What’s W.O.M Marketing?
You see, whenever we have a great experience at a restaurant or buying a product, we tend to talk about it. This is what the Word of Mouth Marketing is. Basically, it is a way of spreading information in a very organic way that utilizes components of viral marketing, though unlike viral marketing, it spreads by more natural channels.
Word of mouth is a free form of advertisement or promotion.
The power of word-of-mouth recommendations is huge especially in a country like Bangladesh.
Why is W.O.M Marketing Important?
W.O.M is free advertising triggered by customer experiences and usually, something that goes beyond what they expected. Word-of-mouth marketing can be encouraged through different publicity activities set up by companies, or by having opportunities to encourage consumer-to-consumer and consumer-to-marketer communications.
Consumers tend to trust their friends. So, they are more likely to go for the recommendations or suggestions provided by their friends or known persons. Exactly this why influencer marketing is a big hit today.
According to a Nielsen study, 92% of consumers believe suggestions from friends and family more than they do advertising – this stat alone solidified the word of mouth use case.
WOM is like a never-ending circle. It doesn’t stop after one interaction. One person will tell another, and that person will tell someone else. Thus, the chain will be continued.
Of course, the same is true in reverse. Negative news can spread just as fast.
For example- Pathao was more harmed by the negative word of mouth than internal mismanagement.
How To Build a Word of Mouth Marketing Strategy
Successful implementation of word of mouth campaigns can’t be accomplished via cookie-cutter tactics.
There is an inherently creative element to the process that must be artfully and uniquely applied to each brand.
Word of mouth promotion tends to incorporate two key components:
- Create something buzz-worthy
- Encourage the buzz
In other words, word of mouth promotion doesn’t simply attempt to get people excited about a business’ logistics, daily operations, or profit model.
The key to a successful word of mouth marketing strategy is to either identify something about a brand that can generate organic buzz OR create something that will generate that buzz.
How to Make the Best Use of W.O.M Marketing?
1. Create a Trigger
Can you tie yourself into things that your consumers do or use?
“You can design products that are triggered by the environment, and create new triggers by linking your products and ideas to prevalent cues within that environment”.
– LiveChat
If people remember you, they’ll continue to talk about you. It sounds like a great way to start a successful referral program.
2. Provide value
If you establish yourself with a few people, they’ll share the experience with friends – you may not remember the last time you shared a mediocre restaurant or service with someone, but you’ll no doubt be able to remember an amazing experience or event.
For example, you might have gone to a great Japanese restaurant ( E.g- Shushi Samurai) and had a good night out. And you know this colleague of yours who loves sushi. It is likely that you are going to talk about the restaurant to your colleague.
Sharing valuable information makes you valuable. Great, unique customer experiences, along with having a great product, can help increase your value, and thus, your WOM potential.
3. Provoke Emotion
Creating emotion goes hand in hand with creating value. People are more likely to share something that promotes high arousal, and people are more likely to share experiences in which they had some sort of emotion.
No one shares an ‘OK’ experience. People share things that make them happy or upset. Especially in a country like Bangladesh, emotional marketing works best as consumers are more likely to take emotionally driven decisions.
Want to know more about different types of marketing strategies? Read our blogs.
