Each week as Smallbizlady, I conduct interviews with small business experts on my weekly Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. This is excerpted from our #SmallBizChatinterview with Dori DeCarlo@Dori_WordofMom. Dori is MOMpreneur CEO of S1-Safety First & host of Word of Mom on BlogTalkRadio & MomTV. Empowering others is a passion for Dori as she shares the lessons she has learned with business owners as a coach, mentor and strategic partner. http://www.S1Bags.com
*Note: This week’s interview was led by #Smallbizchat co-host Tai Goodwin.*
Tai Goodwin: What is Word of Mouth Marketing?
Dori DeCarlo: Word of mouth marketing is unpaid advertising for you and your company or service. When others share you and what you do you have gleaned the most influential marketing available. People will always trust the word of someone they know over paid advertising every time. We trust what we know and we trust those we know.An endorsement from a reliable resource will always impact on a larger scale than what a company creates.
Tai Goodwin: What’s the difference between Organic and Amplified WOM marketing?
Dori DeCarlo: Organic WOM is marketing that grows naturally from others sharing who you are and what you do. This happens without any encouragement or direction by you; it’s an organic response to others spreading the word about how pleased they are with the quality of your products or services.
Amplified WOM marketing is more controlled. Using twitter as an example it is asking a group of trusted contacts to RT information about you in what takes on the look of the organic WOM marketing we hope naturally generates. Both forums carry significant impact as it enables your WOM to go viral. The more people talk about you and what you do the more others will want to know about your products and services.
Tai Goodwin: What are the different types of word of mouth marketing?
Dori DeCarlo: Person to person, group to group, network to network, colleague to colleague, affiliate to affiliate and so on. There are so many different WOM marketing venues, especially in the age of Social Media. One friend talking to another has now expanded where one person can communicate with all their friends at once. This makes WOM more impactful than just the one-on-one communication of old. Hundreds of people can find out about your company in an instant. We trust who we know and nothing carries more weight than the opinion of a satisfied customer. People love to share, no matter what they purchase and you want to encourage that WOM marketing.
Tai Goodwin: Why is mouth marketing important?
Dori DeCarlo: Word of mouth is everything when it comes to building your business and branding yourself as an expert in your field. Marketing use to consist of print, TV, radio and word of mouth and of all four- word of mouth has always carried the most power. People will rely more on what they have heard from others than what the marketing and advertising companies spin. We trust who we know so word of mouth will always outweigh traditional advertising. What better advertising can you get then someone telling others have you tried this, or seen that, or used this product — I have and I can’t recommend it more highly to you. We ask others if they’ve ever tried X,Y,Z and when they have a positive response it paves the way for new sales.
Tai Goodwin: If your customers and clients are the best vehicle for word of mouth marketing, how do you get them to talk about you?
Dori DeCarlo: They’re using your products or services; ask for their opinion and genuinely listen to their feedback. Whether one-on-one, at a company sponsored event, or creating an online forum for selected customers and clients – give influencers a place to share their opinion and feedback. This shows them you value them and demonstrates that you respect them as an important part of your business. Customer service will always be king and looking to your clients and customers for their opinion reinforces their confidence that they matter to you. Remember — it really is all about them — they have to want what you have and not only come back again — but more importantly — share with others.
Tai Goodwin: How has social media changed the face of word of mouth marketing?
Dori DeCarlo: Well, here we are on the #SmallBizChat — this is an online conversation reaching people one-on-one in an instant forum. We no longer need to give someone a call to share things with them. We text, IM, Skype, Tweet and post information instantly now. You want to be sure that this online buzz generates nothing but a strong and positive spotlight on you, your company and your products and services. The instant accessibility now available to people gives them the power to make or break any business in today’s world. It is critical that the consumer feels compelled to want to tell others about how well they were treated, how satisfied they are with your products, how the service you provide is of value to others and it all happens in an instant.
Tai Goodwin: How can businesses use word of mouth marketing to establish their brand online?
Dori DeCarlo: As an online company, the most important thing you can give a client is customer service. Once they have purchased your product or service it is imperative that they feel you are accessible should they have questions or concerns. Personally answering calls and emails gives your customers confidence that you care about your company and stand by it after the purchase has been made. This hands-on approach will foster positive word of mouth being generated about you and your company.
Tai Goodwin: We hear about people buying likes and followers — what are some practices to avoid when trying to create WOM marketing?
