A Word About Word-of-Mouth

Getting customers to wag their tongues about your Internet service is no small feat. Consider building a referral program to bring new customers to your Internet service.

by Brock Henderson
Director of Marketing IgLou Internet Service

There is nothing more rewarding than having a satisfied customer refer a friend to your business. The referred customer comes to you pre-sold — they know all about you, your business, and your services. Word-of-mouth referrals are worth their weight in gold to any business owner.

Word to the wise
Unfortunately, some business people mistakenly rely on word-of-mouth referrals as their primary marketing program. To do so is an invitation to ruination because there is no singular, stand-alone marketing scheme that is guaranteed to produce profits for your ISP. It's like looking at a diamond with one facet — it's a pretty rock, but not as shiny and appealing as it could be.

As good as word-of-mouth referrals are for your business there are several inherent problems you need to recognize. First, nobody cares more about the success or failure of your business than you do. No one. Not your sibling, your spouse, or even your Mother cares more about your business than you do.

Your friends and family could be a great support system — they may lavish you with praise and bring you comforting thoughts. But they simply do not possess the eternal fire and passion for your business the same way you do. They can't. It's a matter of ownership — you own it, they don't.

Think about it
For example, my brother-in-law owns a small wood mill operation. One day, my wife and I ran into an old friend of hers at the mall. After the usual "Hi, how have you been" exchanges were complete, our friend began telling us all about a fabulous deck she going to add to her home. She went on, and on about how the finished deck would have several levels, part of it would be lattice covered, benches would be built-in — you get the idea.

The entire time she was telling us about her magnificent deck project, I kept thinking about my brother-in-law, Paul ... and his wood mill. I thought it would be great if my friend could get the lumber she needed at a reasonable price from Paul, while he would benefit from picking up some much-needed business.

I kept waiting for my wife to bring up her brother's business. Since she didn't mention it, I didn't say anything. I thought there might be a specific reason why she wasn't referring our friend to her brother's business.

After about a half-hour, our friend said good-bye and we parted company. I turned to my wife and asked, "Why didn't you tell her about Paul?" Much to my surprise, her response was "I forgot."

My wife adores her brother, but his business is not paramount to her thinking — so she didn't consider bringing him into the conversation. We lost the opportunity to build a perfect win-win referral relationship for our friend and Paul. It just goes to show that your family and friends may love you, but they aren't driven about driving customers to your door.

Put some bite into it
The second problem word-of-mouth advertising creates is how to get and keep your customers talking about your ISP. Why should any customer bother to refer someone to your business - what's in it for them? Do you reward them in some way or just say "Thanks?"

Saying "Thank You" isn't enough when it comes to motivating your customers to talk about your business. You need to get your customers excited about referring new clients your way. You need to reward their efforts — give them a gift of some sort as a way to say "Thanks for thinking of me."

Gifts, or referral rewards, come in all shapes and sizes, but cash is one type of "Thank You" that is respected as a prime source of universal motivation.

Some businesses have a series of steps or different levels demarcating the size of the reward for word-of-mouth referrals. For example, some ISPs give customers a $20 reward for each referral, while others offer the same premium for three referrals. Still other ISPs give customers free access time in recompense for referring two customers in a single month.

Referral programs allow you to give your customers an added incentive to keep sending business your way. In the end, you will have designed a marketing program that keeps your customers talking about your business, which impacts your bottom line.

In addition to "Thanking" the customer that referred business your way, you might want to also consider rewarding the new client with some type of "Welcome" incentive. By offering the new customer a discount, free access time, or free training, you continue to propagate new word-of-mouth referrals from new clients.

Last word on word-of-mouth
I'm a big fan of word-of-mouth advertising and I believe that traditional marketing methods produce the best results. I know that there's no singular "best-of-breed" form of advertising when it comes to marketing your ISP. I hold that word-of-mouth referrals are just about as good as it gets.

One word of caution, what works well in one industry, or even for one business, may not be successful for another. It's important that you choose different forms of marketing and mix them with advertising venues that best suit your customers. If you don't know what best suits your customers — ask them! They will be more than happy to tell you.

Remember, successful marketing takes time to mature and come to fruition. Don't expect a thundering herd of customers to come stampeding toward your door tomorrow. Successful word-of-mouth marketing requires time and patience to develop. Be persistent and keep at it. Like the moral of the story in the Tortoise and the Hare — slow and steady wins the race!

— End

   

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