Solely having a pleasant looking Web store is not enough to make a business stand out. There is one powerful area of e-commerce marketing that gets neglected-that is word-of-mouth advertising. Word-of-mouth advertising ( also called as WOM marketing) is when a consumer’s interest in a company’s goods or services is indicated in their everyday conversations. It is a free advertising triggered by consumer experiences—and usually, something that goes ahead what they demanded.
Word-of-mouth advertising is one of the most potent forms of advertising, as 92% of consumers trust their associates over conventional media.
In today’s hyper-connected society, a single recommendation can have a considerably eminent impact – reaching to the word of mouth marketing (WOMM) or word of mouth advertising strategies to capitalize on the opportunity.
Advantages of Word-Of-Mouth Advertising
Top 3 Word-of-Mouth Advertising Examples
Ways To Implement Word-Of-Mouth Advertising In Business
FAQ’s
Conclusion
Advantages of Word-Of-Mouth Advertising
Grow sales without the ad spend
Numerous brands from The Hustle to Bangs Shoes and more use word of mouth marketing instead of advertising spend to increase sales and consumer base.
Build a community, not a commodity
Word of mouth advertising strives to create an associated customer base rather than a buy and bolt customer. Engaged customers shop more often and recommend more often.
More funding, more freedom
Brands with high customer continuance loyalty and therefore repeat purchases gain extra angel and venture funding.
Yash Taneja
Top 3 Word-of-Mouth Advertising Examples
1. TOMS: Creating Organic Buzz By Doing Virtue
When a customer buys a pair of shoes from TOMS, one pair of shoes is donated to a child in need. This business model was praised and accepted as a charity driven model, and as a result, the company reached a valuation of over $600 million in 2014.
TOMS understood that company gives shoes to those in need every time you buy, made for a far extra buzzworthy headline than the company donates money to needy people.
While TOMS opted to build its business model around, it could make buzz-worthy, this is not an option for most businesses. Rather, these businesses have the opportunity to build something appealing that people will get excited about and then spread the word.
2. Chipotle: Creating WOM Buzz Through Storytelling
Casual dining chain Chipotle has slightly differentiated itself from being a national chain that sources its ingredients locally.
To initiate word of mouth, Chipotle devised a haunting video with an
iPhone app, depicting a bleak, over-processed world run by machinery. The video and app combined generated above 614 million media impacts, making it a significant WOMM win for Chipotle.
3. Coca-Cola “Share Coke with friends” Omnichannel WOM
Coca-Cola’s campaign asked for buyers to join by sharing a personalized soda bottle with friends, in person, and on social media
Coca-Cola also promoted the campaign with events where consumers could build their own personalized Coke bottle.
ATHUL C K
Ways To Implement Word-Of-Mouth Advertising In Business
Encourage User-Generated Content
UGC(User-Generated Content) is content created and shared by customers about brands or commodities. It is honest, builds trust, and gives marketers additional security to work with. User-Generated Content videos can boost sales effectiveness by 20%.
How to get users to generate content?
- Have a novel hashtag to identify content created by consumers.
- Incentivize sharing pictures, videos, and gifs on social media.
- Give a gift, discount, or feature.
- Create a feeling of community.
- Present your user-generated content on your webpage or main profile.
Share Customer Reviews
79 percent of people trust credentials and online reviews as much as personal recommendations. They aid reassure the performance, quality, and value of claims and make customers feel more comfortable doing business with you.
Get product Ratings On Your Site
Depending on your business model, you may want to provide people the facility to rate or review particular products, services, etc. directly on your eCommerce website like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc.
- 63% of visitors are more likely to buy when a website has reviews/ratings
- Reviews can produce an 18% rise in sales
- Customer reviews are 12 times more trusted than reports from the brand
Grant An Incentive
- Big or small, people are always willing to do something if they receive some value in return. So, consider providing your consumers with a discount or a gift in exchange for referrals
- Example: Dropbox provides free storage to its customers
Niku Mandal
Create A Referral Program
The company can take this a level ahead by creating a formal referral program. A good referral program:
- Makes spreading the word easy and quick
- Makes it worthwhile for both parties (with an incentive or other benefit)
- Measures the results of your campaigns
Top Referral Tools
- ReferralCandy
- Friendbuy
- LoyaltyLion
- Influitive
- Woobox
Connect With Influencers And Leaders
Influencers are individuals with a strong following and power to influence the opinions and behavior of people. Because of their established reputation and popularity, WOM Marketing from them is unquestionably the most worthy.
- 40% of people purchased an item online after seeing it used by an influencer on Social Media.
- 49% people say they rely on suggestions from influencers when making a buy decision.
- 73% sellers say that they have allocated budgets for influencer marketing.
Offer A Share Worthy Experience
The simplest way to generate word-of-mouth advertising in this digital era is to offer a unique, worthy experience.
If you give consumers something remarkable; they cannot get anywhere else, they will want to share it with their friends and family.
Getting customers excited about your brand require stellar services, a unique identity, a trustworthy reputation, and a prolific community. Above all, put your customers prime and deliver above and beyond what you promise. Surprising clients with all this will ensure they spread the word of your biz all across the realm.
Deesha Bakshi
FAQ’s
What does word of mouth mean in marketing?
Word-of-mouth marketing (WOM marketing) is when a consumer’s interest in a company’s product or service is reflected in their daily dialogues.
Is word of mouth a form of advertising?
Word of mouth is a free form of advertisement or promotion (just one reason it’s so important).
What is word of mouth marketing examples?
Netflix, for example, used word-of-mouth marketing to make binge-watching popular with its organic tagline Netflix and chill. The company promoted it on social media which became a huge success.
How does word of mouth help businesses?
Word of mouth has always been an important tool for small businesses because when someone speaks positively about what you sell, it helps build the buyer’s confidence and trust that their purchase won’t be a mistake.
Conclusion
Word-of-mouth marketing can be promoted through various advertising activities set up by businesses to encourage customer-to-customer and customer-to-seller relations. Also referred to as WOM or word-of-mouth advertising, WOM marketing involves buzz, viral, blog, emotional, and social media marketing.
