Smart Marketing

Word of mouth marketing; Still the best marketing tool

The newest issue of Inc. Magazine profiles their Inc. 500, the  fastest growing private companies in the US. In an additional data section, it also calls out the most commonmarketing tactics these companies employ. Any guesses on which marketing tactic is the #1 marketing tool?

Word of mouth. It was listed by 82% of Inc. 500 companies as a chief marketing tool. The next highest tool was e-mail marketing, which was listed by 58%.

This just goes to show that we marketers can concentrate on advertising, direct mail and web marketing tactics, but the real test of a marketing's program mettle is how successfully the company (or product) is mentioned among peers.

I've said this here before, but it bears repeating: if your service or product isn't the VERY best it can be, then don't bother marketing it. Fix the product first. Word-of-mouth is too valuable (especially in today's skeptical market) to waste on a bad product.

For more on the proper ways to ensure positive word-of-mouth, check out my newest book Stand Out from the Crowd; Secrets to Crafting a Winning Company Identity.

5 questions for Marketing Research guru Bob Kaden

I recently caught up with Bob Kaden , author of Guerilla Marketing Research. He had some great insight into the role of marketing research in a business’ marketing efforts:

 
1) What role should market research play in a business' marketing effort? 

Virtually the same role played in large businesses.  That is, determining the needs, wants, wishes and desires of customers so that you can motivate them buy more frequently from you, spend more money each time they buy and be happier about doing business with you as a result.

2) What does a small business really get when it researches its market? 

They will come to understand the best way of marketing the products they sell, the services that they should offer and the emotions that they should tap into in order to make them more money.

3) How important is setting objectives in market research? 

Without determining actionable marketing research objectives before undertaking research, 90% of what you learn will likely be information you can't use to grow your business.

 

4) How can small business leaders be better marketing researchers? 

By consistently using focus groups and surveys to determine buyer attitudes, and then acting on the results.   Also, business leaders can also realize that marketing research is as important to growing a business as is inspiration.

 

5) Who are the Top 3 Greatest Marketers of all Time? 

Leonard Lavin of Alberto Culver, Howard Schultz of Starbucks and Steve Jobs of Apple.  They all understand the art of catering to the wants, wishes and desires of consumers and then tapping into the emotions that turn them into loyal customers.

 

For more Top Marketers of All Time choices, visit my blog entry Who is the Greatest Marketer of All Time?

 

For more information check out these resources:

 

Bob Kaden’s book Guerilla Marketing Research

Either of my two books The Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses

or Stand Out from the Crowd: Secrets to Crafting a Winning Company Identity