When purchasing a new product, there are different ways to obtain information. One includes checking customer reviews and scanning websites. The second potent tool is word of mouth marketing and personal referrals. It’s the opinion that matters as it comes from people we know and trust. Word of mouth marketing (WOMM) is a powerful tool that can help businesses grow and identify the platforms where new customers come from. In this blog, we will understand how word of mouth marketing can elevate your business and measurement metrics to track your campaigns.
What is Word of Mouth Marketing?
Word of mouth marketing is when consumers share information about products or services with others, relying on personal recommendations. It can happen offline (e.g., through conversations) or online (e.g., through social media conversations). Businesses can encourage it by providing excellent customer service or creating an excellent virtual campaign that can get users talking.
Jonah Berger is a renowned marketing expert who has conducted studies on word of mouth marketing. According to Berger, there are two key factors that drive the success of word of mouth marketing: social currency and triggers. Social currency refers to the idea of offering something exclusive or making customers feel special, while triggers are little cues that remind people about your brand without actual advertising. These factors play a significant role in the effectiveness of word-of-mouth marketing campaigns.
Benefits of WOMM
People are more likely to purchase a product or service if they hear about it from someone they know and trust. This is where word of mouth marketing comes in. It relies on customers sharing their positive experiences about a brand with others, whether it’s through social media or in-person conversations. This can be done by creating buzzworthy products, offering referral programs, and providing amazing customer service that people will want to talk about. By doing so, you can tap into the power of social proof and turn your loyal customers into brand ambassadors who will help spread the word.
How to measure WOMM success?
Measuring WOMM success can be done by tracking referral sources, monitoring website traffic and social media engagement, conducting surveys or asking customers how they heard about your business, and tracking sales conversions and revenue generated from referrals. These methods help to gauge the effectiveness of your word of mouth marketing strategy.
KPIs to track WOM success
Surveys are a good way to understand if people have heard of your organisation via verbal discussions. One can survey the target audience and keep a track of WOM referrals. In addition to this, organisations can capture virtual conversations and understand the emotional metrics behind these conversations. A good way to track is on social media channels for example, Twitter. People can track the brand name mentions and in case of grieved customers, the customer support can jump into action to provide assistance.
Analytics tools for a marketer
Measuring the impact of word-of-mouth marketing is essential for any marketer. Referral sources, website traffic, social media engagement are some metrics that offer valuable insights. Surveys can help gauge customer satisfaction and understanding WOMM’s effect on new customers. This can be done via metrics of customer satisfaction score and net promoter score (NPS). With Merren, you can track real-time analytics on the dashboard and view responses and trends over days, weeks and months. Trust your happy customers to be your brand ambassadors and watch as their positive experiences spread like wildfire!
How to Build a WOMM Strategy?
To create a successful WOMM (word of mouth marketing) strategy, first, identify and understand your target audience’s needs and preferences. Then, encourage satisfied customers to share their positive experiences through referrals or reviews while developing a referral program that rewards both parties. Continuously track the success of your efforts, adjusting as needed to optimise results.
Know your audience
Knowing your audience and their needs is essential when it comes to a powerful WOM marketing strategy. Motivate happy customers to share their experiences through incentives or rewards (free gift, coupons, loyalty cards). This way, not only will they promote your brand but you can also strengthen customer loyalty. Utilizing social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram can be extremely beneficial in amplifying word-of-mouth recommendations. Don’t forget to track the success of your campaign continually- this will help you make improvements as needed.
Choosing the right channels
Creating a successful word-of-mouth marketing strategy involves choosing the right channels to amplify your message. While creating surveys, choose instant messaging platforms for Whatsapp surveys, web based chatbots to capture real time information. Real time channels can bring a high response rate without marketers having to wait for survey results at a snail pace. This also includes social media channels where conversations happen and one can track trends, patterns and detractors and provide better customer support. Encourage people to leave customer reviews either via in-app surveys or on Google maps.
Offering product/ service updates
Sharing product updates via interactive newsletter, creating dynamic emails surveys and marketing campaigns is the best way to create a buzz among patrons. This supports people to share product reviews during surveys and create a better brand awareness among the customers. Track customer complaints and close any feedback loop. While doing so, encourage people to share their experiences during the customer effort score surveys and share their thought process online as a part of social media marketing.
Tap into emotional triggers for WOMM
To stimulate word-of-mouth marketing, determine the emotions your product or service elicits in customers. Create an emotional bond via storytelling and encourage customers to share their experiences. Use social proof like reviews and testimonials to establish credibility.
Creating a brand story
Creating a brand story is essential for WOMM as it helps identify the emotional triggers that resonate with your target audience. Encouraging satisfied customers to share their positive experiences and rewarding them for referrals can make a significant social impact. Testimonials, user-generated content, referrals programs, influencer marketing, and social proof are some ways you can tap into those emotional triggers. By doing so, you can attract new audiences organically and build a loyal customer base.
Showcasing customer experiences
Let’s say you just started a small business and want to grow your customer base. Seek referrals or offering giveaways for organic word of mouth advertising. Social proof is a great way to bring new patrons and reinforce trust in your brand. This includes keeping websites well equipped with information so that when new customers are onboarded, they can have valuable information at their disposal. This will attract potential customers over time.
Making a social impact
When it comes to making a social impact through marketing strategies, nothing beats the power of word-of-mouth. One way to tap into this is by creating a captivating story around your brand that evokes emotions among customers. Highlight the benefits of your services or products and encourage satisfied customers to spread the word on social media platforms. This can go a long way in amplifying your reach to potential clients. When it comes down to purchasing decisions, user-generated content like testimonials or organic word-of-mouth referral marketing is a good idea.
Conclusion
People are constantly sharing stories be it on youtube or twitter. It is comparatively easier to track the power of word of mouth on the internet by launching surveys, focusing on brand name tags and providing excellent customer experience inside the brand ecosystem. To track your own KPIs, sign up for a 14 day free trial with Merren and create your own customer journey mapping with our robust tools.
