What is word of mouth recommendation

Read More

• by Shopify Staff

• Marketing

• Nov 9, 2022
• 2 minute read

Word of mouth marketing is a tactic used to generate natural discussions about and recommendations for a product or company. Essentially, getting people to talk about your brand, product, or business.

Everyone wants people talking about their products because those conversations are what drive business—often more than any other marketing effort.

Creating word of mouth

Given how valuable such conversations are, what can a small business do to get more to happen naturally? Here are a few tactics that work:

• Show your current customers how much you appreciate them, with a small gift that fits your brand or product
• Develop an interesting story about your company or products, why it was started, why you believe in what you do—something that others will want to retell
• Create shareable content that is useful or funny or controversial
• Create incentives for your customers to share information or special deals with their friends
• Give new customers who have been referred a little something extra, too
• Schedule special events for your customers and invite them to bring a friend

Building a business worth talking about

Of course, these tactics won’t work unless you’ve created a business that gives people reasons to talk about it. That means building in awe and delight. How can you do that? Here are some ideas:

• Remember names: The more you can make each customer feel special and valued, the more likely they will be to tell others about their experience.
• Give more than expected: That might mean throwing in a little freebie with every purchase, upgrading a level of service “just because,” or sending over a free dessert or amuse bouche to every lunch patron. Good surprises get people talking.
• Add a special feature inside your store: A water sports store could add a wave pool, a shoe store could offer free frozen yogurt while customers try shoes on, or a bookstore could install a print-on-demand kiosk.
• Include an activity: That could be an in-store workshop or a live demonstration or a trunk show or a celebrity event that customers are invited to. Get customers excited about coming to your store, and wanting to talk about it on social media.

Word of mouth marketing really comes down to delighting prospects and customers and encouraging—or incentivizing—them to attract like-minded customers. 

What Is Word of Mouth Marketing? FAQ

What is meaning of word-of-mouth marketing?

Word-of-mouth marketing is a form of marketing that focuses on getting consumers to talk about and share their positive experiences with a product or service with other people. It is one of the oldest and most effective forms of marketing and is especially powerful when it comes to influencing purchasing decisions.

What is word-of-mouth marketing examples?

• Referral Programs: Referral programs are one of the most popular forms of word-of-mouth marketing. They involve incentivizing customers to refer their friends, family, and acquaintances to your business in exchange for rewards.
• Social Media: Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can be used to spread the word about your brand and products. Encouraging customers to share their experiences and reviews on these platforms can be a powerful way to generate word-of-mouth marketing.
• Influencer Marketing: Influencers are individuals who have a large following on social media platforms. You can work with them to promote your products or services to their followers.
• Customer Testimonials: Customer testimonials are a great way to generate word-of-mouth marketing. They are usually shared on your website, social media pages, and other online platforms to spread the word about your business.
• Events and Networking: Events such as trade shows, conferences, and networking sessions are a great way to meet potential customers and spread the word about your business.

Is Word of Mouth considered marketing?

Yes, word of mouth can be considered a form of marketing. Word of mouth refers to informal communication between individuals about products, services, or companies. It is an effective and powerful form of marketing and can have a great impact on the success of a business.

Why word of mouth is the best advertising?

Word of mouth is the best advertising because it is highly trusted. People are more likely to believe and take action on recommendations from people they know and trust, rather than from a business or advertisement. Additionally, word of mouth is extremely cost-effective, as it does not require a lot of money for advertising and promotion. Finally, it is one of the most powerful forms of advertising, as it can reach a much larger audience than any other form of advertising.

Join 446,005 entrepreneurs who already have a head start.

Get free online marketing tips and resources delivered directly to your inbox.

No charge. Unsubscribe anytime.

Looking for new ways to grow your customer base? Don’t forget about wowing the customers you already have, to generate word-of-mouth marketing.  Think of the last time you recommended your favorite restaurant, clothing item, or other product to a friend. You probably shared because you loved your experience. The same goes for your company – when customers are wowed by your business, they naturally want to spread the good word.

This excitement to share is what drives word-of-mouth marketing (also called WOM marketing, WOMM, or word-of-mouth advertising). And this sharing leads to new customers, because the people who hear your customers’ word of mouth highly trust the word of their peers. So, word-of-mouth marketing could be your secret weapon for growth – especially because it often happens for free.

