To network or not to network?

Is this even a question anymore?

“ Over 90% of the consumers site Word of Mouth” as their most influential source of information when buying products & service”. You get the picture.

So far, no new news. But think about this: how do you generate word of mouth? How do we know which voices will bring credibility to our product/service and which ones will not?

Like with any marketing tactic, word of mouth should be well though and planned for in advance. In the end, no surprise is the best surprise in marketing.

Here are a couple of key things you should think about when planning for your word of mouth activities:

• A happy customer tells 5 friends about her experience; an angry customer tells 500 people about her experience.

Learning: strive to keep all your customers happy if you want to succeed.

• People who have had a positive experience with your product are your best messengers.

Learning: don’t settle for the low hanging fruit when it comes to choosing the voices who talk about your product/service – go with the best: your happy customers.

• Good news travels extraordinarily fast.

Learning: go the extra mile with your clients, make them extra-happy first and then reward them again for telling their story (about your product/service) to their friends. Don’t try this the other way round!

• If you are thinking that paying people to talk about your business is a good idea, consider this: for each 100 people who get paid to generate word of mouth for you, there is only 1 credible voice.

Learning: don’t waste your money on paid “positive opinions” – go for the real ones.

• Fish where the fishes are.

Learning: when you spread the word, make sure that the word gets to your potential customers.

• Any good news needs a media to travel.

Learning: when you receive great feedback from your customers, ask them to allow you to share their testimonial with other potential customers.

• Less is more.

Learning: it is not how many voices talk about your product, but how credible they are and who’s listening to them.

How are you planning for your word of mouth marketing?