This is a guest post by Lema Abeng-Nsah at blogface2face.com

What is the best Marketing Concept?

One afternoon in December 2009, I sat in my home office wondering where to find a mechanic. Our second car had broken down, had been sitting on the driveway for more than a month. While my husband Albert and I had been using the BMW, it hadn’t been a problem because we both worked from home and didn’t have to step out much except to get our kids to and from school and for meetings. December with the spirit of shopping in the air, came with these frequent ‘shopping urges’ which kind of made my husband nervous.  I wanted the freedom to dash out to the store without having to explain and reassure him that I wasn’t going to spend all our money … you know what I mean.

I needed a good, reliable mechanic to come out as soon as possible. Oh, why not call Lincoln, a business partner who lived nearby, he probably could lead me to an area mechanic. And so I got in touch with him, and sure enough he knew someone – his neighbor Jerry was great with cars, he had just fixed the engine on Lincoln’s car and had done a wonderful job. He was reliable and not too pricey – that sounded like music to my ears. Most importantly, he was trustworthy or should I say ‘safe’; you know these days we all have to be careful about who we invite to our homes – seemingly normal people have been known to turn out to be crazy child molesters or stalkers.

We called Jerry. He showed up on time the next day, got the car fixed, received his payment and left. Viola!  One thing was sure, he had gained our confidence and trust – the next time we needed a mechanic, Jerry automatically would be the man to call. Secondly, our friends and family heard all about him because he had done such a great job!

The concept of ‘Word of Mouth Marketing’

How many times have you referred someone to a restaurant you liked, to your barber, hair salon, nail shop, a book you read that impacted you, a job opportunity, a department store, your income tax preparer or even to an article like this one? We all have long referral lists because as human beings, we instinctively recommend the things we like to our loved ones.

I have never heard anyone say,

“I ate at this restaurant. The food was so bad, you need to try it.”

When we get excited about something, we impulsively tell everyone about it. It goes to show them that we care for them and only desire the best for them.

What we don’t often realize (because it is of no importance to us the consumer) is that these recommendations often translate into business for the provider of these great products or services.

And so to me, word of mouth is the best and most effective marketing model known to man. Just for the simple reason that it comes naturally and is in-built in every human DNA.

Why Word of Mouth Marketing

For the business owner, word of mouth referrals mean:

A Higher conversion rate: It attracts the right customers or clients, who come to you ready or open to consuming your product or trying your service.

Trusting customers: These customers already have started forming an emotional bond with you because someone they personally know spoke highly of you and put their fears and concerns about your service to rest. Your job is to show them you are worthy of their business as well.

Higher retention rate: Leads you to consumers who are less likely to leave you for another company because of the above reasons and eventually become life-long customers.

Walk-ins are always welcome

Customers come to you. Attracting the right customers who come to you is any business owner’s dream come true. Instead of mastering and paying for complicated marketing strategies, ad placements, lead generation and all the stuff that comes with putting your product or service out there, you can build a sizeable customer base by this model.

Word of mouth is cheap. It cuts down on advertising costs which tend to add up to thousands of dollars for small businesses or independent business owners. Referral fees or other token incentives to these customers who endlessly provide you with a stream of referrals is usually all you need. They do not seek a reward, but your appreciation goes a long way in building the relationship.

A Good Reputation

Business owners who capitalize on word-of mouth marketing are often held to a higher standard of ethics by these customers who believe in you. Your integrity will keep them glued to you. Lack of it will be the reason they drop you like a hot potato. Maintain a good reputation and never give your customers reason to feel ‘betrayed’ or let-down.

As a business owner, focus on providing an ‘A-class’ quality service that is reasonably priced. Your customers will come back and bring others with them. Always make it about the customer, make them feel valued, appreciated and cared for. Make it easy for them to like you. Your like-ability is crucial in retaining them especially.

Your services must come first always, never the fee or payment you receive. In fact, make your fee a postscript … after all the great work has been done, mention it and hopefully they will be surprised at being so reasonably charged for such a great service.

Don’t forget to often remind existing customers to send new referrals your way.

Sharing makes our experiences in life sweeter and more memorable. Word-of-mouth is your best bet.

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