[W951]Word Of Mouth Advertising

It is amazing how some products sells. You’ll never see an advert on some products, yet they are multi-million business. Take khat (miraa) and horti-floricultural produce for example, you will never see an advert on it but thrive in terms of export volumes, targets markets (Europe) and the financial turnover. It has economically sustained some regions and thousands of families in Meru (Kenya) where it is grown .The produce are airlifted to Europe and Middle East. It is an established business no doubt but the mystery of the marketing strategies used is interesting.
Have you ever spared a moment and thought about how drugs are trafficked? This is a multibillion dollar business world over yet the most discreet. In a free market where there is a willing seller and a willing buyer, the former will surmount all the odds to deliver to the later. They don’t advertise. The key players are known in the industry, hardly outside. The drugs barons could be seemingly upright respectable men in the society whose common attribute is working hard “meeting to the exchange ideas, every once in a while," in an exclusive club. It makes you wonder, if you wanted cocaine, where would you find it? On an unrelated issue, if today you decided that you have had it with women or men you are turning gay, where would you start looking for a partner? Considering that gay community is rather discreet in Kenya and most parts of the world, would you go on seducing same sex accountancies in the hope that one of them could be gay? You may end up being frustrated; the frustration itself could false you to be straight again! Or you could get yourself beaten into to pulp by some dyed-in-the-wool heterosexual conservatives. Now, you know drugs and gay people are there. What about Satanism? Are there devil-worshippers? Can you tell that so and so is a devil worshiper? If today you decided to be a devil worshiper, God forbid (forgive the pun) where would you start? There are no ‘churches’ that you can just walk in. So how do these activities thrive and grow?
All these, and many more revolve around one of the most efficient and trusted form of advertising-word of mouth. It has kept the world moving in more ways than economic. Imagine all the people who sell services e.g. lawyers, accountants, engineers and other consultants whose nature of business , by default or design does allow overt advertising yet they have managed to thrive economically, they have all relied on the world of mouth to grow their businesses. In a business, a word of endorsement from a reputable person or organization almost guarantees a sale. If you want to start using a new product you often inquire from friends’ colleagues and acquaintances who have used it before and once they vouch for it you go ahead and use it.
Now the reason why the coin has two faces-in this regard-is because the same applies for your product and services. You may not know but most people often inquire about your product or service before they buy. Most people spend a lot of money advertising only to get unsatisfactorily result that are not commensurate with the amount spent , yet a fraction of the budget would have been enough had they concentrated on growing the word-of mouth-campaign.
How do you position your product for a favorable word of mouth recommendation?
The first thing is consistency in good quality. People will only tell other about your product if it meets or surpasses the expectations in terms of quality, form, and substance. Secondly, the product has to be readily available. Thirdly, know your customers thoroughly so that your marketing efforts will be more focused and therefore, easy to monitor and quantify the impact. Once you know your market and have a quality product that is readily available, it is time to grow the word of mouth campaign. You can attract people by conducting promotions where you give free sample. What happens next is that the recipient of the freebies will come back to buy and most likely refer friends and acquaintances to you. You can also attract buyers by offering discounts, having a sale or by bundling products.
You can also encourage network marketing where you give incentives to people to endorse your product to other people. These incentives could range form discounts to back-ending. Spare a moment and think of ingenious ways of spreading the word of mouth about your product it will safe you more money and it is more effective than conventional advertising.