“When you say it, it’s marketing. When your customers say it, it’s social proof.”
— Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder/Strategic Director, Orbit Media Studios
Everyone loves to give their opinion; most daily conversations revolve around it. Whether you’re asking a coworker for a restaurant recommendation or discussing your favorite web browser with a friend — everyone has something to say. While many consumers would consider this nothing more than small talk, marketers have recognized the incredible opportunities that lie within word of mouth recommendations. In fact, harnessing the power of personal recommendations has become one of the most powerful marketing techniques of today; Word Of Mouth Marketing (WOMM).
What is WOMM / Word of Mouth Marketing?
While word of mouth occurs naturally among friends, word of mouth marketing is an “oral or written recommendation by a satisfied customer to the prospective customers of a good or service”. These types of recommendations are actively encouraged by organizations in order to grow brand credibility.
According to Suzanne Fanning, President of Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), word of mouth marketing has been identified as the most valuable and trusted form of marketing. In fact, 92% of consumerstrust personal recommendations from people they know, which means word of mouth marketing is one of the most important factors in driving sales for a company.
Word of mouth impressions result in 5X more sales than paid-for media impressions. Why? Well, when you pay for an advertisement on a social platform you’re essentially renting a captive audience. While large, this audience isn’t necessarily interested in your product. This means you’re spending money to temporarily rent the attention of a large number of individuals who may never buy your product. On the other hand, when you create authentic content and partner with micro-influencers who love your brand and promote it to their like-minded followers, you’re buying into an audience that is already interested in your product.
You simply cannot afford to ignore word of mouth marketing. Each year it accounts for $6 trillion in consumer spending, signifying a tremendous amount of trust among consumers and an incredible opportunity for brands.
Although encouraging consumer recommendations in favor of your brand isn’t exactly a groundbreaking technique, the social media landscape has created an ideal environment to implement it as a part of your marketing strategy. Due in large part to social media platforms and networks, modern consumers are more connected than ever before. This means it’s easier to share information including recommendations (and warnings) amongst peers.
In today’s marketing landscape it’s no longer enough to simply sell your brand’s message on your own, your customers need to buy into your story as well — and to do that you need to activate your best customers.
How Gatsby Helps
When we say your customers are your greatest marketing asset, we mean it. Gatsby provides brands with the platform to see what kind of influence their real customers have.
Gatsby empowers your existing customers to be your brand ambassadors by giving them an easy way to brag about your brand online.
Your customers are clearly already fans of your brand, why not give them an opportunity to talk about it?
Originally published on the Gatsby Blog.
