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Getting referrals is the key of any successful business especially if you are running your own business with a fixed ad budget. If you’re not getting referrals, then you had better have an absolutely gigantic advertising budget the likes of which few business owners have, and which those who do wish they did not need to spend.

Why should you bother to get referrals? Referrals are free leads. Each referral you get costs you very little in either money or time, because they are actually part of your compensation for giving your existing clients excellent products and/or excellent service. The true cost of all of your referrals is then just the money and time you invest selling to your existing customers. If you have a spectacular product and your service is second to none, they will give you referrals.

Every referral you get is a lead you did not have to buy, did not have to cold-contact, did not have to qualify, and did not have to pay to advertise for. Every referral you get has been given, in a way, a testimonial about your company at no cost to you and no effort to you.

It is not hard to figure out that by getting referrals, you are virally growing your business. Remember that old TV commercial about the shampoo that was talked about to two friends, and so on and so on, this is how it works

A referral is someone who wants to talk to you. It is someone who wants to buy specifically from you. It is not someone who finds your approaching them disturbing or irritating. Its not a person you have to spend a lot of time trying to pre-qualify.

So, what are some of the ways that you can use to start getting referrals?

1. Simply make it a rule to ask for them. Make it a mandate at your company to ask for a referral each and every time you are in contact them, either to service them or showing them a new product. In sending newsletters, have a section where you ask them to refer anyone they know who could use what you offer, and to contact you with their information.

2. Always do the very best you can for your existing clients, and try to send a thank you notice with each puchase to show you appreciate them.

3. Keep personal relationships with your clients if possible. Remember their birthdays; think of ways to reward them for remaining clients such as by giving them special client discounts off newly released products; and other things that you think of to show that you care.

4. Exchange site links with all of your clients who also have businesses websites.

You will never have make yourself as much money, as easily, as when getting direct referrals to your company.

Technorati Tags: getting referrals, Internet Marketing, referral marketing, referrals, viral marketing, word of mouth marketing

The implication of sales by word of mouth is that influence has been exerted on a decision making process to alter a previously held view, or to be made aware of a new position or product, on a specific subject matter, be it tangible or not. These types of statements are ambiguous, as nothing in anyone else’s mind can be taken as a fact. What can be extracted from this?

An example of sales by word of mouth would be a personal experience relating to an event or an imparted understanding. John booked his vehicle in for an oil change, but when he got to the service provider, he was alerted to other defects in his vehicle that needed to be fixed immediately. Knowing that the service station had an above average rating for customer satisfaction prompts John to recommend them to an associate, who then uses that station as their service provider the next time they needs their vehicle serviced. The service department would consider that to be a bonafide word of mouth sale.

The ancillary products and services provided are also benefactors from this sale, as consumables are also used to complete April’s vehicle service, thereby continuing to bring an extension of consumption into a multi-level business transaction. As illustrated above, you can see how increased sales via word of mouth can transfer to other areas, which is the main reason why companies would be wise to take heed of this and make plans accordingly.

It has been documented that numerous successful businesses, especially in the start-up phase, had created organic growth via word of mouth sales. Those companies that grew in this manner have been shown to have an increased longevity, and have the accompanying stamina to beat the odds when the economy has shown a decline.

The ability to gather word of mouth sales frequently is a combination of exceeding customer's expectations with a high quality product or service which is offered at a reasonable price point, which then in turn translated into high consumer satisfaction.

Sales by word of mouth is probably the most influential of all types of sales, for the simplest of reasons – people do not recommend bad products or services. This has assisted in the downfall of many companies through the years, it should to be viewed as a top priority for all types of marketing and sales.

Technorati Tags: sales by word of mouth, word of mouth marketing

In many respects online word of mouth is as effective as any other medium to convey the worthiness of a product or service. This methodology can be illustrated simplistically – someone writes that they had a certain experience with “X”, this comment is then read by other individuals who believe that this person or the place the comment is being made is a trustworthy way of collecting opinions on something that.