Athough word-of-mouth marketing depends on your customers and fans, it’s not out of your control. There are many ways to further your word-of-mouth marketing strategy. Below, we cover everything about the power of word of mouth, from what sets word of mouth apart from all other types of marketing to how you can harness word-of-mouth marketing to scale your own business.

What prompts word-of-mouth marketing?

Usually, word of mouth is prompted by an above-and-beyond positive experience someone has had with your brand. Think about the last time you ate an amazing dinner out, or tried a cool new product that easily solved one of your problems. You probably couldn’t help but share this standout experience with your friends.

Why is word-of-mouth marketing so important?

Word-of-mouth marketing stands out because of its high level of trust.

Why do people trust word of mouth?

Usually, word-of-mouth recommendations come from friends, family members, and others within someone’s close circles. When someone sees a friend or family member raving about a particular brand, they’re much more likely to buy. That’s because peer recommendations are seen as especially valuable.

Source

Word-of-mouth marketing benefits

According to a Nielsen report, 92% of people trust word of mouth referrals from those they know, more than they trust all other forms of advertising.

Word-of-mouth marketing means your customers and other fans are essentially doing the marketing for you, at little to no cost to your business! They are promoting straight to their network, usually in person or on social media. This makes word of mouth not only cost-effective, but highly valuable.

Plus, thanks to social media, what someone shares can reach millions in mere seconds. And word of mouth doesn’t just stop after one interaction – one person will tell another, and another, and so on. With every share, repost, or retweet, word-of-mouth marketing carries the potential for exponential growth.

All this happens at a very low cost to your business – often, for free.

Source

Word of mouth statistics: How effective is word-of-mouth marketing?

These word-of-mouth marketing statistics further prove how successful word-of-mouth marketing can be:

• 83% of Americans say that word-of-mouth recommendations from people they know make them more likely to purchase a given product or service.
• According to Nielsen, consumers are 4 times more likely to buy when referred by a friend, so word of mouth produces high conversion rates.
• When it comes to products they have purchased, 74% of people identified word of mouth as a key factor in their purchase decision.
• Marketers rate the quality of leads brought in by word of mouth as a 4.28 out of 5.

Check out more word-of-mouth marketing statistics in the infographic below.

What are the types of word-of-mouth marketing?

Word-of-mouth marketing (word-of-mouth advertising) can be divided into two main types or categories: amplified word of mouth and organic word of mouth.

Amplified word-of-mouth marketing is directly encouraged by your business via a marketing campaign. Within the campaign, businesses will usually use some sort of reward to motivate this word of mouth. Amplified word of mouth strategies are also easy to track, since they are tied to a campaign.

Examples of amplified word of mouth include:

• Referral programs
• Affiliate programs
• Brand ambassador programs
• Influencer marketing campaigns
• Other customer endorsements you encourage with rewards
• Other campaigns and contests to encourage social media sharing

In contrast, organic word-of-mouth marketing occurs when someone recommends your brand naturally and without direct prompting from your business.

It is much harder to motivate and track. But this type of word of mouth isn’t fully out of your control. It is usually triggered by an event experienced by the customer. Whether that’s amazing customer service or a free gift with purchase, triggers set your brand apart from the competition and keep you top of mind. Plus, they make for great talking points and organic word of mouth.

We’ll dive into common ways to trigger word-of-mouth marketing in the next section.

Examples of organic word of mouth include:

• Spontaneous social media sharing (user-generated content)
• Reviews and comments from satisfied customers
• Natural sharing of a product through any type of conversation
• “Dark social” sharing in DMs and private emails, that doesn’t have a tracking tag

6 word-of-mouth marketing strategies for any campaign (+WOMM examples)

With the right word-of-mouth marketing campaign, you can successfully create a steady stream of referrals and repeatable word of mouth for your brand.

Fortunately, there are plenty word-of-mouth channels at your disposal: referral programs, influencer programs, brand ambassador programs, affiliate marketing, and many more. Whichever channel you choose, however, it’s important to develop an overall WOMM strategy to encourage organic sharing.

Here are a few proven WOMM strategies to help get you started, along with some word-of-mouth marketing examples that show the strategies in action.

1. Create triggers for word of mouth

Triggers are little cues that remind your audience about your brand, even without any actual advertising.

Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger gives this example: What immediately comes to mind when someone says peanut butter? Was it jelly? In this case, peanut butter acts almost like an advertisement for jelly.

This is the type of association you want to create for your brand. One famous example is a KFC campaign that ran in Japan in the 1970s. Translated to “Kentucky is Christmas,” it promoted a party barrel of fried chicken as Christmas dinner. The campaign was so successful that until today, many families in Japan order Kentucky Fried Chicken when the holiday season rolls around.

