Word of Mouth Marketing: Why It Is Important to Your Business

Do you remember having a great experience at a restaurant and later on tweeting about it? This is, essentially, word of mouth marketing (WOMM). It's an organic way of spreading information which utilizes components of viral marketing, though unlike viral marketing, it spreads by more natural channels. Word of mouth is a free form of advertisement or promotion (just one reason it’s so important). It’s shared by customers and triggered by an event the customer experiences. This event is something beyond what’s expected. In this post, we'll look more into the details of word of mouth marketing - how you can use it, why you need it and why it's so important in the modern communicative landscape.

How are Word of Mouth Marketing and Referral Marketing different?

It’s all about creating a buzz. It’s a passive way of gaining a following. The more you interact with people the more likely your name will spread. Think of the snowball effect - you start off with a small, interesting post on Facebook. That post impresses a couple people, then those people spread the word. Before you know it that one post is all over. It’s about creating mega brand recognition. Referral marketing is marketing that focuses on targeting a specific person, and is intended to encourage them to refer their friends. Referral marketing (and other referral type marketing) is a segment of WOMM, but it’s a more proactive way of generating clientele, as you have to actually control the referral process and track the process of conversion. Instead of doing a mass shout-out, the idea of referral marketing is more personal. Referral marketing is more about creating a bond with specific people. That way they'll refer friends and family.