It all begins with trust – the audience must trust the source of his or her online information before forming the opinion that will ultimately have them vote for or against the subject. Studies have shown that consumers are much more likely to be influenced by online word of mouth than by radio or TV advertising, with print ad’s falling to a much lower level than that prior to the advent of the internet.

This form of consumer generated content has increasingly become popular with younger generations, people below 30, with teenagers the most likely to have both read about and being influenced by online commentary, and to have added their own comments. Social commentary of this nature has been found to gain social proof on areas about health, transport and consumer electronics, each of which could be considered a major capital outlay.

For online word of mouth sales to be realized, marketing needs to be targeted towards the individuals most likely to be interested in it, as mentioned above. The exponential growth of social networking has capitalized on this sort of advertising, with many sites and indeed multimillion dollar businesses solely supported by increasingly sophisticated methods of targeting the right audience, at the right time with the right product.

So how do you get the idea out there online that WidgetX is an outstanding product? So, having a quality product at a price point that targets the masses is important (why buy WidgetX if it’s 3 times the cost of a comparable other WidgetY?), which coupled with an understanding of exactly who it’s aimed at and why it’s of benefit to that market is key.

Opposite to what most people think, consumers today are on more on the ball than many marketers give them credit for, this is why some companies may spend fortunes on high cost advertising campaigns, both on and off line, still to see their product fail totally or fail to bring an acceptable ROI (return on investment), all because consumers ultimately decided that the product was not worth buying.Then they spread the same dialogue to others. This is why online word of mouth is enormously successful for those who succeed with it, and why it exerts so much influence over just about every market there is.

Technorati Tags: Internet Marketing, online word of mouth, word of mouth marketing

As every businessman or woman knows, if you want your company to be truly successful, you must learn how to utilize the most basic marketing concept known to man: word of mouth.  However, if you are like many entrepreneurs, you might let buzz marketing happen more naturally, where you wait for your customers to do the promotion.  Yet, if you rely too much on this method, it might take a while before you get sales.  That’s why you may want to consider another, more unique solution: buying word of mouth referrals.

How does one buy word of mouth referrals?  Well, first, like any word of mouth marketing campaign, you must form your promotion BEFORE seeking out referrals.Creating a buzz-worthy campaign is a must.An example is when a company gives out free products in return for people referring people they know.Referral tracking would be done through an actual lead or, with an Internet campaign, through a unique tracking code.

After forming your campaign, the next thing you should to do is buy your referrals.There are a couple of different approaches to this.  If you have more money, you can buy your word of mouth referrals through a direct mail campaign.The printed advertisement may put you back a few thousand dollars, but it will allow your customer to see it and touch it.

Another idea is to buy guaranteed signups.If you utilize this option, you may pay as you go, when you want to.It is best to always be careful.  Since many guaranteed signups are the result of paid-email schemes, you must be aware that the ultimate incentive of your sign-up is to receive whatever monetary compensation the paid-email network offers them.You could overcome this common thought process by enhancing that desire with a better incentive.

Of course, trying to figure out how to feed that desire will require some forethought and creativity.For certain companies this process is simple.  For instance, if you’re promoting any home business, guaranteed signups will probably notice because they’re really interested in making money.  But if you’re promoting something more abstract they may not be as interested.

So, in this situation, you want to try to retain their interest by giving them a free physical product.  A book is a perfect example.

In fact, even Tony Robbins gave away one his books to help introduce his methodology to a European audience.He did not use guaranteed signups because he had a higher budget for a more sophisticated marketing campaign, but when you strip back the layers, the process of thought is the same.  If you create a buzz-worthy campaign, even people who started off uninterested will give you word of mouth referrals… simply because what you’re offering is so spectacular.

Technorati Tags: Internet Marketing, word of mouth marketing, word of mouth referrals

Are you interested in creating exponential buzz for your company without waiting months or even years?  If so, you might want to create a word of mouth blog.This is like any other blog in that it will still contain online diary entries of your points of interest.  However, it will differ from a regular blog because it will be created to promote itself.This specifically means that it will have elements that are so memorable, the audience will feel motivated to share it with friends and family.