Create your own triggers by finding something your audience sees or does on a regular basis. By associating your brand with these, you increase the likelihood of people remembering and talking about you.

2. Appeal to your audience

Like all marketing strategies, word of mouth works best when it puts its audience first. Think of what digital marketing content would appeal best to your audience – would it be an interactive contest, a behind-the-scenes video, or something else? By continuing to give your audience what it wants, you’re able to add to your social currency and generate word of mouth.

Social currency is all about reputation. People share what they think will make them look good in front of others, because every share puts their reputation on the line. They’ll only “spend” their social currency on your brand, and spread the word about you, if they think it will give their reputation a boost. So, make sure you’ve created something your audience loves, and will think it’s cool to share with others.

Source

3. Provide value to customers

The brands worth talking about are ones that provide value. Whether that means solving a problem with your product or delivering an unparalleled customer experience, a customer that sees value in your brand will both stick with you and share your brand with others.

Providing value is also one of the best ways to gain a customer’s good will. If you can offer value – and in a way that stands out – you may just earn a positive customer review, promote brand loyalty, and maximize your word of mouth.

4. Tap into emotion

Emotional attachments are one of the biggest drivers of word-of-mouth marketing. If people feel strongly about a brand or product, they are not likely to drop it, even if a more logical option comes along.

People respond more to emotions, as well. Whether it’s something happy, sad, funny, or otherwise, they instinctively want to share it with others.

If you can create experiences that result in positive emotions, your word of mouth efforts can go a long way. For instance, think of how Always fought against stereotypes and empowered young women with its #LikeAGirl ads.

And if your brand has a unique personality, this can also stir up emotions. Use your personality for emotional appeal, in a way that stands out from the crowd, and customers won’t be able to stop talking. This works especially well if you’re appealing to humor. Think back to Wendy’s – they went viral thanks to their signature snarky, humorous tweets.

5. Tell your story

Creating a compelling story goes hand in hand with giving audiences what they want, offering value and appealing to emotions. If customers love the “why” behind what you do – your mission and values – and that “why” is packaged in a story that’s moving and easy to tell, customers will share your story with others.

One example is 4Ocean’s story: they pull plastic from the ocean daily to help marine life, and then recycle much of that plastic into bracelets and other products.

6. Create exclusivity

Making people feel like they know secrets or insider information is another recipe for generating sharing. Think of how Starbucks “secret menu” drinks have gone viral on social media, and how In-N-Out Burger got people talking both online and offline with their own “secret menu” items (which were key in driving the brand’s overall success).

Secrets don’t just work for food brands, though. If you share new and exciting products with your most loyal customers first, or create a sale that people can only access with a code you emailed, people will want their friends to get in on the action, too. They’ll tell their friends quickly, meaning more buzz, and more sales, for you.

How do online reviews affect word-of-mouth advertising?

As we’ve outlined above, you can build word-of-mouth advertising in many ways. But one of the best ways is by getting positive customer reviews. A majority 90% of people read reviews before deciding whether or not to visit a business, and 72% will only push through with a purchase after reading positive reviews.

Plus, good reviews help build your brand’s social proof and boost your online reputation – both terrific ways to gain exposure and get even more people talking about you.

Customer reviews also allow you to expand into other channels and platforms. Say, a happy customer writes a review about you on Yelp. That review can then be searched and shared across other channels, as well. You can share some of the best reviews on your own social media accounts, or even post them as testimonials on your own website.

Here’s a step-by-step example of how reviews can play a role in word-of-mouth advertising:

• Winter season is about to start, and Ken and Val are talking about chimney sweeping services.
• Val tells Ken that she needs to hire someone to come to her house some time in the next few weeks.
• Ken shares that he’s also been searching for someone and found a few chimney services with good reviews online (thanks to previous word of mouth). He mentions a few that looked especially promising.
• Val takes a look at a few of the services, and ends up picking one that did an amazing job.
• Val starts telling all her friends, including Ken, and even posts a picture of her cozy fireplace with a newly cleaned chimney (further generating word of mouth!).

How to build word-of-mouth marketing on social media?

Stop collecting and start connecting. This is a key guideline for any strong word-of-mouth marketing strategy these days.

Sure, you can have millions of social media followers. But to effectively use social media platforms to drive word-of-mouth marketing, you have to be active and engaging.

