There are several ways to add a bit of kindling to the word of mouth fire. Still, you must remove all spam tactics from your mind. There will be no pointless plugging of your services. Offer something real and be a friend.

Word of mouth can only be a natural process that grows organically. Thus, it cannot be faked. It cannot be forced or directly controlled. It is the voice of the people and you can’t stop anyone from saying negative things about you. Likewise, you can’t force people to say nice things about you. One good example I’ve seen is from Sweetwater Music. They add a bit of candy to everything they ship, displaying a real appreciation for the clients business that in turn fosters genuine word of mouth. (**NOTE** they spend $10k per week on candy and keep records of what clients enjoy) It’s a harmless gesture, not a product catalog. Nothing spammy, just a nice way to say thank you. Although expensive gesture, but worth it in the long haul.

Some businesses offer free advice to clients about their specific field of expertise. One may view this is as giving away trade secrets, but providing clients something of value that they can use in everyday conversation is a great way to encourage word of mouth. Think of the many social situations in which you discuss products or services with others. Often it’s when someone is asking you for advice, so offer a little free advice to your clients and increase the chances of your brand coming up in conversation.

Another strategy to get people talking about you is to select the key people who are most likely to talk about you, or more importantly select the people who are most likely to talk to the people you want to talk to but don’t know. For example, years ago Adidas was launching a new running shoe and wanted some buzz on the ground level before the product hit the stores. They compiled a list of promoters, door security men, club owners and many others to send a digital picture frame that could play movies with sound and accepted a variety of small media cards. The movie players came with a flash card pre-loaded with a fantastically edited commercial about Adidas’ new product. It didn’t matter if the people who received the promotion were avid runners or even huge fans of Adidas, they didn’t even have to watch the commercial! We couldn’t talk about our cool new video player with out mentioning Adidas!  It even came with a remote and I still have it.

With the above examples it is my hope that I’ve lifted the veil somewhat on word of mouth marketing. What are people likely to talk about regarding your business? What can you do to stand apart from the others in your marketplace. What do you have to offer and what can you give away that is of value and is also something people will want to share with others? Always remember; word of mouth marketing is a piece of the marketing mix you do not own, control or fake.

Solicitors are known as people who knock on your door at eight pm trying to pitch the latest print newspaper to you. Or they’re the assholes that threw a bag of rocks at your door with a coupon inside.

Here’s the definition.

solicitor – so⋅lic⋅i⋅tor [suh-lis-i-ter]
–noun
1. a person who solicits.
2. a person whose business it is to solicit business, trade, etc.

The guy walking up to your door is a canvasser, his job sucks but supposedly it’s effective. The bag of rocks on your driveway is litter, it’s not really the flyers fault some asshole threw it on your driveway. In these situations I think we’d be better off hating the player not the game. Solicitation done ethically is no dirty word. Face to face human interaction is not the problem the playing field just needs to be more clearly defined.

When you at your home no one should bother you. When your out in public you run the immediate risk of encountering something or someone unexpected. If you work in a business with an open door to the public people may attempt to come inside and talk to you. Do not be alarmed! Not everyone is pitching snake oil! Identify who, what, where, and then make a decision!

Getting information to people exactly when they’re looking for it is a holy grail of marketing. The problem with solicitors going door to door, or passing out flyers on the street is that you never know if someone is ready to accept the information you have to offer. Most people it seems, would rather digest the information on their own terms. When, where, and how they want to via the Internet, friends etc. However as a solicitor we believe we have some information someone doesn’t know they want. So as well meaning solicitors we should all brainstorm on how to change our collective image. And find new words for Rockthrowers, Canvassers, and Telemarketers because professional well meaning solicitors they are not.

So in closing not all solicitors are bad. And I believe that businesses should help each other succeed. Instead of shutting doors and posting signs that attempt to spell out such reclusive attitudes in a professional manner. “We don’t want it, no matter what, we know everything, have everything, and don’t want any new friends”.

What if ads were illegal and the only form of communication between product and consumer acceptable was human interaction?