So, how do you begin a blog like this? Well, it entirely depends on what you’re writing about.Some topics are so relevant that they create their own word of mouth blogs.A few months back, my mother was telling me about a fat loss blog that became wildly popular, so much, that publishers contacted the author to turn it into a book.  Now, she’s a millionaire, despite the fact she never even intended on creating a word of mouth blog.

Of course, if you can do a little planning beforehand, that will increase the chances that your blog will automatically become buzz-worthy.When I say planning, you should always choose Internet marketing keywords that target the types of individuals who would create exponential buzz. 

One of the best ways you could do this is to give free tips or advice on how to make or save money.However, this is assuming your brand relates to that type of thing.If it doesn’t, you’re still able to start such a blog.Just remember that your conversions may not work as well because your audience is not highly interested in what you’re selling.  Also remember that they will connect such a blog with you as a person, and not you as a business.

There is an exception here though.If you’re willing to give a complimentary product or a free trial of something, people are more likely to be interested even if the blog doesn’t relate directly.As well, if it does relate, you will have cemented your word of mouth reputation. 

As far as creating your word of mouth blog, you can use free services such as Wordpress or Blogger to get you started.Free blogs may be a better option, especially if you don’t know much about web design or HTML.  Through these services, you get a blog that’s already designed and ready to go.You just have to enter in the relevant content and also add advertisements.

In conclusion, don’t write-off blogs as only a personal pastime.Just because they’re fun doesn’t hide the fact that they can serve as a powerful word of mouth marketing tool as well.

Technorati Tags: Internet Marketing, word of mouth blog, word of mouth marketing

If your company is currently successful, you might not see the need for a word of mouth campaign.  Every month you make a healthy amount of sales, and your customers seem to be pleased with your company.Here is the inside scoop…if you don’t start a word of mouth campaign, your sales won’t grow as rapidly.This will be the case even if you use more expensive advertising methods, like radio or TV.

With that being said, how do you create a successful word of mouth campaign?You should consider both audiences: your clients and your employees.

Likely, your customers will be the easiest of this whole group.This is due to the fact that there are a plethora of marketing research tools available to you.These could range from online surveys to an offline consumer survey.

Surveying your employees might become a little harder, although you can use duplicaate researching tools.Many companies do not consider employee satisfaction as much as they think about customer satisfaction. 

In fact, for many industries, the same old mantra is promulgated: the customer is always right.  But if you want the most success, you must keep in mind that, although customers help bring in most of your revenue, employees are the ones that keep your business going.  So, if your employees aren’t happy, chances are they won’t make your customer happy either, (since there wouldn’t be as much production). 

With that being said, you’ll need to know the basics behind conducting an employee-based word of mouth campaign.Fortunately, the principles aren’t much different than a consumer based word of mouth campaign.You want your existing employees to feel excited about your business, but you want them talk about your company to others in a positive way.

For example, some businesses give incentives based on an employee’s performance.If they sell a certain number of products, or if they get the highest customer satisfaction report, they receive extra cash incentive to keep up the good work.  

I want to share my own personal experience from my last company, an SEO writing firm.If writers got all their work in on time, they got some form of incentive.  As a result, not only were employees more productive, but they also felt more respect for the company.  To them, they got an opportunity to work from home and get even more gifts.This created a strong bond that encouraged them to spread even more buzz about the business more often.

Technorati Tags: Internet Marketing, word of mouth campaign, word of mouth marketing

Word of mouth publicity is the best kind of publicity there is, it’s free. Generating word of mouth publicity is another prospect altogether. With the amount of competition in every field today, simply offering a great product at a respectable price point is no longer enough.

Consumers today are much more sophisticated than as little as 2 years ago.Due to the fact that shopping comparison blogs and sites, blog posts, consumer review sites, and ongoing mini-feed posts on some social networking sites are allowing every individual who owns a computer to start commenting on anything they find of interest, it’s important that great PR is required for a product to stand out as a great one. To get great results, there are some methods that will work well.

