Effective Word Of Mouth Tactics – Part XIII

Similar to the I-get-all-caught-up-in-it-once-every-four-years-and-then-could-actually-care-less excitement about curling, figure skating, swimming and gymnastics, for the past couple of weeks Americans had an extreme case of Soccer Fever.

Mired in the midst of The Worst Economic Recovery In History, growing terrorism halfway across the globe and a monumentally corrupt and inept federal government, Americans were starving for any way to express their patriotism and proudly chant “U-S-A! U-S-A!”

Television talk shows, social media websites and water coolers all across the country were abuzz with unbridled optimism and excitement about the prospects of an underdog U.S. Soccer Team for two solid weeks — despite the fact that the team won only one game in the entire tournament.

Now THAT’s what I call powerful “Word Of Mouth.”

It’s unlikely that you’ll ever ignite anywhere near that much positive buzz for you or your business. But you do have the power to piggyback off temporary sensations like this that occur all the time, and thereby create your own Word Of Mouth.

So, did you host a “World Cup Party” or run a special promotion to capitalize on World Cup Fever?

Here are just a few examples of companies that did…

McDonald’s came up with its own “Brazil Burger,” complete with a special “soccer ball bun,” and offered other World Cup-related items in Australia, England, Germany and Italy as well.

Budweiser let fans drink beer out of and collect special World Cup commemorative bottles.

Hyundai actually produced several limited edition “World Cup Special Edition” models, complete with World Cup trophy stickers that it made available in Europe only.

Tattinger released a special “World Cup Edition” of their champagne, complete with the World Cup trophy and soccer balls in place of bubbles on its iconic box and label.

British egg company “Big & Fresh” produced its own special World Cup edition egg carton.

And so on, and so on…

Okay. So maybe by now you’re thinking, “Sure, Steve, but I provide a service — not a product, so there’s nothing special I could do.”

Really?

You couldn’t run a “World Cup Special Discount?” on an oil change, or landscaping job, or dental exam?

Here’s the good news…

There’s still time to go — the World Cup Tournament doesn’t end for two more weeks!

And now the bad news…

You’d better have an international presence, because almost no Americans care at all about it anymore.

*On a serious note: While you may have missed your opportunity to capitalize on the immense Word Of Mouth generated around the 2014 World Cup, big events happen all the time — on an international, national and local basis. Get our your calendar right now and start planning your own future Special Promotions!

Now for this week’s lesson on generating World Of Mouth: Preparation and Research.

This is critical, for two reasons:

1. To get real, live, honest impressions and feedback from customers
2. To define Word Of Mouth itself, and the concept it creates

Here is a simple formula to help you conduct your Word Of Mouth research. I call it “The 2-2-2-By-4 Model.”

First, you’ll put together six different focus groups:

• Two groups of satisfied customers
• Two groups of prospects
• Two mixed groups, made up of an equal number of enthusiasts and skeptics

Then, you’ll ask each group the following four questions about one of your products or services:

1. What would you tell a friend to get them to try or buy it?
2. How would you persuade a skeptic to try or buy it?
3. What questions would you anticipate about it from a skeptic?
4. How would you answer their objections?

The best way to conduct these focus groups is over the telephone (there are a number of free conference call services you can use). And make sure to have a third party hold them instead of doing them yourself. That’s the best way to make sure that (a) you get a good variety of participants, and (b) you make them feel safe, so they feel free to express their honest feelings.

Next week, I’ll teach you how to put this research to use to build your own effective Word Of Mouth campaign.

You’ll have plenty of time to do that, since you won’t be talking about or watching or talking about any more soccer games — at least not for another four years.