This means providing valuable information, responding to comments and questions, and encouraging and sharing some of your audience’s user-generated content (UGC).

The more connected you are to your followers, the more likely they will become true fans and supporters. And what do true fans usually do? Share your brand with others and increase word of mouth in new markets you may not have been able to reach otherwise.

Social proof and social media: Get others to show, not just tell

People decide what to do based on what they see other people doing. If they hear someone talking about how good your product is, this word of mouth will make them more likely to try the product. But when they see someone using your product in their everyday life, this social proof gives word-of-mouth a bigger boost. And social media shares of your product mean many people see how your product is used, all at once.

Ambassadors’ and influencers’ posts using your product, affiliates’ product reviews on social networks, and UGC images and videos from any customer show off your product and further inspire people to try it for themselves.

How is WOMM different from referral marketing?

Word-of-mouth marketing is all about getting people talking about your brand or business. It looks for the best ways to promote sharing, often through general consumer interest or unique content. WOMM is all about spreading brand awareness to your audience. Depending on the types you choose to focus on, though, you may have difficulty tracking and controlling it.

Referral marketing is a segment of word-of-mouth marketing. It’s common for word of mouth to occur naturally in the process of referring others. But at its core, referral marketing is a proactive way to gain new customers, focused on key targets and specific results.

Referrals occur when someone who uses or knows your brand recommends it to others in their network, usually friends, family members, or colleagues. Since they are sharing your brand with others, they are generating word of mouth. But this recommendation is direct and purposeful, not just casually mentioned.

Combining word of mouth and referral marketing

Most types of marketing use word of mouth in one way or another. Referral marketing is no different. In fact, word of mouth helps companies get new customers all the time – which is the main aim of referral marketing.

Instead of doing a mass shout-out, however, referral marketing allows you to get more personal.

Referral marketing is all about motivating individual customers to share a product or service with others they know, by offering incentives whenever these recommendations bring in first-time customers. In time, this type of marketing works to build customer loyalty and establish long-term relationships, both among existing and newly referred customers.

Referral marketing also allows you to monitor your conversions, engagement, and other metrics.

With a formal referral program, businesses can incentivize customer sharing and organize their entire referral process. The right referral software can also generate automatic referral links and track each step of the process, so you know exactly where referrals are coming from.

Using referral marketing with other word of mouth strategies maximizes brand awareness and increases the odds of  creating a viral sharing effect. By integrating diverse types of word-of-mouth marketing into your overall marketing strategy, you increase the odds of achieving success.

To learn more about referral marketing, check out our referral marketing guide or learn essential referral program tips.

Other related word-of-mouth marketing terms

As a major business strategy, WOMM can be seen alongside many other marketing concepts. Here are a few common ones you may come across:

• Buzz marketing: This involves getting key ambassadors or influencers to spread the conversation about your brand. It’s focused on building viral growth around certain products or campaigns, usually using attention-grabbing techniques (i.e., videos, memes) and generating online buzz.
• Viral marketing: This type of marketing relies on one’s existing network to spread information from person to person in a rapid manner. This often occurs online or using social media, with content so compelling that people can’t help but send it with others.
• Blog marketing: When used for word of mouth, blog marketing involves blog posts that an influencer or brand ambassador creates. With a few strategic ads or sponsored posts, bloggers create content that quickly travels to their followers, who in turn, share it with their friends. By recruiting the right bloggers, a business can generate fair amount of word of mouth through their content marketing.
• Social media marketing:  Thanks to hashtags and rapid shares, the content created on social media has a way of reaching people outside of the original group following. And as we’ve seen, shared content has a higher value when it comes from someone people know and trust.

Wrapping up

Don’t sleep on word-of-mouth marketing, because recommendations and referrals are powerful. People trust the word of their family and friends. This makes them more likely to purchase from you when their peers recommend your products.

The best way to use this to your advantage is to leverage multiple types of word-of-mouth marketing, including by encouraging user-generated content, asking for reviews, and starting a referral program.

No matter which marketing tactics you use to generate buzz, it’s key to apply the fundamental word-of-mouth strategies: creating sharing triggers, appealing to your fan base, offering value, and stirring up an emotional response.

Ready to generate word of mouth in a way that’s easy to measure? Check out our complete guide to starting a referral program. 

Have you heard the term «teleconferenced peer influence groups»? If not, you’re not alone. You probably know it by its more common moniker: “word-of-mouth marketing” (WOMM).