Dori DeCarlo: When trying to create WOM marketing you want to avoid sounding like and advertisement rather than an endorsement. I am not a fan of the tools that are out there to pad your followers and get others to like you and your pages. It is so important that everyone you connect with gain value from you and visa-versa. For me, again using twitter, I check everyone following me before I follow back. I want to be sure that I am aligned with people that I feel comfortable sharing and have sharing me. Just sending RT’s to groups of people may increase your numbers but not your influence. I’ve said it before — don’t forget the social in social media. Honest interaction creates honest feedback and genuine WOM support.
Tai Goodwin: What are some tactics or tools small business owners can use to empower their customers to share their experiences?
Dori DeCarlo: Follow-up is key for learning and sharing customer experiences. Don’t be afraid to ask for an honest opinion from your clients. Who better to tell you if your products or services are making a difference then those using them? Having a comment page on your site is a great place to gather information. Nothing is more gratifying than having someone telling you they love your product or service.
Using a poll is another way to gather information. My son came up with a new tag line for my company. Wanting to know what others thought, I put up a poll on a networking site. I was amazed at the amount of responses supporting his new line. It was a great way to interact with clients, generate buzz and gain honest feedback. Plus asking what others think is a great way to involve and engage them in your business. This engagement naturally encourages word of mouth because you’re asking and they are telling!
Tai Goodwin: Where should small business owners look to find out what customers are saying about them?
Dori DeCarlo: On line is a great place to look and see what is being said about you. It is also a way to measure the buzz that you are generating. If others are responding to your questions, tweets and polls you know that you are reaching your target audience. Again, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback from your customers. Send them an email asking how the product or service is working for them. Ask about their needs and respond to them. Often you see a company expanding their product line or service. More often than not, this is in response to customer’s needs.
Tai Goodwin: How do you handle negative word of mouth?
Dori DeCarlo: No matter how good your product or service is, chances are, someone won’t be happy. When someone is not satisfied, find out what you can do to change their opinion. It is worth taking the time to find out the problem and fixing it. This honest feedback will keep the same problem from reoccurring. It also shows that you value the opinion of your clients and actually listen to their concerns. Nothing is worse than not being satisfied with something and feeling that they have your money and don’t care about anything else. Customer service, especially for an unhappy client, is the most effective way to turn a negative to a positive. When you value the unhappy client and do all you can to please them that WOM has an amazing impact.
Tai Goodwin: What do you need to remember when creating word of mouth buzz?
Dori DeCarlo: We can, to some degree, control how we are seen when being shared by others. Engaging our contacts online by asking questions about them and what is going on in their world opens us up to them wanting to know about us. People naturally want to share others and when you engage in honest conversation you give a human face to your business. I am continuously amazed at the relationships that I have in my life that started 140 characters at a time! When you develop a connection and honestly give of yourself in your communications, you open doors that can lead to places you never dreamed of.
Remember that social media is just that — social. To really create relationship marketing you genuinely have to be interested in the other person. The online connection can’t just be you waiting for a space to talk about you and your products. Nothing is more off-putting than connecting with someone online and having them immediately sending you a link to their company or product line. Never make this mistake. Create the connection, cultivate the relationship and be sure to ask about them and what they do. Take a genuine interest in them as an individual, not as a means to further your business and you will gain a powerful friend and a connection that will happily share you when you need them. This is what makes social media the most powerful word of mouth forum — it has a world-wide reach and an instant audience.
If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s a link for how to participate in #Smallbizchat http://bit.ly/S797e.
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That was a great interview, very insightful. The importance of social marketing and word-of-mouth techniques is growing exponentially. It has been shown to be more cost effective to spend money using social marketing including engaging with consumers and using video hosting services. There is a company gaining attention deploying many forms of alternative marketing including social, viral, word-of-mouth, blogging and engaging in conversations online. Clients have raved about dramatic results and an excellent ROI. MagicBuz have coined themselves as the first ‘SocioViral’ marketing company. It sounds like an interesting and unique approach.
Good stuff Tai – thanks for sharing. Regarding word of mouth, when you have your customers giving a good review or sharing the product with someone else, it sells itself. My business uses OpinionAmp as a proactive way to use real customer reviews to market our product online. Once you put the advertising in the hands of your clients, they’ll sell the product for you. You can’t beat online positive reviews – no better advertising than a happy client!