BLOG: Word of Mouth Marketing – is it lost?

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Marrakech - Where personal interaction is king and gets you the business!

Marrakech - Where personal interaction is king and gets you the business!

  Is it better for your family and friends to meet you in person or to chat to you through one of the many forms of social media? Which experience will create the most memories? It's easy to forget the basics in this age of online networking and noise but what about real life human encounters? What about word of mouth marketing? Word-of-mouth marketing may seem like a time drain - "I don't have time to meet so let's Facebook / Whatsapp / Snapchat / Tweet instead. With all of these social networks we are running the risk of neglecting those that we should be paying more attention to (and not just our nearest and dearest in the room - we'll leave that for another day!) Small businesses have a huge advantage over large companies in word-of-mouth marketing because the business owner is more accessible to their clients and customers. Customers of small businesses have an opportunity to develop a relationship with management and get more personal attention. This leads to a higher level of customer satisfaction which in turn leads to customers spreading positive vibes about your service and business. In a recent survey carried out by DMpr – it was found that customers preferred local financial intuitions compared to national banks. People felt that the local financial institution is more committed to the local community; they felt like they get more personal attention, and were more likely to be recognised when they walk into the building and not be ushered away from human contact in order to communicate with a banking machine. Personal attention matters more today than ever before it seems. With this in mind, let’s look at three ways word of mouth marketing can work for your business:
  1. Treat ALL your customers like gold. Although some businesses like to offer great deals for new customers or clients they do so at the expense of their current customs. This can make it more difficult to get referrals from those who are satisfied with your business. Keep current customers satisfied and it will encourage all to spread the word.
 
  1. Explore ways to show that you care for your current customers.Even small gestures can have a big effect. A couple of years ago my husband and I visited Marrakech, Morocco. On checking in to the Riad we were greeted with a lovely meal in beautiful surroundings and the next morning the Riad owner sat with us and talked us through everything we needed to know to survive the amazing city that is Marrakech. This personal attention and local knowledge played a huge part in us having one of the best holidays ever and encouraged us to leave a great review on TripAdvisor as well as recommending the accommodation to a number of our friends, and guess what? Bookings were made for that very Riad within two weeks of our recommendations, proving that it really is hard to top word of mouth referrals. In case you're wondering - this is it - Riad Dar Dialkoum.
 
  1. Create a good PR story.If people are to  recommend a company they need to have a reason or have a good story to tell about it. With a positive PR campaign or better yet, a continuous drip feed of activity, you are giving your customers a reason to talk about you which can and will lead to positive word of mouth marketing.
  Now, it’s your turn … recently, what businesses have you recommended to your friends? And what was it that made them stand out?

About Christine

Christine is a PR consultant and owner of DMpr. She has worked with some of the largest national and multi-national companies and her PR work has been recognised and nationally awarded.

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