 Public Relations Best
Practices
W.O.M.derful!
By Michelle Bauer
Published: June / July 2008
Word of mouth (WOM) is the new darling of marketing and
public relations professionals – and with good reason.
Word of mouth discussion of a company’s products or
services can play a key role in making or breaking a
business. It can help a good marketing and PR program
catch fire without any additional cost. One of the nice
things for small companies with limited marketing
budgets is that they can leverage word of mouth really
well and build a loyal following for little money. With
a little planning, you can develop a strategy for
helping your best customers share their love for your
company and recognize the value of their feedback and
support.
Here are five tips to help your fan base spread the good
word to family and friends:
1. Just ask!
An easy and obvious way to
get started is to ask your best customers to tell their
friends and colleagues about your company. Make it a
habit. Regularly invite your customers to participate in
meaningful conversations that demonstrate how much you
value their feedback and suggestions. Ask them specific
questions. The more specific you are, the better their
responses will be. If your product or service helped
them achieve a goal, for example, ask them to share
their success story.
2. Share what you’ve learned with all of your
customers.
Pass along the testimonials and success stories to all
of your customers, and recognize the contributions of
your respondents. Step up the viral marketing power of
your fans’ desires to share recommendations about your
business by directing them to social networking and
review sites.
3. Invite customers to submit videos depicting them
talking about your company or using your products or
services.
Millions of people are making videos and uploading them
on YouTube. Visual media and mobile messaging are
exploding. Why not take advantage of these low cost and
fun opportunities to get your customers on camera and
talking about how much they enjoy your food, how much
fun they had at your establishment, or how your service
has improved their lives? It’s hard to put a price tag
on the value of testimonials that capture real people
sharing their unscripted passion for your business.
Getting those videos is easy and can be accomplished
several ways. The first is to create a simple little
campaign asking your customers to submit video files
showing them enjoying or sharing their appreciation for
your product or service. You could turn it into a
contest and double the fun factor by awarding prizes and
other rewards.
Another way is to have an event with your customers
where everyone is having a great time mingling and
connecting with other people in your fan base. Stop in
front of some happy people periodically and ask them if
they’d offer a testimonial. One of my favorite new
devices is the new little Flip camera. It costs about
$149 online and has a USB port on it for uploading
images easily to a computer. If you’ve got a nice little
budget, you might even consider sending your best
customers a Flip camera with your own branded “skin” and
a personalized message. Ask the gift recipients if they
would film a testimonial for you and send it along via
email or upload it onto a specially created YouTube
channel. Provide them with instructions on how to use
the camera as well.
4. Host forums or events to help your best customers
connect.
Customer events can be ultra
simple or truly elaborate affairs costing a great deal
of money. My objective with this suggestion is not to
have you launch a major events initiative if it is not
central to your business strategy. What I’m suggesting
is that you host small events that allow your best
customers to engage with you and each other, share ideas
and suggestions, and make them feel like they are part
of a community. In doing so, you turn customers into
advocates who feel like they have a role to play in the
future success of your enterprise.
5. Return the love.
If you have managed to turn
a customer base into a fiercely loyal and enthusiastic
group of advocates, you’ve probably succeeded in making
them feel like they are part of a special tribe. If you
think about organizations that have enjoyed great word
of mouth success with little money invested in
advertising or marketing – Wikipedia comes to mind –
they’ve been successful because they created tight
communities among their customers, users, etc.
Give your customers credit whenever possible. Highlight
them on web sites, promotional materials, or in
newsletters. Let them speak for you as often as
possible.
That’s what great word of mouth is all about.
Michelle Bauer is the CEO
and President of
Common Language, a
strategic communications and public relations firm in
St. Petersburg. Contact her at
michelle@common-language.com.
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