Word of Mouth

Old school businesspeople swear by word of mouth as the best way of marketing a business. While I believe this is still true, word of mouth no longer is restricted to one person telling another about their personal experiences with a given company or business.  It used to be that if you had a good experience you’d probably mention it to friends, family and acquaintances the next time the opportunity arose.  And although it certainly generated business, in today’s technological world it gets bigger and better.  Are you asking how yet?

Let’s face it, with our old school word of mouth scenario people passed along their recommendations and testimonials within a social setting. Perhaps at a business lunch, drinks with friends or a holiday party.  Those avenues are still available today. Additionally we have the Internet to thank for even more ways for our happy clients and customers to get the word out.  Perhaps your customer blogs and they are so happy with the experience they had that they tell the world on their blog. Or they pop onto Yahoo Local or one of the other community sites where they can actually rate your business and write a review for others to see. If they have a website, perhaps they will include a link to your website. 

As you can see, your happy customers circle of influence is much, much wider than it was in the ‘old days’.  And while this can be a very good thing, keep in mind that unhappy customers have that same extended circle in which they can vent their frustrations. Word of mouth can be two-edged sword.