You’ve probably heard that word of mouth is the holy grail of marketing.
And it’s true! A survey by Nielsen shows that 83 percent of people trust information when it comes from a friend – meaning that 83 times someone tells a friend something positive about your company out of 100, you’ve just gained a new prospect for free.
Not only that, prospects gained from word of mouth are far more valuable than prospects gained from advertising because they’re coming to your brand with a positive outlook from the start. The first impression has already been made for you. The barriers of trust, recognition and acknowledgement have already been dealt with – because your new prospect already trusts, recognises and knows their friend who led them to you.
But isn’t word of mouth completely outside of our control? Surely we can’t influence whether or not people talk about us favourably to their close friends. How could we possibly insert ourselves into everyday conversation over coffee?
Specificity – the key to follow through (and making word of mouth work for you)
Whenever you make a general appointment – “Let’s catch up some time.” – it never comes to fruition. This is because no agreement has actually been made. No request has been put forward. The statement is merely an acknowledgement that a hypothetical event could be beneficial.
However, when you make a specific appointment – “Let’s catch up at 6:30 pm on Thursday” – it’s much more likely to happen. Why? Because at some point, 6:30 pm on Thursday is going to come along. The conditions have been specified. A specific agreement has been proposed. Once 6:30 pm on Thursday passes, they can now be held accountable for their action or inaction.
See, human beings are subject to a phenomenon called pluralistic ignorance. That basically means that in uncertain situations, we tend to look to each other for guidance on how to behave. Since everybody is doing this, all people see are other people in a state of inaction, and thus nobody acts.
That’s why if you’re in a car crash or another dire situation, it’s advised to ask for specific action from specific people. Don’t shout “Help me!” and wait for someone to step forward – make it easy on people. Point to the nearest person, look them dead in the eye and say “You! Call 000!”
How to apply specificity to your audience (and reap the rewards)
A lot of businesses fail in this area, and as a result they leave massive amounts of money on the table that they could easily be grabbing with a few simple adjustments.
If you want your audience to share a link on Facebook, ask them to do just that – and give a reason why. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a compelling reason, but as long as there’s a reason at all, people are more likely to respond.
That’s a specific request. It’s different from saying “Tell your friends some time.”
This is similar to what master marketers Joe Polish and Dean Jackson call the “orchestrated referral”. The concept refers to a process where you reach out to a specific client, ask for them to refer you to others, and set a deadline date by which you’ll ask how they went. It might sound a bit pushy, but it’s all done without a sense of obligation.
Miraculously though, regardless of whether or not there’s a sense of obligation or pressure, people almost always manage to generate referrals. Why? Because at some point, 6:30 pm on Thursday is coming along. At some point, they’re going to be directly held accountable for their action or inaction.
If you need some help generating ideas when it comes to implementing some word of mouth inspiring tactics into your marketing, contact us today and talk to us about your business!