1.  Offering something that’s above what’s needed, such as an additional product or a new and innovative type of product  is always great, as it makes the consumer believe that they’ve gotten a better than expected deal, which is more likely to have them positively comment on your offering.

2.  Give your clients excellent service and listen to their feedback. When dealing with consumers it’s always paramount to keep them happy, especially  in light of the way that online commentary influences the purchasing decisions of others. Address any needs as they are brought to your attention, and rectify issues that may arise with your service or product efficiently and quickly.

3.Create a “buzz” about your product by introducing your own commentary from a recognizable source or public figure, which will draw attention to your product and increase product sales. This too will get your word of mouth publicity, and make sure ahead of time that the necessary outlets are aware of your upcoming known figure’s participation.

4.Talk about your product or service yourself, anywhere you can. Require that this is reported for you, or be sure that it is posted to all high traffic media outlets that you would want it mentioned. Join in the commentary on your industry in general, so that when the time comes that your name or company brand is mentioned, you are recognized as more of an expert in your field and not just an individual providing lip service here and there.

With all this, you are taking great measures to achieve effective word of mouth publicity you need to have your product or service spoken about by those who can be influenced, and those who can exert an influence. Similar to other methods to gain attention for your product, this will lead to sales of your product, which in turn will then in turn promote more interest for your product and create further proof of its high effectiveness as a means to closing sales.

Technorati Tags: Internet Marketing, word of mouth marketing, word of mouth publicity

Especially today, there are numerous methods of advertising for the budding entrepreneur.  If they have a lot of money, they can advertise through mass media, such as television, radio or a magazine.Internet advertising can be used if the budget is smaller.  However, in each case what will really win them over is not the advertising itself, but whether or not the offer can successfully acquire one power… the power of word of mouth.

So, how does an entrepreneur with a new company acquire the power of word of mouth, due to the fact that they will have received little puclicity?they should begin by researching companies that have had previous success with this strategy.Think about Avon, a brand that took word of mouth to a new hights.  With them, word of mouth marketing would be the driving force that would sell their products.Why? Simply Because they would employ it in such a way that their customers would actually become their salespeople.Instead of taking the traditional route of hiring professional salespeople, Avon distributed their products through a referral-based business network opportunity.If customers liked their products, the company could actually make great income by selling to their family and friends.

Of course, MLM is just one approach to releasing the power of word of mouth.  If you would prefer not to use that type of business structure, you could promote word of mouth by giving your customers free products.If your product is an excellent one, customers will be glad to promote your company… just because they thought what you gave them was something others could appreciate.

However, there are methods where you can literally force word of mouth marketing.   An example can be seen with companies offering free laptops.  Basically, if customers sign up for a service and refer others to do the same, they will receive a free laptop.You can use this concept for your own company and product, or even if you sell a service only.

In fact, some businesses are literally incorporating this type of incentive marketing through their payment processing system.  Consider Trial Pay, a payment processor that does not accept cash from its customers, (like Paypal or Google Checkout).Instead, the customer pays by buying a product or service from one of their affiliates.You could be one of these affiliates to guarantee you’ll get great sales, or you could simply offer TrialPay on your website.  If you do the latter, you will truly learn the power of word of mouth.  Why?  It’s because when people see your site, they will think of something that gives away free products.  Granted, on paper, the products aren’t free.  But for marketing purposes such a unique arrangement gives them the appearance of being free, which is essential for buzz marketing.

Technorati Tags: Internet Marketing, power of word of mouth, word of mouth marketing

In many respects marketing by word of mouth can be said to be the “hidden statistic” for all programs, as it’s well near impossible to actually gauge the effectiveness of marketing done this way. However, it also should be noted that most every product in the digital age has used this method to enhance puclic and corporate awareness of the product.

A recent study proved that two thirds of online marketing will be done on this basis alone in the coming year, which when coupled with the advent of Web 2.0.0 social networking and social marketing sites point towards promoting your product by word of mouth may be both more cost effective, and have an increasingly better ROI than more “traditional” online advertising media.