The term “Teleconferenced peer influence groups” was originally coined by psychologist George Silverman in the 1970s, after using focus groups to discuss different pharmaceutical products.

His observations indicate the basic tenets behind how word of mouth works: «One or two physicians who were having good experiences with a drug would sway an entire group of skeptics. They would even sway a dissatisfied group of ex-prescribers who had had negative experiences!” (Source: thefreelibrary)

Now, 50 years later, this approach has grown into a widely used marketing tactic — with the data to prove it: 74% of consumers identify word of mouth as a critical part of their purchasing decision. And a whopping 92% of consumers say they trust recommendations from friends.

So what’s the word on word-of-mouth marketing? Read on to find out.

Table of Contents

• What is Word-of-Mouth Marketing?

• Why is Word-of-Mouth Marketing Important?

• Types of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

• Why is Face-to-Face marketing effective?

• What are Some Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategies?

• What are Benefits of a Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategy?

What is Word-of-Mouth Marketing?

Word of mouth (WOM) is one of the oldest and most effective forms of marketing. And, it has evolved relatively seamlessly into the digital landscape. At its core, it can be defined as:

A marketing method that relies on casual social interactions to promote a product.

Word-of-mouth marketing involves businesses finding ways to encourage individuals to share recommendations, news, and accolades about their brand, products, and services.

 For example, when was the last time you had an interaction with a brand, positive or negative, and then told someone else about it? Think about a time when the food and service at a new restaurant you tried were so good and unique, you had to tell your friend to go try. Or, maybe it’s a software tool that has greatly improved your team’s workflow, so you left a review on G2 or recommend it to a peer. 

All of these consumer interactions build trust and increase the front-of-mind real estate presence for your business in the ever-crowded ether of messaging bombardment people receive these days. (Of course, it should be noted that WOM can also hurt you based on the sentiment of the discussion).

Why is Word-of-Mouth Marketing Important?

Word-of-mouth marketing is about a face-to-face interaction (or avatar to avatar as the case may be in today’s digital age) that is built on pre-founded trust. It’s a cost-effective way to spread the word about your company and products among online and in-person communities.

If it’s not already top of mind for your marketing, it should be! Word-of-mouth marketing is cost-effective, builds brand loyalty, and reveals new ways you can reach potential customers.

Types of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Referrals from word of mouth can come from several sources, but for marketing purposes, the most important channels to know about include:

• Peer-to-peer
• Face-to-face
• User-generated content
• Social media conversations

1. Peer-to-Peer

• A friend says to a friend “I just had the best meal at a restaurant downtown. I think you’d love it!”

This is arguably the most basic form of word-of-mouth marketing. When you get a recommendation from a peer that you respect and trust, you’re far more likely to check out the recommended product, restaurant, etc., yourself. For marketers, this type of interaction is tough to really measure accurately or influence directly. 

Tip: To improve your reporting, ask new customers how they found out about you. If they say “I heard about you from my friend” you can ask them to expand on what specifically their friend liked. These learnings will help you invest time and energy confidently into brand-building marketing and acquisition efforts.

2. Face-to-face marketing 

• A sales rep is set up at a kiosk in the grocery store and offers you a sample of their new line of cheeses. Mmm cheese….

Face-to-face marketing is usually set up as a more “professional” relationship between the recommender and recommendee. It has a more clear sales factor, but it’s still a 1:1 tactic. 

Why is Face-to-Face marketing effective?

Think of a software product demonstration to a new prospective client, or free samples at a grocery store. In both cases, you may not purchase that day, but you’ve had a face-to-face interaction with someone who is passionate about what they’re selling. They had the opportunity to tell you about their brand, and offer a business card. So they’ve had that extra touchpoint to remain memorable when it comes time to make your purchase decision. 

Face-to-face marketing tips: Let your personality shine, and incorporate brand values into your selling story. Today’s consumers gravitate heavily towards authenticity and shared values (such as eco-friendliness and inclusivity). Highlighting these during your product pitch will help you stay top of mind.

3. UGC (User-generated content)

• You go to the restaurant your friend suggested and liked it so much you hit the Big 3 of UGC: posted a picture of your meal to Facebook, added a video to your Instagram Story (tagging the restaurant), and wrote a 5-star review on Yelp.

UGC (User-generated content) is what marketers like to refer to as “low hanging fruit” — once it’s created that is. And, brands can use this content in their own content marketing strategy to (1) show off an unbiased testimonial and to (2) build an even stronger relationship with the customer who posted. Much like peer to peer recommendations, this content can reach a larger audience that the poster may or may not know directly. 

