Word of Mouth - you've heard the phrase but how does it work?
For many businesses, Word of Mouth is an excuse for doing nothing - in other words, I dont need to market myself - I will let Word of Mouth do it for me. Hey, tell that to the Marketing Director who was in charge of Marks and Spencer 10-15 years ago - they relied on a solid foundation of Word of Mouth and they so very nearly lost it altogether - only a shake-up coupled with an aggressive marketing campaign (which is still very much going on) saved them from the jaws of defeat.
So what was the issue with this Word of Mouth approach? The answer is - it was passive. But WORD of Mouth need not be passive - it can be active - or should I say, proactive! What do I mean? Well take this as an example from a recent experience of mine.
One of my clients, a caterer, called me up to announce a new venture. They are launching a catering service for Funerals - and could I help? "Leave it to me", I said. I contacted a local Fuuneral Directors and and explained the situation and arranged a meeting between myself, the Funeral Director and the caterer. Hey presto, the relationship was established - all that was required now was for a bit of chemistry during the meeting (I brought my own testtubes and bunsen burner just in case) - and my client now has an exclusive deal tied up - Result all round. So what was different about this form of Word of Mouth?
Simples! My client has the product. They knew I had the facility to represent them. The arrangement was made - that could never have worked had they tried to do it themselves - they needed my Word of Mouth recommendation to the 3rd party - and thebestof opened all the right doors to make it happen.
Who else could this work for? Here's a challenge - post your suggestions for fruitful partnerships - and I will make it happen on your behalf!
