As a salesperson, talking is part of your job. But what about as a marketing tactic? Can talking really help you? According to Hubspot, 90% of people believe brand recommendations from friends, and 70% of people believe customer opinions. Additionally, customers are discussing specific brands causally 90 times per week. So where does that leave you? Are you being talked about?
This expert sales interview explores:
- Being intentional in generating word of mouth
- Expectations, perception vs. reality
- Examples of successful word of mouth marketing
- Talk Triggers: Are You Assuming Word of Mouth Marketing is Occurring, or Are You Planning for it?
Being intentional:
Just like you would intentionally advertise your product or service in a specific magazine, it is important that you are intentional in providing something for people to talk about. Lemin explains that people have a tendency to assume that their business is being talked about, but they never actually have a plan to ignite the conversation or a roadmap for how to start a conversation. Providing a good product or service doesn’t mean that you are being talked about, especially when you have not done something operationally different that would be worth talking about.
Expectations:
As a society today, we are incredibly picky buyers. Just like we expect our hotel rooms to be clean, and our food to taste good, we expect that our product will work well, that the service will be good, and that the product and service will actually make our lives easier. Simply meeting the expectations of consumers will not help generate word of mouth marketing, because nothing we did was worth talking about.
Perception vs. reality:
Is your product or service actually any better than your competitors? Lemin discusses some real live examples like The DoubleTree Hotel, Skips Kitchen, and a particular Locksmith in New York. Have you ever checked into a DoubleTree hotel and received a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie? Another example discussed is a restaurant in Sacramento called Skips Kitchen. Instead of handing the customer a boring table number, they lay out a deck of cards and tell you to pick one. If you pick the Joker, your meal is free. What about the Locksmith from New York that provides a free home security sweep and lets you know where your home might be vulnerable to a break-in? As if that weren’t helpful enough, he then orders you new locks and hinges so that you can ensure your home is safe. What do these three examples have in common? None of these required doing something extravagant, but it is something that no-doubt stands out from other businesses and generates word of mouth marketing.
Talk Triggers:
Lemin discusses his new book, Talk Triggers – Are You Assuming Word of Mouth Marketing is Occurring, or Are You Planning for it? Word of mouth is responsible for 19% of all purchases while influencing as much as 90%. Everyone relies on word of mouth to make a decision and yet less than 1% of companies have an actual strategy for generating these customer conversations.
To learn more about word of mouth marketing and the importance of talk triggers, watch the entire expert sales interview. If you would like to purchase Daniel’s book, it is now available on Amazon, and in bookstores today.
About our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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