Up Close and Personal with WOMM
Word of mouth marketing (WOMM) is fast emerging as a popular trend among marketers. But the fact is that WOMM is one of the earliest marketing techniques known to man. When mass media became popular, marketers diverted their attention on exploiting the potential of direct advertising. Direct advertising was an instant hit as it was able to garner the attention of a larger audience. As a result, the power of WOMM as a successful lead generation software technique was soon forgotten.
What is Word of Mouth Marketing?
WOMM is nothing but recommendation from a satisfied customer to a prospective customer about a product or service. What makes WOMM unique is the fact that unlike advertising, it is not at all a paid campaign. Moreover, communication takes place at a personal level, thus bringing in more credibility and trust. However, WOMM is not a substitute for any other marketing technique. The most effective way to increase sales with WOMM is to use it for initial marketing and when sufficient buzz has been created, replace it with other forms of marketing.
The Great Differentiator – The Power of Trust
WOMM revolutionized the marketing world as it brought back the most essential factor that was found missing in most of the current marketing automation software techniques: Trust. This is the fundamental factor that helps WOMM influence buyers’ decisions greatly.
Today prospects are knowledgeable and have access to a wealth of information through the internet. Hence, it is not an easy task for marketers to convince them to buy a product or service. And this is where WOMM scores the point. In WOMM, recommendations are made not by marketers or sales personnel, but by common people who have tried and liked a product or service. Hence they are more likely to be trusted.
WOMM Best Practices
Today WOMM is believed to be an effective marketing strategy and marketers are trying to make the most of it. However, they have to be very careful when creating word of mouth for products or services, as there are several rules that shouldn’t be broken:
- Avoid Over-Promising
Never over-promise if you can’t keep it, since over-promising and under-delivering never go down well with customers.
- Never Adopt a Promotional Tone
Never promote your business in WOMM, as it would defeat the very purpose of this technique.
- Never Make Controversial Statements
Avoid making any statements that hurt sentiments and trigger negative reaction.
- Never Betray Trust
WOMM is all about trust. Therefore, avoid doing things that betray trust.
WOMM has been a trusted method in the past, and will continue to be so in future. There is no doubt that it is an effective lead generation technique that would go on to play a crucial role in lead management process.
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