In a post at MarketingProfs' Daily Fix blog, Andy Sernovitz discusses some takeaways from a recent experience in which he told an office manager that the $239 Dell monitor he purchased for his PC would work with her Mac. "She said she had been saving up for a monitor from Apple for three times the price," he writes, "but she was going to check out the Dell instead."
Use conversation starters. Sernovitz realized the Dell monitor was Apple-compatible because the cable was included as an accessory. This extra is the conversation starter; while most Dell customers have no use for it, their Mac-loyal friends might want to know about a cost-effective alternative. "The resulting word of mouth pays for the extra cost," he says. "What can you put in the box to start a conversation?"
Use good names. Ditch memory-defying alphanumeric product names for more catchy alternatives. Are you more likely to tell a friend about the SP2208WFP or the Fred 22?
Use simple URLs. Use a URL that's simple to remember and pass along—for instance, dell.com/fred.
Use referral landing pages. Let customer evangelists create a page like dell.com/sernovitz with favorite purchases and wish lists. "It's easy to do," he says, "and it makes me look great when I tell people about it. Give me points when my friends visit. Give referrers status and recognition."
The Po!nt: "Great word of mouth is more than buzz," says Sernovitz. "It's nailing the simple tactics that help the conversation spread."
Source: MarketingProfs. Click here for the post.
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