Getting the word out about your business

By the OneCoach Team

Word of mouth has always been a source of business—in fact, at one time, it was the only way that people found out about a product or service. Long overlooked in favor of other forms of marketing, word of mouth is back in a big way, and is a sure way to kick your sales into high gear if you do it effectively.

Virtually every business owner understands the role that word of mouth plays in their growth. Very few, however, think of it as something to proactively manage to capture sales. Some people think of it in only in terms of customer service: Customers who are happy will pass your name along to others because they're just so darn happy.

Think about it, though. Do your happy clients talk spontaneously about your company to their networks? Not likely. It's the unhappy customers who most often do the talking. In terms of customer service, the kind of word of mouth we are most concerned about is the negative kind, not the business-building kind.

Another off-base idea that business owners have about word of mouth is that it is a natural force, something that has a bearing on the business but over which they have little control. Here are some proactive ways to increase word of mouth about your company, products and services:

Improve your networking skills. As much as we talk about the importance of networking, many of us don't really do much connecting. People consider the quality of referrals to be a personal reflection on them. They need to have confidence in your business and trust that you will make them look good to their own networks. Building your business through word of mouth means you have to visible and active in your market's environment by participating in community and/or professional associations. The more visible you are in the business community, the more you become known and the more credibility you build. As people come to trust you, they will start referring you to others.

Create referral exchanges. Connect with businesses that are non-competitive with yours and that have clients who are also in your market space. Simple examples are an accountant and a financial planner, or a florist and a limousine service. Figure out which companies are serving the same markets as you and develop relationships with the ones that meet your standards. Then brainstorm ways that you can "cross pollinate" each other's businesses through referrals.

Generate electronic "buzz." E-mail is well entrenched as a communication medium, and people commonly pass along messages that they think will be of interest to others. You can create an e-mail "buzz" campaign specifically designed to be passed along. If you do it right, your message will go viral and reach a huge number of people. The initial message of a buzz campaign needs to be one that motivates your recipients (your contact list or a subset of that list) to hit the "forward" button, so it needs to speak to their interests and be very subtle in terms of marketing. Make sure that the original "from" e-mail address contains your company's domain name so that recipients can check out your Web site when they get the message.

Building your business through word of mouth is an exercise in cultivation. Plant the seeds for relationships and then nurture them over time. As more people get to know you, they will send more business your way.