Effective Word Of Mouth Tactics – Part III

For the past several weeks, the attention of the media and many Americans has been focused on a good ol’ fashioned Western Stand-Off on the plains of Nevada, as a rancher stubbornly continues his decades-long protest against the federal government for charging him fees to use government land to graze his herd of cattle.

One side feels that Cliven Bundy is a tax dodger who should face civil and criminal punishment for his outlaw actions, while the other expresses its outrage over the federal government’s use of armed agents to enforce its “unfair” laws.

No matter which side you’re on, one fact is clear: The Bundy vs. Federal Government confrontation has attracted millions of determined Americans to support Bundy’s crusade. Hundreds of these “domestic terrorists” (as Nevada’s own senior Senator called them) even invested their time and money to show up at the Bundy ranch – fully armed and ready to fight – when armed federal agents confiscated some of Bundy’s cattle and threatened a further show of force to get the rancher to comply with The Law.

So how did all of those people decide to gather at the Bundy ranch?

And what about other protests? How did the “Occupy Wall Street,” “Million Man March” and other groups get the word out and rally large crowds of passionate supporters of theirs to join their demonstrations?

Our current series provides a hint at the answer.

There was no paid advertising or marketing used to attract these throngs of action-takers. These gatherings – and many like them – were promoted and achieved purely by Word Of Mouth.

Can you imagine how powerful this force could be if it were properly applied for your business? How much different would your income and lifestyle be if you could invoke such passion and commitment from people, without having to invest a dime into advertising?

Well, you may not ever be able to create such a rabid following for yourself or your business as with these deeply-felt causes, but you can certainly benefit by implementing at least some of the powerful Word Of Mouth strategies and tactics I’ve been sharing with you in this series and on SSSMarketingUniversity.com.

Last week, I shared some principles and tactics to help you put together your own Word Of Mouth system so you can shorten your customers’ purchasing decision time and dramatically increase your revenue and profits.

Today I’ll explain what I call The Nine Levels Of Word Of Mouth. This is a scale you can use to measure the word of mouth circulating around your company, products and services. You can then discover where you are getting dangerous, negative or weak Word Of Mouth and implement actions to turn it into positive, money-making buzz about you and your business.

Minus 4

This is the worst of the worst. It means that your product is creating a scandal. Remember when Tylenol or Firestone were deemed unsafe? You never want that kind of Word Of Mouth about your business.

Minus 3

Disgruntled customers are going out of their way to convince other consumers from purchasing your products and services. They are boycotting you and spreading their damaging opinions via social media.

Minus 2

While they’re not outwardly boycotting, customers will give a negative response when people ask them about you.

Minus 1

At this level, people are mildly dissatisfied. They won’t proactively talk about it, but they will give their opinion if asked. They may purchase from you despite their negative feelings, but this can be a little confusing for both you and them, and they are prime candidates to wander away to one of your competitors.

Level 0

This is a neutral place to be – neither enviable nor damaging. Customers are using your products and/or services, but they’re not really talking about you. People rarely ask them about what you deliver, so they aren’t sharing their opinion with others. This can be a bit of a slippery slope, because you don’t want to turn that neutral experience into a negative one. In fact, at this point you should get to work to start turning people positive.

Plus 1

At this level you are finally starting to work your way into the positive zone of Word Of Mouth about you, your company and your products and/or services. “Plus 1” means that people are generally pleased – but unless asked, they don’t really ever say anything about you.

Plus 2

When asked, your customers will happily talk about how much they love your products and/or services.

Plus 3

Customers go out of their way to talk about you and your products, services, company and overall shopping and customer experience with you. A good example of this is how people enthusiastically recommend music, movies, restaurants and more to their friends, family and social media followers.

Plus 4

You and your products or services are the toast of the town. There is an obvious buzz going around, and your business is the place to be. People are not only talking about your great products and services, but they’re talking about their shopping experience, your customer service and how they believe that your company will help them in the future. You have an ever-growing collection of raving fans.

Here are some examples of “Plus 4” companies:

• Disney
• Google
• Nike
• Apple
• Lexus
• Whole Foods
• Harley-Davidson
• Hershey’s
• Celestial Teas

That’s it for this week’s lesson on Word Of Mouth. Make sure to use this rating scale to figure out what kind of Word Of Mouth you’re generating in your business.

Next week I’ll share Six Steps To Harnessing Word Of Mouth.

Once you master those, maybe you’ll be all over the news, and attracting your own posse of passionate patrons.