Book Summary: Secrets Of Word-Of-Mouth MarketingWritten by Regine P. Azurin
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your product or service is (plus 3) to “talk of town” level (plus 4). 13. Examples of those who have reached plus 4 level of word-of-mouth marketing are: 14. Lexus Automobiles, Saturn Car Company, Harley-Davidson, Netscape Navigator, Celestial seasonings herbal tea, The Internet, and Apple Computer 15. Some ways of harnessing word of mouth are by using experts like customers, suppliers, salespeople, experts’ roundtable discussions and selling groups. Take advantage of seminars, workshops, and speaking engagements, dinner meetings, teleconferenced panel discussions, and trade shows. “Canned” Word of Mouth consists of putting out videotapes, audiotapes, using a well-designed website, or distributing CDs. There are also ways such as referral selling programs, testimonials, and networking methods, hotlines (1-800 numbers) and e-mail. 16. Using traditional media for Word of Mouth means using customer service as a word-of-mouth engine, public relations, placements, unusual events, promotions, word of mouth in ads, sales brochures, or direct mail, salesperson programs, sales stars, peer training, or using salespeople as word-of-mouth generators, word-of-mouth incentive programs (“Tell-a-friend” programs), useful gifts to customers (articles, how-to manuals) that they can give their friends. 17. Employees should be actively spreading word of mouth about your products. Spread stories around about examples of superior customer service. Give people a common mission and make rewards dependent on accomplishment of that mission. 18. Word of mouth accelerates process of customer decision-making, from deciding to decide, asking for information, weighing options, evaluating a free trial, and then finally becoming a customer and advocate. 19. With customer-oriented service, your company can increase sales via word of mouth.Specific steps in creating a word of mouth campaign: 1. Find some way to get product into hands of key influencers. 2. Provide a channel for influencers to talk and get all fired up about your product. 3. Gather testimonials and endorsements, like actual letters of praise. 4. Form an ongoing group that meets once a year in a resort but once a month by teleconference or daily by list group 5. Create fun events to bring users together and invite non-users. Saturn, Harley-Davidson, and Lexus have been successful with this approach. 6. Produce cassettes, videotapes, and clips on your Web site featuring enthusiastic customers talking with other enthusiastic customers. Custom-create some CDs for each potential customer. 7. Conduct seminars and workshops 8. Create a club with membership benefits 9. Pass out flyers. Tell friends. Offer special incentives and discounts for friends who tell their friends. 10. Use Internet! 11. Do at least one outrageous thing to generate word of mouth. 12. Empower employees to go extra mile. 13. Network and brainstorm for ideas 14. Run special sales 15. Script! Tell people exactly what to say in their word of mouth communication. By: Regine P. Azurin and Yvette Pantilla http://www.bizsum.com "A Lot Of Great Books....Too Little Time To Read" Free Book Summaries Of Latest Bestsellers for Busy Executives and Entrepreneurs Mailto:freearticle@bizsum.com BusinessSummaries is a BusinessSummaries.com service. (c) Copyright 2001-2002, BusinessSummaries.com - Wisdom In A Nutshell
Regine is President of BusinessSummaries
| | Articles That SellWritten by Bonnie Jo Davis
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Third, compile a list of article archives that accept contributions in your topic area, such as http://www.articles911.com/, http://www.expertarticles.com/, http://www.ezinearticles.com/, and http://makingprofit.com/mp/articles/submit.shtml. Fourth, explore both on-line and offline e-zines and newsletters. There are several directories to help you target those to which your article is relevant, including http://www.ezine-dir.com/, http://www.ezinesearch.com/search-it/ezine/, and http://www.ezinelocater.com/. And lastly, consider performing another web search, this time for your specific topic (e.g., "employee retention"). I would even recommend taking it a step further by utilizing search phrase "employee retention articles," for example, to generate a list of web pages that are compilations of links to articles similar to your own. This is a terrific way to be "found" by individuals actively researching your topic. It is imperative that you review editorial and formatting guidelines for each site and customize your article accordingly. Most web sites that accept contributions include a page with submission information and requirements, or provide editor's email address so that he or she may be contacted directly with questions. If your article is accepted, it may take up to three months for it to "go live." Some web sites do not acknowledge receipt of your submission and may even publish it without notifying you. It is important, therefore, that you create a log to record, follow-up, and track your submissions. Consider adding a page to your web site that lists where your work has been "featured," and update it each time an article is published or reprinted. As mentioned in opening of this article, on-line promotion is a continuous process. To keep momentum going, it is recommended that you develop new articles as often as time allows and repeat submission process at least once each quarter. Be sure to create a "Bookmark" (Netscape) or "Favorite" (Internet Explorer) file for web sites you identify, giving yourself a "head start" when writing on similar topics in future. While submitting articles can be a tedious and time-consuming endeavor, free publicity and client leads it generates make it well worth effort. And if publishers value you as a consistent source of high-quality content, you may even be invited to serve as a columnist or regular contributor. Doing so will keep you in regular contact with people with whom you wish to do business - enabling you to position yourself as a problem solver, a strategic partner and, most importantly, permit you to remain "top" in minds of your potential and existing clients."
Bonnie Jo Davis is the author of the new special report "Articles That Sell: Use The Best Kept Secret Of The Internet To Promote Your Business For FREE!". To learn more about Bonnie and her favorite free marketing tactic visit http://www.articlesthatsell.com/. (c) 2002, Davis Virtual Assistance. All rights reserved.
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