Every Western marketer knows what “word ofmouth marketing” means. Recently, this trend has begun to develop actively in our country as well. Companies have increasingly begun to turn to word of mouth as a method of promoting their goods and services.
Today this method has several common names: in Russia – “word of mouthmarketing” or “word of mouthradio“, abroad – WOM – marketing, buzz marketing ( buzz marketing, buzzing, word-of-mouth marketing).
Word of mouth marketing has actually existed for a very long time – since the moment when people first learned to talk and communicate. People communicate with each other, give each other various information, pass on various information, facts, share experiences and thus make advertising or anti-advertising of certain goods, products.
Word of mouth was first offered in America twelve years ago as a service of the promotions development advertising business.
Application of word of mouth
Today, word-of-mouth marketing is used when:
- a brand has a new product, you have to tell people about it and give them the opportunity to try and evaluate it;
- an existing product has a new quality (taste, color, packaging, sound);
- The product manufacturer wants to gain insights into the insights of its audience.
The main disadvantage of “word of mouth” is the impossibility to control it. Rumors can be distorted, and the reaction to them is very difficult to predict, there is a risk of earning a bad reputation.
The advantage of using word of mouth marketing is that it increases awareness, gives consumers the opportunity to try, test the product, and this leads to an increased chance of making a purchase.
Promotion of goods and services with wom-marketing
If you decide to utilize word-of-mouth marketing, you should be mindful of:
- WOM marketing (buzz marketing) is based on trust. That is, people psychologically regard the information as something true, because it comes from exactly the same consumers. The key point here is the honesty of the advertiser using word of mouth marketing.
- If there is negative feedback during communication with agents and consumers, it is in a way a signal to the producer that the product needs to be improved, made better or more useful.
- Using word of mouth, you can’t pay people to talk about the product, and yes the fact of payment always becomes known, hence the brand will not have a good reputation.
In the West, WOM-marketing has become so popular that it has already begun to supplant ATL-marketing (advertising on television, radio, print media) by pulling advertising budgets to itself. While in our country this is still a new trend, in the West WoM is a long-established advertising channel, the reach of which can be compared to television advertising.
In our country, the share of word of mouth marketing in the overall market for the promotion of goods and services is still immeasurable. Even though companies are turning to word-of-mouth promotion technologies, but there is no direct competition yet, because advertising budgets spent on WOM-marketing are still much smaller than those spent on channels of communication and types of advertising promotion that consumers are accustomed to.
How do you start a “word of mouth” campaign?
Tasks that need to be identified in order to launch a word of mouth campaign:
- Select people who can properly present information to others, attract them with bonuses from the company or provide paraphernalia with promotional company logos.
- Present the information correctly – it should be easy to understand, unobtrusive and memorable.
- Take action and spread the word about products or services as much as possible(e.g. social media).
- Show participation to the problems of their customers(for example, replacement of goods within 14 days or service for a period of time) – this can help to earn an additional positive reputation, because always a satisfied person will share his joy with his friends.
- To track the company’s rating means to monitor the feedback on the activities, eliminate shortcomings in a timely manner, change the product structure and supplement it.
Thus, people should like the things that your company produces or the services that it offers. Your activity must be on the rumor. In order for the product to be promoted, you need to show it off constantly.
Today all over the world word of mouth marketing is becoming popular compared to other marketing techniques and Ukraine is no exception. People are mastering the World Wide Web, using it to search for specific products and reviews about them. Widespread and systematic use of wom-marketing is only a matter of time. If you want your product to be always in demand and always on the rumor – try “word of mouth”.
Any questions? Ask in the comments, or call us at tel. 057-760-26-05.
