Word Of Mouth Marketing-What?

Obtaining and retaining loyal customers is about developing relationships.  Companies spend $millions annually on advertising, hoping to influence the buying habits of their prospective customers.

Advertising does not build relationships, it only hopes to influence the moment and convert those few seconds into a buying decision for a product.  Word of Mouth (WOM) is the best and most reliable method of promoting a product.

A Testimonial from one person to another brings with it a level of positive bias and a tested experience. These endorsements or referrals are provided from one trusted person or company to another.  It is the trusted relationship that makes the recommendation more credible.

Word of Mouth (WOM) relationship building is growing rapidly due to wider use of social media applications (e.g. blogs, facebook, myspace, twitter).  How can your company use a WOM approach to expand your loyal customer base?  I am working with an organization that has some new and innovative ways to use this technology to help businesses grow – I will be writing more about this approach next month.   To provide a little more introduction and background to WOM, I am offering you a FREE look at an e-book that is the first of a series on how to use digital applications to expand your presence in your market.

Click here for your FREE eBook access: http://wom10.com/Pages/business-tools-book

Tags:business, change, cultures, Leadership, management, Operations, organizational basics, performance improvement, problem solving
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Grow Your Company with PR

In 2005 I consulted for a start-up that was owned by an entrepreneur who had a public relations back ground.  I learned the value of good Public Relations (PR) and since then I have always consider it the next best form of advertising.  I believe the best form of advertising is word of mouth.

PR if done correctly can be a game changer for an organization.  PR can also backfire if not taken seriously and can have a negative impact on your image with prospects, customers and your industry.  I recently read a blog post on bNet that outlined the 10 Breakthrough PR Techniques from a Master. The interview with Lou Hoffman, President and CEO of Hoffman Agency, provides an excellent set of techniques and examples of how to use PR to maximize its effectiveness.

Click here for the interview:  http://blogs.bnet.com/ceo/?p=3620&tag=content;col2

What are your experiences, positive or negative, with PR?

Tags:business, cultures, Leadership, Operations, performance improvement, process improvement
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