Consumers as Promotion

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Third party endorsement is the most effective form of advertising. Also known as buzz marketing, this technique is highly valued among business promoters. Customer satisfaction is the greatest selling point a business can have because it means that they've succeeded in filling a need. It's like the old adage goes, if you take care of your customers, they'll take care of you.

According to Rob Reed of Terrakon Marketing, third party endorsement works because consumers do not believe the hype created by conventional advertising. Mass media outlets are so cluttered with advertising that most companies focus on creative rather than satisfying users WIFM (What's in if for me). Instead of building trust, agencies try to create ads that stand out so consumers notice the ad but do not trust it. This falls into the too good to be true category of something that sounds great but you know there's a catch. Consumers always expect a catch of some kind with something that sounds like a great idea because that's what they've been exposed to. Regardless of how you choose to advertise, you can set your business apart from others with trustworthy advertising. The most effective way to do this is by word-of-mouth or third-party advertising.

So why is it so effective? People trust each other a lot more than they trust any advertising medium. Conventional advertising is rarely personalized and is often used to get people to simply try a service in hopes that the initial interest will breed new business. If consumers try your product and like it, they'll come back. People are twice as likely to tell other people about a bad experience as opposed a good one. The reason? People do not want others to have the same bad experience they did. Also, they expect to have a good experience when experimenting with a service. If the service fails to meet the expectation, they do not want others to be as disappointed as they were. But, if they had a good experience, they could recruit 2-3 people to try your service and trust your name.

Take Starbucks for an example. Think about how many ads you've ever seen starbucks coffee. Can not think of any? That's because for the most part they do not. The company spent $ 10 million dollars in advertising over its first 10 years. When you consider that the average ad during the Super Bowl was $ 2.4 million, you get an idea of ​​how little they advertised. So why did it work? Rather than spend money on advertising, they focused on the experience rather than the product. They set up an environment that was conducive for people who wanted to study, work, or just sit and chat all in the same place. People found this surrounding comforting and new which made the word spread like wild fire. Word-of-mouth advertising made this coffee shop from Seattle into the huge conglomerate it has become.

Now let's be honest, not every company can do what Starbucks did. But, we can learn from how they realized their success and use it to create our own. Do not let any opportunity to grow slip away. Every person is another opportunity to grow your business and inform people of the great service you offer. Your customers are your key to success; use them to your full advantage.

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