If you can figure out how to cultivate user-generated content, you’ve unlocked one of the quickest and cheapest ways to grow your online presence.

Tip: Respond to both positive and negative online reviews. Be honest, appreciative, and genuine, and more people will want to publicly share their experiences!

There are components of social media in all of the above marketing options, but it’s so important it deserves its own call-out. Social posts on any platform that mention your brand are powerful instances of social proof.

To put some numbers to the value of WOM on social media: over half of purchases inspired by social media sharing occur within 1 week of sharing or favoriting, and 80% of purchases resulting from social media shares occur within 3 weeks of sharing. [Source: VisionCritical]

It’s important to think of social media in a broad context here: consider everything, from the major channels like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram to the new and exciting like TikTok, to forum-based platforms like Trip Advisor.

Tip: Engage when you’re tagged! Consumers love when brands respond so encourage your social media manager to like, share, and comment when posts tag you or use an official brand hashtag.

What are Some Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategies?

• Create a Conversation
• Use Influencers & Brand Ambassadors
• Encourage UGC
• Social Media Listening

WOMM is ultimately quite ubiquitous, which is what makes it so incredibly valuable — but it’s also what makes it incredibly difficult to control.

How do you measure success? How do you implement a strategy for improving and increasing your face to face recommendations? How do you swiftly find and address negative reviews or comments and protect your carefully crafted reputation? Let’s explore how to implement these tactics into your marketing strategy.

1. Create a Conversation

Word-of-mouth marketing is about real people sharing their thoughts about your brand and products, thereby indirectly encouraging more sales and recommendations for you — like a ripple effect. 

But how do you keep the conversation going? Chatter matters so you need to help generate that buzz!  

Find out where conversations are happening

This comes from understanding your audience. Where do they hang out? Jump in on forum discussions around related topics to your industry, products, and services. Facebook groups are another great place to start.

Be sure to adhere strictly to any forum guidelines in place (which often include no advertising). Otherwise, your words will be swiftly removed by moderators.

Appeal to Your Audience

You can’t market unless you understand who you are talking to, right? And in today’s ever more complicated world, the psychosomatics of your customer base go far behind the demographics data.

Tip: Gather the data from previous campaigns, email sends, and social interaction to analyze what type of content your audience reacts positively to, such as discounts, contests, or polls.

Maintain your online reputation

If you start seeing a lot of negative word-of-mouth buzz, you’ll want to address it swiftly and professionally. Don’t let it fester. Not only does this go a long way toward solving the issue, but it also leaves a very positive impression for current and potential customers. 

So, rather than recording their frustrating conversation trying to cancel their internet service and posting it for millions of people to share in their misery, you instead have someone posting “I just had a surprisingly pleasant customer service experience with XYZ. I’d highly recommend them!” If someone was thinking of switching, this could be what helps convince them.

Having a comprehensive crisis communication strategy is essential for any marketing team. But especially important when you’re prioritizing your WOMM efforts. To get help monitoring and responding to these types of situations, get a free tour of our real-time alerting tool. 

2. Encourage UGC

The Drum found that 75% of people feel user-generated content makes a brand more authentic.

So how can businesses encourage people to create content? Here are some tips:

• Create a brand hashtag to invite participation
• Jump on a trending topic and apply it to your brand
• Run a contest — you can always offer incentives here too
• Ask for feedback so you can hear straight from customers what they want 

Customer reviews are a great tactic and should absolutely be part of your word-of-mouth marketing strategy. 

70% of people trust consumer reviews online according to HubSpot. That’s actually huge if you think about it. Thousands of strangers are trusting what thousands of other strangers say about a product online.

Accolades can be featured on your website, social platforms, in campaigns, or 3rd party sites. They can be written statements, quotes, video interviews, or a comprehensive story in a blog article.

Here’s an example of a quote from a Meltwater customer that we may choose to share on our homepage or in other key customer journey locations because we think it accurately represents our solution and who we are: 

If you haven’t invested in 3rd party review platforms, here are some popular ones to get started:

• G2
• Yelp
• GlassDoor
• Reviews.io

Do note that you need to ask permission to re-share anything. 

3. Utilize Influencers and Brand Ambassadors

An influencer or brand ambassador is an individual with a significant following who works with brands to promote products and services. As of 2021, the three biggest social platforms for influencer marketing are Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. (Source: Business Insider)

Influencers are powerful in that they are another trusted source for consumers, but unlike a 1:1 connection, they are speaking as a “friend” to a much larger audience. And the best part is, the ROI is far more trackable if you’re working with them in an official partnership capacity.