Think about the business model of the current social networking sites. There has yet to be a successful site of this type that charges monthly, relying instead as they do on ad generated income. While there is no metric that can be used to measure marketing by word of mouth, there is one method of knowing if your campaign is worth while – sales.

A company should know from their output volume exactly the change between before a campaign, during a campaign and after a campaign. This gives businesses a measurable statistic to show effectiveness of this type of marketing. It is true that not all businesses need or desire this form of sales technique, but is also through that not one business turns away prospects garnered from the by word of mouth method either.

Whatever your area of expertise, a study completed by Hill and Knowlton this year showed that decision makers are highly influenced by personal experience’s (58%), with recommendations tied at 51%. Coming in at a smaller than expected third was direct marketing at 21% with internet advertising lapsing to 17%. These figures may only reflect the purchasing habits of key decision makers, but a young lady in Oregon deciding to buy one car insurance or another IS the key decision maker for that purchase, and her buddy Becky telling her to go with this company over that company will have a greater influence than any gravel-voiced actor pushing the product in a TV advert.

Essentially, this statistic can reflect any industry, any segment, if each purchaser is the key decision maker. This makes the re-appearance of the world’s oldest method of marketing a no brainer – so get talking or tweeting, but tell everyone!

Technorati Tags: by word of mouth, Internet Marketing, referral marketing, viral marketing, word of mouth marketing

Not all people tell the truth, so it’s unlikely that everything you read on the web is going to be fact. To counter that, especially when in connection with something as ethereal as word of mouth information, listed here are a number of statistic’s and sources that you (if you so desire) can check for accuracy at your leisure.

1. Family and friend recommendations are more infuential when giving out word of mouth information (AdAge).

2. Traffic to a site that posts reviews will typically return to that site nine times, and are twice as likely to purchase from that website than others (source: McKinsey and Co.Jupiter Media Metrix).

3. Consumers have a higher level of trust with friends more than experts or celebrity endorsements (65%, 27% and 8%, respectively; Yankelovich).

4. A Nielsen worldwide study of some 26,000 users in over 40 markets reported that consumer recommendations were the most credible form of word of mouth information advertising within the 70% plus of respondents.

5. Way over 116 million user generated comments were made.S. in 2008 alone, with an additional creators of content totaling 82 million. With the massive influence of Web 2.0 and social networking, these figures are sure to climb (source: eMarketer.com).

6. Social network members are three times more likely to buy a product from a recommendation from a peer rather than any other form of advertising. (Jupiter Research).

7. 86% of people asked said they would go with a friend’s recommendation over any experts, 83% also say they would go with user generated comments over a expert critic’s (Marketing Sherpa).

8. 66% of social networkers are more inclined to purchase because of a recommendation, as opposed to 52% that aren’t social networkers (Royal Mail home shipping tracker).

9. 81% of holiday shoppers read user generated reviews before purchasing (Nielsen Online).

10. Consumers totaling 86% read reviews on businesses before buying, with over 90% saying that they trust those reviews (Kudzu.com).

11. 49% of shoppers stated that they have made many of their purchases based solely on the strength of consumer reviews. Of these numbers,53% decided on the strength of user reviews;48% due to comparison charts;41% relied on editorial reviews and comments;58% from shared shopping lists.

12. Nearly two thirds, or 62% of home-based consumers read online user generated product reviews before deciding to buy (source: Deloitte and Touche) as well, 62% or these consumers did state that they would also read through sites with user reviews in order to make any entertainment purchases (source: Marketing Sherpa).

13. 7 out of 10 people who browse consumer generated reviews are more likely to share the information, which amplifies their impact (Deloitte and Touche).

14. 74% of surveyed consumers state they base purchasing on user generated reviews of their customer rating for a product or company (Society of New Communication Research).

As you can see, word of mouth information coming from trusted sources such as friends, consumers, etc. is the most powerful form of advertising.

Technorati Tags: Internet Marketing, referral marketing, viral marketing, word of mouth information, word of mouth marketing