Referrals and reputation don’t come from advertising, they come from the jaws of citizens who have already visited you and your organization. Referrals and a (good) reputation come utterance of oral cavity.
How is Word of Mouth triggered? It’s when a customer experiences something far better thab what was expected. Meeting or slightly exceeding their expectations won’t do it.
Don’t count on your people to generate word-of mouth through “incredible custumer service”. Good service is expected and bad service is what we tell others about. Customer service is also very subjective and difficult to measure. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very important to keep your current clientel and generates positive feedback. Due to the fact that good service is expected, it rarely translates into new sales by triggering word-of-mouth.
YOUR talk is cheap, it’s a physical experience that best pulls the trigger. These are non-verbal statements coming from your structural design (Architectural), from the experience the customer has with your staff or your product (Kinetic), or can simply be generous in nature.
“Your word-of-mouth trigger can be architectural, kinetic, or generous.
1. Architectural: This can be product design, store
design, fantasy décor, etc. The piano store that looks like a huge piano, with
black and white keys forming the long awning over the long front porch. The
erupting volcano outside the Mirage in Las Vegas. A glass-bottom floor that
allows customers to see what's happening far below them. Do you remember when McDonalds began building playgrounds attached to all their restaurants? It
worked like magic for 20 years.
2. Kinetic: Activity. Motion. "Performance" by every
definition of the word. The tossing of fresh fish from one employee to another
at Pike Place Market in Seattle, (the inspiration for FISH!, that bestselling
book and training film.) The magical, twirling knives of the tableside chefs at
Benihana. Kissing the codfish when you get "screeched in" at any pub in
Newfoundland. (A screech-in is a loud and funny ceremony where
non-Newfoundlanders down a shot of cheap rum, repeat some phrases in the local
dialect, and kiss a codfish. Everyone who visits that wonderful island returns
home with a story of being "screeched in.") While it may at first seem like a
staff-driven, kinetic word-of-mouth trigger is a violation of number 2 above,
"Don't depend on your staff," it's really not. A staff-driven kinetic
word-of-mouth trigger is constantly observable by management. It isn't a
"customer service" experience delivered privately, one on one. Extraordinary
product performance is another kind of kinetic trigger. If a laundry detergent
dramatically outperformed all others, its performance would likely become a
kinetic word-of-mouth trigger. But remember, slightly exceeding customer
expectations is usually not enough.
3. Generous: Extremely large portions in a diner.
Oversized seats on an airplane. Are you willing to become known as the
restaurant that allows its guests to select - at no charge – their choice of
desserts from an expensive dessert menu? You can easily cover the hard cost of
it in the prices of your entrees and drinks. Flour, butter and sugar are cheap
advertising. Are you the jewelry store that's willing to become known for
replacing watch batteries at no charge, even when the customer hasn't purchased
anything and didn't buy the watch from your store? Word will spread. And
batteries cost less than advertising. Why sell them for a few lousy dollars when
they're worth so much more as a word-of-mouth trigger?Architectural, kinetic,
generous: these are the flour, butter, and sugar of effective word-of-mouth.
What can you make from these ingredients? Will you put their rich taste into the
mouths of your potential word-of-mouth ambassadors? Or will you make ambiguous claims in your ads and hope that people are willing to believe them?” (Roy H. Williams)
Make your word-of-mouth plan a part of your advertising budget, but don’t talk about it in your ads. Allow your customer evangelists to tell their friends about the experience.
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