Tip: Bigger isn’t necessarily better when it comes to follower count. Ask prospective influencer partners about their engagement metrics to get a sense of how active their audience is.

Example: If you are vegan and struggling to find everyday recipes or are seeking a community where you can connect with other like-minded vegans, you may follow someone like Michelle Cehn a micro-influencer and founder of World of Vegan.

Influencer marketing is deserving of its own blog post altogether, and we just happen to have one, but here are some of the main points to consider:

There are roughly 4 different levels: 

• Nano: 500-1K followers 
• Micro: 1K-100K followers
• Macro: 100K — 1M followers 
• Power / Celebrity: 1M +

Questions to keep in mind:

• Do they fit our brand image?
• Have they worked with your competition?
• Who is their audience?
• Does this make sense for our budget? 

Lastly, take a step back and really listen. 

Look at how people are talking about your industry and pay particular attention to their pain points. This will help you both drive social conversations and implement solutions based on what people are talking about in your space. 

This will also help you track the type of content your audience enjoys (photos, videos, Instagram Stories, etc.,). These all provide clues to help you maximize return on building an engaged following that will continue to spread the word to their friends.  

Gain valuable audience insights with Meltwaters social listening tools. Don’t forget the invaluable information you can glean from tracking your competitors as well! Request a demo to learn more.

What are Benefits of a Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategy?

To wrap it up, let’s review the main benefits of using word of mouth as an integral component of your marketing:

1. Low Cost

Because you’re not paying for true word of mouth, this type of marketing strategy contributes to lower costs, as others are doing most of the work for you. It helps influence sales with little to no advertising spend.

2. Builds Trust, Brand Reputation & Loyalty

Developing trust is not only one of the first steps in a relationship marketing strategy, but it’s also one of the most difficult.

Since word-of-mouth recommendations are coming from a peer that you trust, a familiar face, or online reviews, they are inherently trustworthy — especially in comparison to a brand simply shouting into the void about how great they are.

3. Creates Long-term Value

Gaining consistent, positive buzz around your products through word-of-mouth marketing will help you maintain repeat customers and make it easier to approach influencers for brand advocacy partnerships. 

Referrals like this are invaluable to grow your loyal customer base, ensuring the snowball keeps rolling — as a study from the Wharton School of Business found: customers referred by people they know and trust are between 16% to 24% more loyal to that brand on average.

Other peoples’ experiences and thoughts about products are an important source of information for many consumers. They can both be more relatable, since they’re written from a user perspective, and more trustworthy, since they represent independent voices.

But reading reviews written for strangers is just one of the many social sources consumers refer to along their path to purchase.

Public-facing reviews are matched by word-of-mouth recommendations that are often invisible to brands, since they take place in person, or through ‘dark social’ channels.

Unlike public product reviews, word-of-mouth recommendations come from sources familiar to us already, i.e. friends and family. What they lack in ‘authority’, compared to a professional reviewers, they make up for in trustworthiness.

Word of mouth has the rare trait of being able to increase brand loyalty; a study from the Wharton School of Business found that referred customers are between 16% to 24% more loyal on average.

Our data reveals that WOM is the fourth most-cited source for brand discovery among global internet users, behind search engines and ads seen on online or on TV. While taking pride in sharing their expertise seems to be important for many people who leave reviews, word of mouth tends to be more related to sharing tailored knowledge and experience to those who will really make use of it.

Despite the increasing influence of mobile and social media, face-to-face communication still seems to hold incredible value for brand discovery and advocacy. But what place does word of mouth (WOM) have in today’s purchase journey, where offline sources compete and overlap with online, and who are the people that respond to it the most?

The importance of word of mouth.

WOM recommendations are a crucial marketing tool for any brand.

This is mainly because since they come from sources familiar to us already, i.e. friends and family, and due to the ‘buzz’ user-generated content can induce, they’re more trustworthy and valuable.

Our data reveals that WOM is the third most-cited source for brand discovery among global internet users, behind search engines and ads seen on TV.

Tellingly, WOM recommendations (31%) are more important at this stage than both recommendations/comments on social media (25%) and consumer review sites (22%).

Where does word of mouth hold most sway?

WOM continues to play an important role across all our tracked markets, but privacy concerns and diminishing brand trust has made it especially relevant in some specific regions.

