The term "organic marketing" has almost completely disappeared from the marketing ecology. The main driver behind it is the expansion of social media platforms and their impact on billions of users worldwide. As a brand today, you would need to invest in marketing if you wanted to draw in customers. It has become nearly impossible to engage your audience naturally and invite them to your brand. The sole, and most powerful, method of naturally attracting and interacting with your audience is word-of-mouth marketing.
What is Word-of-Mouth marketing?
Word-of-mouth marketing is free advertising in which consumers of a brand are urged to tell others about their positive experiences with its goods or services. Users share their experience with a brand as a result of their interactions with it. It is the most trustworthy and credible type of marketing because it is based on actual customer experiences. Simply said, it is the skill of purposefully persuading a business's audience to naturally propagate favorable talks about the brand to other people.
Importance of Word-of-Mouth Marketing:
This is mostly because they originate from sources we already trust, such as friends and family, and because user-generated material may create a buzz, making them more valuable and trustworthy.
Having positive word-of-mouth about a brand is crucial for its success. When making a purchase, especially one online, people frequently rely on the opinions of others. You may get a sense of the effect that word-of-mouth marketing has on people by looking at these statistics. According to Ogilvy Cannes Study, More than 70% of consumers claim that word-of-mouth influences their purchasing decisions. And from the Nielsen 92 percent of consumers prefer referrals from their family and friends than paid advertisements.
Benefits of Word-of-mouth Advertising:
We have outlined a few advantages of word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing to help you concentrate on it.
Creates Trust:
Every day, advertisements bombard people in an excessive amount. There seem to be marketing initiatives or advertisements lurking around every corner, ready to ambush us. We constantly see commercials for a company's goods from sources like Browsers, Applications, TV shows, Social Media Websites, Billboards, Streaming Media Platforms, Storefronts, etc. People want to buy things from reputable companies, but they could be wary of expert advertisements since they never seem to end. Instead, they like taking into account recommendations and reviews from other recent clients or even brand advocates. Customers are more confident in their choice to buy when a product has a proven track record of dependability. Trust and this comfort are mutually exclusive. And trust sells.
Low-cost method:
While the price of print or web marketing campaigns could reach the thousands or even millions, word-of-mouth advertising is a relatively cheap tactic. A customer has nothing to lose by sharing their appreciation of a product. Because of this, word-of-mouth advertising is the ultimate grail of marketing. It's a present that keeps on giving, and it comes at little or no expense to the business. One discussion that is widely used can dramatically increase a company's popularity, boost its credibility, and spread like wildfire within its target audience and demography.
Builds a community:
A dedicated clientele is built through word-of-mouth advertising. Customers won't just buy a thing and then ignore it with this type of marketing. Instead, they will interact with your company and spread the word about their positive experiences. You'll have a following of admirers who stick with you if you have clients who can attest to the quality of your products. Customers that are loyal to you are more inclined to come back to you and not your rival for future purchases. Additionally, they'll talk about your company, influencing the choices and judgments of other consumers. You'll get better returns from your marketing efforts if you keep your regular customers.
How to build Word of Mouth Marketing Plan:
As we've discussed, word-of-mouth advertising is a powerful and affordable tool for boosting sales. There are a few tactics you may take to use word-of-mouth marketing to develop your brand and increase sales:
1. Emphasize Your USP:
Every time a novel or intriguing product enters the market, as we have all observed, people become interested in it and begin talking about it, researching it, checking for updates, and more.Similar to this, each hot topic becomes a talking point since people want to converse and exchange ideas.
By emphasizing or marketing your brand's or product's unique selling proposition, you can take advantage of this. When clients interact with your brand, they will become aware of your USP.They will be stimulated and inspired to talk about it or share it with their friends and peers.
2. Construct captivating "viral" campaigns:
The idea of viral marketing is fictitious; you cannot design a campaign with the expectation that it would be shared widely. But you may increase the likelihood that your campaign will go viral by incorporating aspects and hot subjects into it. People are always chatting about something funny, thrilling, popular, or important in person or on their social media sites, which generates a tonne of WOM Content.
Always incorporate these popular subjects while developing a marketing strategy or even just casually on your social media sites. These will aid in your exposure to the public and their priceless engagement, in addition to the effective word-of-mouth advertising.
3. Sentimental Storytelling:
Customers spread the word and engage in conversation about advertisements that speak to their emotions. Create advertising strategies that emotionally connect with the audience and convey a story. The easiest way to spread good word of mouth and increase exposure and engagement is through social media.
4. Promote and Encourage User-Generated Content:
WOM marketing has a new name: user generated content. Since the advent of digital media, user-generated content has grown in importance.
The more favorable user-generated material you have on your online store or social networking pages. The more likely users will engage with your content and convert.
Encourage people to contribute their thoughts, opinions, and experiences on social media as part of your WOM campaign, and have them tag the company using hashtags or profiles.
Using a platform like Tag shop, which provides shoppable user-generated content galleries and customer review feeds that brands can display on their websites to foster trust, demonstrate authenticity, and successfully encourage more purchases, you may promote your word-of-mouth marketing efforts.
Examples Of Successful WOM Marketing Campaigns:
Many businesses employ word-of-mouth marketing techniques to attract customers and increase sales. Several "big name" instances are:
1. Toms Shoes
By emphasising their dedication to charity, Toms generated interest in their products. The fact that they donate shoes after each purchase makes them stand out from other companies. Toms generated a lot of media attention for their cause and became a popular product with a message that was worth sharing.
2. Coca-Cola
By writing well-known and everyday names on their bottles, Coca-"Share Cola's a Coke" campaign generated attention. Through this campaign, customers received a special experience and were encouraged to interact with the business in a different way than usual. For customers to share their images online, there was even a hashtag.
3. Reebok CrossFit Shoes
Reebok created this line with the specific message, "Buy these shoes and challenge yourself to improve your performance," to the audience in the carved-out niche market, i.e., athletes. The comments from the athletes who wore the shoes during events was inspiring and helped the brand increase sales through word-of-mouth.
4. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
The 2014 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was one of the most well-known word-of-mouth marketing efforts. It was a fundraising effort disguised as a challenge that asked participants to fill a bucket with ice-cold water. Participants had to record the event in photos and videos and post them on social media. They were also invited to suggest friends and family members who should take part in the event. With the help of word-of-mouth marketing, this campaign became so well-known that even celebrities took part in it and nominated their friends. Through this challenge, the group was able to generate $115 million in funding over the course of eight weeks.
5. Netflix
Netflix has started recommending shows to its users and has also begun developing new series that they may watch with great interest by keeping track of viewer interest and learning what they love to watch and what holds their attention for a long time. By developing a Netflix original series that appealed to the emotions of its viewers and promoting it with the aid of its influencers, it identified and made use of the phrase "Binge Watching."Netflix leveraged user reviews posted on social media to spark interest in other shows. Additionally, it attracted new clients and expanded internationally by showcasing the enthusiasm of its viewers for the impending season.
The experiences and intents of the consumers ultimately determine how well your WOM marketing strategy performs. Therefore, your aim should be to satisfy customers' wants and requirements while providing an exceptional customer experience across the widest possible range of touchpoints. When customers accept credibility and accountability for a company's goods and services, that company becomes a BRAND. The magic of word-of-mouth marketing happens at that point. If you take a consumer-focused strategy, your customers will help you create your brand.
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