How to Market through Word of Mouth Marketing

Saturday night, after a tiring day doing overtime work at the office; 9:00 pm; Washington Street.

You see a long line in front of Jerry's Pizza Parlor. You see a friend yelling at you in the crowd. "Jenny, come here and get a free slice."

You scowled and tried to remember if there was a flyer or catalog advertisement for a free pizza slice that day. No matter how hard you pick your brain and try to remember, you wouldn't remember anything because it turned out that the ad was all over the Web and cell phones. It was simply a word of mouth marketing.

Word of mouth marketing has been around since time immemorial. Early traders have been practicing this technique to create a buzz about their business and their products and services. A simple story or ad can proactively get the word out there and boost your visibility in the market. This in turn will give people something to talk about, which will eventually lead profitable customers to your door.

Despite the improvement of technology and the importance of using tangible marketing materials such as brochure printing, post cards, or flyers, word of mouth marketing is still among the most effective types of marketing techniques. But how do you create a truly word of mouth marketing? Do you simply start a buzz, tell your friends about it, and tell them to tell other people about it? That could work, but effective word of mouth marketing involves trust.

You see, in today's highly industrialized market where businesses are constantly trying to outdo each other, there's just too much hype that people don't just trust what business claim about themselves and their products or services. But, there are still others people believe in. Say for instance, the media, the celebrities, and, of course friends, relatives, and colleagues.

So, how do you create an effective word of mouth campaign? Here are some pointers to get you started:

Tip # 1. Focus on the market "hubs". The hubs are the people who serve as sources of information. They are the people that influences your target customer's buying decisions. Take for example Oprah. Many women watch her show and idolize her. Any book she recommends in her book club or items she supports get instant publicity and hit. She can be considered a good market hub. But a hub doesn't have to be a celebrity. He can be specialist on a certain topic or experts with excellent credentials that people listen to.

After you have identified the market hub, you can either respond to something they said or give your opinion. You can also give them a copy of your book for them to mention in their blog, newsletter or their next lecture. Once they are interested in you and start mentioning you in their events, that's where the buzz begins.

Tip # 2. Give your target customers or clients a taste of your products or services. One good way to get people talking about you is by letting them experience what you are offering. You can give out samples to make it easier for people to spread the word.

Tip # 3. Consider using testimonials. When customers give you compliments, ask if you can use their compliments as a testimonial. Then put these testimonials in your marketing materials. Every time you send your brochures to your brochure printer for printing, don't forget to set aside a page for the testimonials.

Tip # 4. Tell people to spread the buzz. Aside from using people's compliment in testimonials, consider asking people to tell people about you. You can also put the phrase "tell a friend" in your newsletter and your email.

So, instead of sitting around waiting for customers to come in, consider following these tips and people will arrive at your door in no time.