Currently, WOM is particularly important in North America (41%, Index 1.32) and Latin America, where around 4 in 10 cite it as a key source of product discovery (38%, Index 1.21). This could reflect particular personal privacy worries in these regions, leading consumers to look for more traditional and trustworthy forms of brand advocacy. These are also markets where product reviews play a key role in brand discovery.

The importance of reviews and recommendations – peer-to-peer sources – extends beyond the consumer sector, reflecting the social/cultural aspect.

WOM is also a marketing tactic that is viewed favorably by business leaders in America. U.S. business decision-makers cite ‘conversations with people from the company on a social network’ as the second most influential source for B2B purchases, and 62% of marketing executives say WOM is the most effective form of marketing.

The Middle East and Africa is the lowest-indexing region, with only 23% (Index 0.73) of digital consumers using WOM to discover new products and services, just as they’re less likely to use formal review sites.

This finding holds true across all generations, but is particularly pronounced for Gen Z, who are half as likely as the average consumer to use WOM.

Ads sen online and ads seen on TV rank as the top sources for brand discovery in this region, with WOM trailing in eighth position behind comments on social media and brand/product websites.

There is no one clear-cut reason for this lack of trust in peer-to-peer recommendations,.
It although it could be that in the Middle East, many companies still view social media as a means to ‘sell’ their brands and extend their global content into the region, rather than invest in authentic regional content. The relatively more limited availability of Arab and other local language resources could also play a role.

This could explain why brands and agencies in this region are resisting to adopt WOM as a marketing tool.

Profiling the WOM consumer.

There are some key patterns that people who value word of mouth share no matter where in the world they live.

WOM consumers are most likely to come from North America, what other characteristics define these individuals?

Compared to the average consumer, they’re:

• 15% more likely to be female
• 28% more likely to be divorced or widowed
• 10% more likely to be in the top 10% of earners.

Older generations are typically more inclined to use WOM for brand discovery, with over a third of 45-54 (34%, Index 1.09) and 55-64 year olds (38%, Index 1.21) citing this as a main source for finding out about new brands and products.

For both baby boomers and Gen Xers, WOM recommendations places third as a brand discovery source behind ads seen on TV and search engines. It drops down to fourth for millennials, and sixth for Gen Z, but this still places it just ahead of recommendations on social media for both these younger generations.

Brand trust is at the root of word of mouth.

In 2018, we’ve seen a major shift in the way we think about privacy and brand trust.

The combination of high-profile corporate privacy scandals and wide-sweeping data legislation has brought about a sense of fatigue and disillusionment with contemporary online marketing techniques.

When the GDPR came into effect in May, many consumers predicted it would have a positive impact; the ability to hold companies to account for data misuse and to have greater control over what personal data they obtained was viewed very positively by those we surveyed.

Since then, however, internet users have become frustrated with the constant barrage of privacy notices, consent boxes and general GDPR-related information. Despite much of the high-profile privacy-related events of the past year stemming from Europe and North America, brand distrust is rampant across all of our tracked markets.

At least 6 in 10 people in all regions say they’re worried about how their personal data is being used by companies.

And this number jumps to 8 in 10 people in the Latin American market.

With this distrust comes both a general wariness of brands who only engage with their audiences through targeted ads on social media, as well as a hyperawareness of any disingenuous influencer marketing. It’s therefore hardly surprising that consumers consistently look towards recommendations from close one.

Increasing the spread of WOM marketing.

If brands can recapture what’s been acknowledged as the most valued form of marketing – built on consumers’ experience and trust – they’ll be able to increase their reach and boost positive reception, whether they take place on public review sites or in WeChat groups.

But while WOM recommendations can be an incredibly powerful marketing tool, but they crucially they have to be fostered by marketing strategies that go beyond ‘likes’.

These strategies even go beyond purposeful campaigns; although purpose-led strategies have been singled out as the key to brand growth, marketers have too-often fallen into the trap of seeking larger meaning only to look ‘faux-inspirational’ or insincere to consumers.

Creating credible recommenders is key to cracking WOM marketing.

In his 2016 TED talk, Chris Cowan shows that credible recommendations are much more likely to be considered and passed on compared to recommendations motivated by rewards.

Brands now, more than ever, need to focus on building genuine and authentic relationships with consumers through amazing customer service, transparent value exchanges, transparent data collection and creative marketing campaigns, so avid consumers will be encouraged to share their experiences.