increased product awareness, but also
search-engine ranking. Panache Lotions'
Google page rank climbed two points
since the makeover.
To help get the word out, we added
a tell-a-friend capability to their
website, and we made sure that Panache
Lotions included their URL on all
of their product packaging and even
on cash register receipts so that
customers would easily be able to
find their site and stock up on their
favorite scented products when they
ran out. The new fluffed up web redesign
resulted in increased web traffic,
a significant increase in new customers,
and higher per order sales.
"Wow! What a difference...our
sales have increased tremendously
due to the new website. Customer's
tell us all the time how easy it is
to navigate...and they love the new
format.
We are very, very
happy with the results Macdonald Design
and their professional staff have
provided for us!"
Ellie Jordan
Panache Lotions
back to afresh
|
