Marketing Profs

Radio ads rarely intrigue me. They typically invoke an immediate response to change the station, or they just hang in the background until the next song comes on.

But, recently, a radio advertisement for Boar's Head meats demanded my attention. It was about an old flimflam and a unique way that Boar's Head is trying to battle a longstanding problem.

After hearing the commercial, I came home and immediately visited the Boar's Head Web site. 

Here's a quick rundown. About 20 years ago, Boar's Head realized a disturbing trend: Some deli owners would show Boar's Head in the deli case, but then use a cheaper deli meat when actually making sandwiches—not good for Boar's Head, not good for customers, and ultimately not good for the deli owner.

Fast-forward to today. Unfortunately for Boar's Head, a company with a long and proud history, it seems that the old flimflam has again reared its ugly head.

But Boar's Head isn't sitting back and taking the punches. It's fighting back. How? Well, it isn't sending an entire force of lawyers out on the streets, and it certainly isn't sending the deli police on raids. That wouldn't scale, or be that powerful.

Instead, Boar's Head is tapping into a much more powerful force that it has worked hard to build over the years. That's right—the Boar's Head loyal customer base! The company is asking consumers to report any deli that's pulling the old flimflam. It has set up an 800 number and wants customers to demand to see the actual product that is being sliced. Brilliant!

If the deli owner is pulling the flimflam, then the customer can call the 800 number and report the incident. Boar's Head would then take action and stop supplying that deli. I love it! It's empowered its own army of meat lovers. No guns, no grenades... but you bet they're armed!

With word-of-mouth marketing (WOM) so hot right now, and everyone trying to empower customers, it's hard to overlook the power of what Boar's Head is doing.

Let's first take a look at a hypothetical situation of how empowering customers could help your business, then I'll list six things you can do to empower your own customer base—that's right, to build your own army.